New Zealand Travel Guide
7/01/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Winter Travel, Festivals, New Zealand Travel (all tags)
Down in New Zealand the Queenstown Winter Festival is on again, with ten days of craziness to mark the start of the winter ski season in the southern hemisphere.
Our favorite part of the festival is Mountain Mayhem day on Saturday. All kinds of weird stuff happens here, including the Dash for Cash which involves a ski race and an obstacle course in pursuit of a $500 prize.
But the best part of the day is the Suitcase Race, in which contestants toboggan down the mountain on suitcases. The rules say you should bring your own suitcase, although they apparently do have a few spares if, say, you're traveling with a lightweight backpack that might not make it down the mountain.
Related Stories:
· Queenstown Winter Festival [Official Site]
· Mountain Mayhem as Queenstown Gets Piste [news.com.au]
· Good News for Lovers of Winter [Jaunted]
[Photo: Str1ke]
by amandak
6/09/2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: Air New Zealand, Carbon Offsets, Green Travel, Biofuels (all tags)
Air New Zealand is getting so green it's gonna blend right in with the trees soon. Enabling domestic passengers to buy carbon credits is old news now, and that program's been extended to international guests now, too. The surcharge you pay gets directed into projects like the Tararua wind farm on New Zealand's north island.
Beyond carbon credits, Air NZ has been carefully optimizing things like speed and weight with the goal of reducing their carbon emissions by 100,000 tons in five years--and they're doing so well they're ahead of schedule.
And now they plan to become the first airline in the world to test a biofuel made from the nut of an Indian plant, called jatropha. They'll test it later this year and already plan to be using it on 50 percent of domestic flights by 2013. Soon the carrier will have to paint all their aircraft green.
Related Stories:
· Air NZ Extends Carbon Offset Program [Business Traveller]
· Air New Zealand Turns Green [Jaunted]
· Carbon Offsets coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: PhillipC]
by amandak
5/06/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: New Zealand Travel, Lists (all tags)
TripAdvisor has unveiled its 2008 Travelers' Choice top destination lists--but only for those prepared to give away their email address to download the list. We've done it so you don't have to, and the big gossip is that New Zealand is still a hot destination.
Just how popular is New Zealand? On the list of the Top 100 Destinations in the World, it's taken not only #1 position with Milford Sound, but also #2 with Queenstown. It gets another few nods with #37 Auckland, #46 Wanaka and #48 Christchurch so we clearly should all be hopping on the next possible Air New Zealand flight. Maybe one day New Zealand will have more tourists than sheep.
Related Stories:
· Kiwis Come Out Tops [Expedia Blog]
· New Zealand Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Hotels [HC]
[Photo: vtveen]
by amandak
4/18/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: New Zealand Travel, Travel Safety (all tags)
Our usual mentions of the New Zealand city of Christchurch are about half-naked women riding motorbikes through the streets. Since that sounds somehow inviting, at least for male travelers, we're a little distressed to hear the latest news of out of Christchurch: Tourists with accents sometimes get picked on.
Last weekend, a group of Danish and English tourists got more than heckled--a bunch of local men beat them up, after teasing them by saying "They speak funny, they sound funny." Given how amusing the New Zealand accent itself sounds, it's a real pot calling the kettle black situation here, but tell that to the poor tourists who ended up in hospital.
In the otherwise peaceful town of Christchurch, it was definitely a surprise event, and the locals are definitely worried that their reputation as a safe place to travel is getting tarnished. If it gets worse we'll all need to learn Kiwi English before our next trip.
Related Stories:
· Tourists' Alleged Attackers Bailed [stuff.co.nz]
· Mixed Reviews on Bike Boobs [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Travel Stories [Jaunted]
[Photo: superciliousness]
by amandak
4/17/2008 at 9:45 AM
Tags: Air New Zealand, Airlines, Concierges (all tags)
We put out the call when Air New Zealand was looking for nerds. You'll remember the carrier was recruiting knowledge junkies to be "onboard concierges" to dazzle passengers with facts and figures--and enticing tourism ideas--about New Zealand. Weird, but in a nice way.
Turns out they got over 500 good applicants and have now whittled that down to 40 successful candidates. They're being trained now and will be hanging around on flights from May.
As well as chatting to passengers about what to do in New Zealand--the airline estimates that should take up 60 to 70 percent of their time--the on-board concierges will also perform duties like helping people with air miles questions, onward flight confusions and big decisions like which wine to choose for their meal. Still, we're not fully sold on the concierge idea yet: Could it be just another person to bug us while we're trying to get some sleep?
Related Stories:
· Higher Help [Business Traveller]
· Air New Zealand Looking for Nerds [Jaunted]
· Air New Zealand coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Wake Me When Its Over]
by amandak
4/03/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Air New Zealand, Carbon Offsets, Environment, Green Travel (all tags)
The national carrier of Kiwi-land, Air New Zealand, has a few quirks that we like: patriotic playlists and competitions where they encourage politicians to pole dance.
But the latest Air NZ news is not quirky, but very green--and we like that too. Since last Thursday, Air New Zealand passengers have been able to buy carbon credits to offset the environmentally unfriendly effects of their journey.
Unfortunately the carbon offsets are only available to domestic passengers at the moment, but later this year will be rolled out for international passengers too. As an example, the offset for an Auckland to Los Angeles flight would cost around $70, in order to make up for the 2.9 tons of CO2 your share of the flight emits. Discounts available if you exhale less, of course.
Related Stories:
· Air New Zealand Offers Carbon Offsets [MSNBC]
· Air New Zealand Coverage [Jaunted]
· Green Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: PhillipC]
by amandak
3/13/2008 at 11:00 AM
Tags: Moko, Active Travel, New Zealand Travel, Google Maps, Animals (all tags)
A couple days ago, two pygmy sperm whales got stuck on a sandbar in New Zealand, sadly a common occurrence in the shallow waters off the Mahia Peninsula. As conservation workers struggled to help the animals, Moko, a dolphin that's frequently spotted in the area, swam up and guided the whales back out to sea. It was a real Flipper moment.
While animals do all the life saving around Mahia, humans do plenty of surfing. The water's not too toasty, but with a wetsuit, you'll be comfortable. Off the beach, the Mahia Peninsula Scenic Reserve has a two-mile hiking trail that offers scenic views of the coastline.
The area is in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand, which is famous for its wines. Dozens of vineyards welcome guests for tastings, and many of the spots also have restaurants where you can do lunch and toast to friendly dolphins.
Related Stories:
· Dolphin Appears to Guide Whales to Sea [AP, via Google]
· Mahia Peninsula Scenic Reserve [Official Site]
· Hawke's Bay Tourism [Official Site]
by pbb
3/11/2008 at 4:00 PM
Tags: WLG, New Zealand Travel, Airports, The Rock at WLG, Free WiFi, Airport WiFi (all tags)
Though Heathrow's T5 and Beijing's T3 are getting all the press, there's another world capital that's getting an airport update. Wellington has unveiled its new international terminal, called The Rock. It should be finished by the end of 2009.
The first stage of the project wrapped at the end of 2007, adding security and customs lanes, shopping and jet bridge improvements for international flights. The second half of the work will add more departure lounge seating, more bathrooms and a couple more international gates.
Of course airport officials hope the building's design will make it a destination:
The airport's South Coast location is represented by the inside aesthetics and outside shell of the building. Colored fragments of glass in the roof fissure let in a warm, natural light by day and backlighting at night creates a glow which will be seen from the air.
We shouldn't even need to mention it'll all be environmentally sound and heavy on green design elements. And, hey, it'll have free WiFi!
Related Stories:
· New Zealand's Capital Becoming Hip [Jaunted]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: WLG [Jaunted]
· Airports coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
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