Less than two-hours from Auckland lies a mansion in gorgeous Secret Garden-like surrounds with no less than six different locations you could choose for your wedding day. Or you could be like us and be in search of your first trip away as new parents and want somewhere awesome and special but also easy – oh…
Category: Luxury Lodges
A 5-Star Eco-Resort In Untouched Malaysian Jungle – Japamala On Tioman Island
I’ve lost count, but I’m pretty certain it’s rained all but three or four days in the past six weeks in Auckland. As the final month of an admittedly mild, but oh-so-wet winter limped to its depressing, soggy end, my mind’s been drifting back to the tropics and my favourite island in the world. Malaysia’s Tioman Island lies…
See Inside The Top Suite At The Chateau Tongariro, + The Stunning Walks Surrounding The Hotel
There aren’t too many countries where you could quite safely and without too much debate name the absolute most famous hotel. Which is not to say there wouldn’t be some serious contenders. Perhaps the Ritz in London, maybe something like the Chateau Marmont in LA and certainly the Raffles in Singapore. But for every Ritz and Chateau Marmont…
Is This NZ’s Prettiest Boutique Hotel? – Our Return To Tauranga’s French Country House
My first visit to Tauranga’s French Country House was as a bachelor who was about to have a eureka moment, the second was a year later for the marriage proposal and the third was another couple of years after that with a baby on the way. Now that’s clearly the short version of the story, but…
Cloudy Bay Celebrate The Opening Of ‘The Shed’ In Central Otago: My NZ Herald Article + Top 60 Central Otago & Fiordland Photos
Forgive me. I’m not sure if there’s any other travel writing trip I’ve taken that’s had me apologising to so many people, so let me start by asking your forgiveness from the get-go! Once you read my NZ Herald article and see the photos below it will make sense – this was a very jealous-making little adventure….
New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island – My Let’s Travel Mag Top 30 Photos From This ‘Last Great Wilderness’
Three times the size of New Zealand’s far more famous Waiheke Island, Great Barrier Island is one of the last great wilderness areas of the country’s upper North Island. At 285-square kilometres (compared to Waiheke’s 92-square kilometres) and with a population of just 1000, Great Barrier is widely thought of as New Zealand as New Zealand used to…
The Farm At Cape Kidnappers – Top 50 Photos
Two years after staying at one of New Zealand’s premier luxury lodges, Kauri Cliffs, for a Herald travel writing assignment, I was pinching myself to be doing it again, though this time at the sister property Cape Kidnappers. With Kauri Cliffs in the Bay Of Islands, Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay and the third lodge…
Staying At A Castle In Matakana – My Top 40 Photos
I was sold pretty much on the name alone: Matakana Castle. Who wouldn’t want to stay in a castle? And given I had a wedding to attend in Matakana (about an hour north of Auckland), the decision was made to turn this into a long weekend. In an upcoming “Room Check” article for the New…
Popping The Question At Tauranga’s French Country House (& getting there in a new Holden Captiva)
After just over a month of having been upgraded from “boyfriend” to “fiancee” by virtue of a lovely lady named Aimee saying “yes” to a certain question I asked, it’s high time I thanked a few folks. For starters, Kay who runs Tauranga’s gorgeous French Country House. This is a luxury boutique hotel that is…
1 Of NZ’s Finest Boutique Hotels – My Top 50 Waipoua Lodge & Kauri Coast Photos
Gazing at Tane Mahuta. Every now and then as a travel writer you stay somewhere that isn’t just fancy, isn’t just in a beautiful setting and doesn’t just have a point of difference. Which isn’t to say that all of the above aren’t enormously good fun and even a prerequisite for a high end hotel….
Hidden, Historic Luxury In The Auckland CBD – Braemar B&B
Braemar Bed & Breakfast, Auckland, NZ. For my girlfriend’s recent birthday I wanted to surprise her with a night somewhere special. Though with “somewhere special” being such a terrific / terrible hospitality cliche, I opted instead for calling my chosen location the much more creative “the secret place”. In the couple of weeks before her…
Mangarara Eco Lodge, Hawke’s Bay: My Top 50 Photos From A Very Different Sort Of Farm
Standing with my head dangerously close to the cow’s buttocks, I’d been assigned the task of attaching the suction cup apparatus to the teats. I hadn’t milked a cow since the 80s and it was oddly satisfying how each cup would so neatly swallow their assigned teat. Equipment attached and with a brief surge of…