Location: On the corner of Karangahape Rd and Symonds Street on the fringe of the Auckland CBD, overlooking the historic Symonds Street Cemetery and the forested slopes of Grafton Gully. What’s new at the Cordis? An entire 17-storey tower, that’s what! The just opened, 244 room Pinnacle Tower now sees the Cordis with a whopping…
Tag: Travel
A Luxury, Historic Villa High Above The Dunedin CBD – Airbnb Review
I love Dunedin, but I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t always know this was the case. As I wrote in the New Zealand Herald back in July last year, my apology to the “Edinburgh Of The South” was a long time coming, owing to the fact I’ve been a regular visitor ever since my parents…
The Carolinas Come To The Coromandel – The Barn At Lonely Bay, Cooks Beach
I thought I knew Coromandel. I’ve certainly been there enough times and for good reason too: if you’re a North Islander and summer is your season, then Coromandel will have never not been on your radar. When the warmer months roll around, either you’re going to Coromandel or someone you know or are related to,…
The Outrageous Views & Suites Of Auckland’s New Park Hyatt
Location: Some of the best real estate in all of Auckland, right on the water at Wynyard Quarter on the site of the former Team New Zealand base, overlooking the ever-grown-up skyline of New Zealand’s largest city. How many rooms? 195 guest rooms across seven-storeys, including six spectacular suites. How spectacular are those suites? Well,…
Why The Hotel Britomart Is Auckland’s Most New York Hotel
I never thought an Auckland balcony could remind me of the time I stayed on the 22nd floor of a hotel overlooking Madison Square Garden in New York, but then again, I never counted on The Hotel Britomart. New Zealand’s first ‘5 Green Star’ certified hotel is simultaneously the most Manhattan-recalling property in Auckland, as…
A Rainforest Retreat & A Historic Firestation – 2 Unforgettable West Coast Hotels
When it comes to Covid and tourism, there are two stats I’m certain I’ll never forget: The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island – a densely forested, sparsely populated, mountainous slice of world-beating scenery – has seen a whopping 16-percent of all businesses close since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic. 16-percent. That’s…
Stewart Island’s Unique, Boutique, Must-Visit Eco-Lodge
Stewart Island surprised me in so many ways. New Zealand’s third largest land mass may be two-thirds of the way to Antartica, but as I recently wrote in the New Zealand Herald, “forget notions this is some barren, unforgiving land”. Anything but. You realise this before you’ve even landed, provided you’ve been looking out the…
The Ultimate Bay Of Plenty Beachside Escape – The 5-Star, Barn-Style Luxury Of Paradise Beach
There are some places you really like but you don’t really have any real inclination to go back to. And then there are places like Paradise Beach in Papamoa. But twice in eight months? Even that felt too long between stays because after our first Paradise Beach experience back in March 2020, my wife and…
The 1st Anniversary Of The Whakaari / White Island Eruption – 12 Haunting Aerial Photos Of The Island
Today marks the first anniversary of New Zealand’s Whakaari / White Island eruption that killed 22 people and injured a further 25. Though merely saying “injured” doesn’t accurately describe the horrors both physical and emotional that those who lived had to endure that day and in the 52 weeks that have followed. I was recently…
Is This The Most Beautiful Place In New Zealand? My Top 40 Fiordland Photos + My Latest NZ Herald Article
A couple of weeks ago the New Zealand Herald published an article of mine about Milford Sound in Fiordland – a place so naturally beautiful that none other than Mr Jungle Book himself, literary giant Rudyard Kipling, once described it as the 8th wonder of the world. And I wasn’t about to argue with Rudyard….
The Best Of Sri Lanka In Just 8 Days – From Beaches & National Parks, To Luxury Hotels & Historic Sites
10,000-kilometres from home (10,851 to be exact) and there I was, playing cricket by the sea with a bunch of locals and in that moment, life couldn’t have been much better. In a Sri Lankan holiday that included everything from seeing elephants in the wild to cycling through tea plantations to exploring ancient cave temples,…
In Search Of Giants – Wild Adventures In The Jungles Of The Solomon Islands
Legends and myths thrive in the Solomon Islands, but perhaps none so captivating as the stories of giants who live deep within the jungles of Guadalcanal. So the rumours tell, a race of giants as tall as 10-15ft inhabit the mountainous forests of the island’s interior, only occasionally leaving their homes by the cover of…