The lobby and grand staircase at Sarnia Park. As I continue my unexpected crusade to challenge the notion Waikato is less interesting than the rest of New Zealand, I was invited back to the province last week. I say “unexpected” because it’s a part of the country I’ve been to a million times for family…
Category: Hotels
Did Elton John Really Stay At A 2-Star Guesthouse In Cambodia?
The signed photo that hangs proudly at the Fancy Guesthouse. With news Elton John is about to release his 33rd studio album (entitled Wonderful Crazy Night*), there’s one lingering question that remains tantalizingly unanswered for fans: Did he or did he not stay at a 2-star guesthouse while in Cambodia a few years ago? According…
Let’s Travel Magazine Akaroa Article – Top 30 Photos + Where To Stay
The cover of the latest Let’s Travel mag. The latest issue of New Zealand’s premier travel magazine Let’s Travel is out and it features two of my articles. One is about my return to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where I lived as a child and the other is about the incredibly photogenic and historic town…
The Opulence Of Lake Karapiro Lodge – Why Waikato Can Be A Destination And Not Just A Gateway (incl. 40 photos)
Lake Karapiro Lodge Provincial Waikato is unfairly unfashionable when it comes to New Zealanders’ own appraisals of their beautiful country. Probably because when we drive through Waikato it’s at 100ks and we’re always on the way somewhere. Somewhere more heralded as a tourist destination like Rotorua, Tauranga or the mountains and forests of Tongariro National…
New Zealand’s First Great Luxury Hotel: Why Staying At The Chateau Is Still So Worth It
The Chateau in Tongariro National Park, central North Island. I’d always wanted to stay at The Chateau. As far as historic hotels go in New Zealand there are few so iconic. So with it being my birthday last week I decided to see what the 86-year old dame is like. And given the lakeside town…
Road Tripping Through Canterbury In New Zealand’s South Island – My Top 50 Photos
Boats on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, near Tekapo. Continuing my series of ‘Top 50’ photo-essays that I enjoy making for The Roxborogh Report, here are my 50 favourites from last week’s road trip through Canterbury. This was my first time seeing Christchurch since the devastating earthquakes of almost five years ago. It was sobering…
Skyscrapers & Jungle – Kuala Lumpur In 2015 – My Top 50 Photos
From the Helipad Bar, downtown KL. One month ago today I touched down again in the city I grew up in. My family was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from June 1983 to December 1990 before returning to Auckland, New Zealand when I was nine years old. Even after a quarter of a century, it’s amazing…
Return To Nazri’s Place – Top 50 Photos From Malaysia’s Tioman Island, 2015
Nazri’s Place, Air Batang, Tioman Island. This time exactly two weeks ago I was in the middle of a sweat-drenched 10-kilometre walk on an island Time Magazine once described as one of the 10 most beautiful in the world. Sure, that title was bestowed back in the 70s and Malaysia’s Tioman Island has dined out…
My Herald On Sunday Kauri Cliffs Feature – One Of The Premier Golf Resorts In The World
The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs. The Herald On Sunday published my two-page spread on Kauri Cliffs today and if you click here you can link to the Herald’s Travel section to read it. Kauri Cliffs is a 5-star, luxury resort in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands with a golf course so stunning it has been ranked…
Historic 5-Star Boutique Northland Lodge For Sale – The Beautiful Waipoua Lodge
Hokianga Harbour, just north of the Waipoua Forest. Late last month I returned to a place that feels as much like visiting old friends as it does like staying in a 5-star, boutique lodge. The Waipoua Lodge sits on the edge of arguably New Zealand’s finest subtropical tract of bush, the Waipoua Forest. A part…
Kauri Cliffs Top 50 Photos – Why It’s About So Much More Than Golf
In an upcoming two-page spread in the Herald On Sunday I’m writing about why Kauri Cliffs in Matauri Bay, Northland, New Zealand is about so much more than golf. Rated by Golf Digest as the 39th best course in the world, Kauri Cliffs is also one of the most exclusive retreats in the country. Somehow…
Cruising The Backwaters Of Kerala In A Rice Boat – My Latest Let’s Travel Magazine Article, South India
The new issue of New Zealand’s premier travel magazine Let’s Travel includes an article of mine about an Intrepid Travel tour I did featuring India’s famous Kerala backwaters. Click here to link to Let’s Travel’s website, or find them on Facebook at Facebook.com/letstravelmag. The article is pay-walled so do subscribe or download the digital version….
