Destinations Show in Manchester!

Find Paul, Von and Debbie at Stand AP40 at the Destinations Travel Show in Manchester Event City. Come along with ideas for a trip, or just to find out a little more about our destinations!

Paul hosted a 'Wild New Zealand' talk yesterday, but if you missed it don't worry, he'll be doing another on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm talking all things Falklands called 'Falkland Islands - The New Galapagos'.

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Stockport anymore....

Usually you hear of tornadoes whirling around the US and the Caribbean, ripping up trees and houses and hurling cows around.

But yesterday a tornado apparently 'tore' through Stockport (down the road from us here in Buxton).

A chimney and a few trees were knocked over, and one woman was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises (and not surprisingly shock), but nothing like the kinds of damage and stories you hear from around the world.

We're now just waiting for a hurricane to tear up Buxton.

Paul is boarding up the windows as I type.....

Successful Condé Nast Luxury Travel show

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to see Paul at the New Zealand In Depth stand at the Condé Nast Luxury Travel Show last week.  The four days were very productive, with barely a moment passing where Paul wasn't chatting to visitors interested in their own unique trip to New Zealand.

Thanks to everyone who helped the event run smoothly and result in an enjoyable time at Olympia.

P.S.  The National Hall at Olympia is a great venue and the 'Spirit of Christmas' Fair being on at the same time next door in the Great Hall was an added bonus, no doubt in increasing visitor awareness but also the tasters on offer in the food and drink hall were delicious!

Conde Nast Luxury Travel Fair

Paul and Von are currently down in London at the Olympia National Hall, setting up for the Conde Naste Luxury Travel Fair, which starts tomorrow, and runs until Sunday.

Pop along and have a chat with Paul about any New Zealand holiday plans you might have or be contemplating. There's even a free competition to win some New Zealand fine wines, all you need to do is leave your details!

You'll find Paul at stand A6.....

A kakapo and conservation story to inspire us all

Just read this kakapo story about a 13 year old girl in Los Angeles who has never been to New Zealand but already seems to understand what conservation is all about.

Let's be honest, with so few kakapo left and with its natural habitat seriously compromised throughout New Zealand, in the grand scheme of things the survival of the species, or any species really, is neither here nor there. Doesn't matter, it is about principle and conservation is simply the right thing to do.

It all comes down to money and will again. Natalie's donation is but a drop in the ocean but the will is there and even if she'd only received and given $100 the principle would be the same. Imagine if the people with the real money took inspiration from her and got the will as well.

Hmm, my daughter Maddie was 11 last week and I think it is time for a chat about what she should be doing with her birthday money...

Zealandia correction and tuatara surgery

Richard Fewtrell has emailed me this gentle and modest rebuke in response to my post of 13 June:

"That's very kind of you to talk about me in your blog. I can't take too much credit though; I'm very passionate about this place and our natural environment but the real stars here are our volunteers and conservation staff who spend hours upon hours working in the valley helping us realise our 500 year vision."

And it is some vision. The tuatara, one of New Zealand's unique and very rare reptiles, is part of that vision and extraordinary steps are taken to protect and nurture them as you can see in this story about one of Zealandia's babies.

Action in the Catlins

Our good friends Fergus and Mary Sutherland from the Catlins region of New Zealand have been environmental champions for decades now - sorry if that makes you feel old F&M!!

Many of our clients have enjoyed their company and friendship over the last 7 years and have been inspired by their vision for the conservation of wildlife and nature everywhere and in the Catlins in particular.

We are very proud to support them and have helped with a few conservation projects, most recently the Chaslands Tussock Restoration project. The picture of the information panel below explains the project and there is also a little YouTube video.

The panel now needs to be made and erected and a very generous donation of £100 from our clients and former guests of Fergus and Mary, Lew and Chris Robinson from Nantwich in Cheshire, was perfectly timed and will help to get this done. Thank you Lew and Chris!

Little people and big people

Following on from my last post, Richard Fewtrell at Zealandia has sent me a pair of stories which both illustrate the challenges that face conservation but also celebrate the fact that some are fighting the good fight:

"I think we have a big job on our hands! The day I got back home there was a story on the news about Waituna Lagoon in Southland. It's one of our most precious wetlands remaining but it's under massive threat from dairy farming run off.

More info about the area is here.

It was very depressing.

However there are some glimmers of hope. Just last week in the Dominion Post there was an article about a dairy farming couple in Eketahuna who are being praised for their commitment to sustainable farming.

If only more farmers were like them..."

Making a difference - Zealandia

Our good friend Richard Fewtrell is an eco warrior and a man that we truly admire. There are too few of him, people who see the bigger picture and devote themselves to making a difference, but at least there are a few.

Richard is part of Zealandia in Wellington, a conservation project which aims to restore a little piece of New Zealand to its pre-human state. It is a big job but Zealandia proves that it can be done and if we all take a little share of the responsibility then we can achieve so much more.

I firmly believe that conservation is more about will than money. There is a hell of a lot of cash out there and if we are able to make more people understand why conservation is so important then maybe we will start to see a shift in spending and lifestyle priorities.

At the moment it is all about the "little people" doing their best but if there are enough of them doing it then eventually the "big people" will need to wake up and listen.

And I did try Skycouch in the end...

...which is a very clever idea as you can see - Air New Zealand Skycouch.

I had all three seats to myself between LA and Auckland and it was really quite comfortable. You can't stretch out unless you are about 5ft nothing but I managed to curl up and get a bit of sleep although this was hard as I was continually tormented by the recent memories of my London to LA flight in Business Premier. For a couple travelling together who can't or won't justify the extra cost of Premium Economy or BP, the Skycouch is a great option.

Even without Skycouch, the new Economy on the 777-300 is superb and a huge improvement on the 777-200, so much so that I would now recommend travelling through LAX rather than HK and taking the transit hassle on the chin. The 777-200 seats are seriously short of cushioning and I've always had to ask for extra pillows to sit on but the 300 seats are perfect. Add to this a high quality 10.6" wide format touchscreen TV, power for phones and laptops and some handy storage nooks and crannies and I would say you can't do better in Economy Class with anyone.

I really must complain about the LAX transit lounge...

This is not what I expected at all from previous agonising experiences and I humbly accept that I will need to retract some of a historical post about the transit procedure for passengers transiting through to Auckland.

True, the flight was fairly quiet so the queue didn’t stretch all the way to Anaheim but the friendly greeting, smiles and witty banter I enjoyed with the lovely customs officer Flores was quite unexpected.

The lounge itself is still rubbish and the fact that we need to be contained at all and that I needed to pay $14 to apply for authorisation to be here for 2 hours continues to be baffling but common sense does appear to have started to prevail. Good job it was only 2 hours though given the slightly disturbing sign that was prominently displayed there.

Didn't try the SkyCouch in the end...

...as I was shown Business Premier instead!

I'm writing this in transit at LAX (more to follow) and have to report a fantastic experience with Air New Zealand on the new 777-300. Great crew providing typically friendly and familiar Kiwi service with real style, superb food with lots of choice, beautiful wines (with a couple of fabulous dessert wines) and very comfy lie-flat beds. I even got my head down for a couple of hours.

When things quietened down after the meal service, I had a good chat with various members of the crew and then spent a couple of hours sitting in Premium Economy which is also very impressive. They have the same wine selection but a more limited food choice that is tray served rather than the plated silver service in Business Premier but the quality is still very good.

The seating is very comfortable and the offset seat positions in the 2-2-2 configuration allow for either privacy at the sides of the cabin or an ideal layout for couples in the centre if needed. The only issue is the legroom which is a little less generous than I'd expected but I hear a rumour that Air NZ plan to remove a row of seats later this year and spread everything out.

All this said though, the best part of the 777-300 has to be the business class toilet - first time I’ve ever seen a window in an aeroplane lavatory, a proper room with a view:

Dunedin bound

At LHR and about to climb aboard NZ1 for LAX and AKL. Apparently I'm going to get the chance to try the new Air New Zealand economy class SkyCouch which does look pretty cool. More to come...

Paul's visit to the Falkland Islands

In October last year Paul spent 2 weeks in the Falkland Islands, exploring as many of the islands as he could in that time and he was absolutely smitten. Here are just a few more of his photos....

I'll pester him to add a few words here about the trip soon too...watch this space....