Season 1: Recent Episodes
Kiwitripsters
Mike and Chris discuss why Wairarapa sets the stage for such a great short and sweet road-trip, starting in Featherston, where fromage fans flock to C’est Cheese. From there, it’s a short 20 minute hop to the patchwork of vineyards encircling Martinborough, where the pinot noir is calling!
Greytown’s perennial appeal. Mike and Chris take a stroll through drop-dead gorgeous Greytown - the only New Zealand town with a fully complete main street of original Victorian buildings. And their arsenal of artisans, boutiques and creative types is second to none. We stake out the top stops, whether you’re a style-hunter, sweet-tooth or follower of winning hospitality.
The South Wairarapa coastline. Mike and Chris showcase some of the greatest scenic experiences on a Wairarapa road-trip, head-lined by the savage, raw-edged beauty of Cape Palliser, which is the southernmost tip of the North Island. The land and sea come to serious blows here, when a gnarly storm barrels in from the Southern Ocean. Plus we highlight Ngawi and the Putangirua Pinnacles.
As the debate and the wait continues about opening up air bridges or travel bubbles with our Covid-free neighbours, Tasmania is a top contender, along with South Australia, when it comes to Aussie states, given its strong health status. Mike and Chris provide an overview of Tassie’s highlights reel of experiences.
Mike and Chris discuss the Waitaki Whitestone aspiring Geopark. The Waitaki District could soon be showered with stardust, with its pending designation as a Global Geopark by UNESCO. As Australasia’s first Geopark, it threads together the spell-binding natural landforms, abundant fossil finds and rich cultural history of the Waitaki Valley, which was under sea when Zealandia drifted away from Gondwana. We talk about the main sights and spectacles.
Enjoy a rich visit to Oamaru, where the inter-linking strands that weave the Waitaki geopark story together, become very self-evident. Bridging the past with the present, marvel over the glittering collection of neo-classical limestone buildings that anchor the town’s Victorian Precinct. Ancient penguin bones keep being found in the limestone, powerfully connecting with Oamaru’s magnificent colony of little blue penguins, on the foreshore. Mike and Chris discuss.
Canada maybe off-limits for now, but let’s indulge in some armchair bucket-list travel to British Colombia. Running from Vancouver to Whistler, Mike loves the Sea to Sky Highway, particularly since it was upgraded for the Winter Olympics. We highlight the key stops and experiences.
Capital Calling. Wellington brims with options for a great weekend getaway. It’s the condensed, high-density, cheek-by-jowl nature of Wellington’s compact layout that underpins the city’s alluring vitality. Mike and Chris roll-out some must-dos, from dining in the Beehive, staking the city’s best gin, eBike touring around the city and ogling Kiwis on the loose at Zealandia.
Raising the profile of marvellous Masterton, Wairarapa’s main town. It's a family favourite for those in the know. We prise open Masterton’s finest attributes from the incredible pursuits including Queen Elizabeth Park and Pukaha Wildlife Centre.
Hot on the heels of Chris Lynch’s swing through the Mackenzie, Mike is fresh back from a romp through Tekapo, Twizel and Aoraki/Mt Cook. Mike and Chris compare notes and highlight the best experiences, as the regional tourism scene stirs back into life.
Dreaming about exotic international destinations? Wendy Wu Tours has cultivated a solid reputation for its all-inclusive tours across Asia and also South America. Managing Director of Wendy Wu Tours in New Zealand, Paul Dymond, joins Mike to talk about the international travel outlook.
Mike and Chris indulge in some armchair travel to the bucket-list destination of Finland. Mike took his first foray to Helsinki exactly 12 months ago and was swept up by the city’s striking architecture, its harmony with nature, the astonishing foodie scene and of course – the sauna!
As winter bites, one of our most popular South Pacific holiday destinations, the Cook Islands is also covid-free. The clamour is growing for a Trans-Pacific bubble – not just a Trans-Tasman bubble. Mike and Chris take the opportunity to breeze through the beauty and visitor delights of Rarotonga, which hopefully will be in easy reach once again, soon.
The South Island’s finest historic pubs - hospitality charmers that are guaranteed to charm your pants off. The West Coast’s star specimens include the Theatre Royal Hotel in Kumara, while further south, The Vulcan Hotel, the Cardrona Hotel and Dansey’s Pass Coach Inn add a flavorful nugget, a great inflexion-point, to a great Kiwi mini-break or road-trip.
We can still only dream about exotic international destinations. World Journeys is a privately owned New Zealand travel company that specialises in curating highly personalised travel experiences in a vast array of exotic destinations, from the Serengeti to the Galapagos islands. World Journeys Director, Chris Lyons, talks to Mike about the international outlook and his personal picks to add to your bucket-list.
Mike and Chris indulge in some bucket-list travel dreaming, with a quick sweep through the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Most Kiwis end up in Budapest as part of a Danube river cruise but this glittering capital city is well worth an extended stay, beyond just a cursory river cruise stop.
Mike and Chris start with a look through some of the North Island’s finest historic pubs. Roadside inns that have been part of the landscape since our earliest days as a nation – that you can the stay the night in. North Island specimens include The Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell and the Art Deco Masonic Hotel in Napier.
The South Island’s finest historic pubs - hospitality charmers that are guaranteed to charm your pants off. The West Coast’s star specimens include the Theatre Royal Hotel in Kumara, while further south, The Vulcan Hotel, the Cardrona Hotel and Dansey’s Pass Coach Inn add a flavourful nugget, a great inflexion-point, to a great Kiwi mini-break or road-trip.
As domestic travel stirs into life across New Zealand, we can still only dream about international travel. So how are the big travel operators navigating their way through the Covid pandemic? The Travel Corporation represents some of the world’s biggest travel brands including Insight Vacations, Trafalgar Tours, Uniworld Waterways, AAT Kings and Contiki. Travel Corporation’s New Zealand General Manager, Scott Cleaver, joins Kiwi Tripsters to talk about the challenges facing the industry and some new tailor made product offerings for Kiwis.
Mike and Chris indulge in some bucket-list travel dreaming, driving Route 66 through Illinois. From Chicago to St. Louis, it’s the first section of America’s Mother Road and Mike reckons it’s one of the best, capturing the essence of retro Americana, which is what Route Sixty Six embodies. Highlights include Gemini Giant, the Cozy Dog Drive-In and the radiant retro-bling town of Pontiac.
As domestic tourism reawakens, Kiwi Tripsters turns on the spotlight on the mighty Clutha River. Running from Lake Wanaka through Central Otago, it finally spills into the Pacific Ocean, on the South Otago coast. Its swift and swirling emerald green waters are vividly intense. The river’s trail encompasses a swag of evocative tourist gems, from the treasure-chest of Clyde to the lesser-known jewels like Roxburgh. Mike and Chris highlight the Clutha’s multitude of attractions.
A winning road-trip on the South Island’s West Coast must include the plethora of sights and experiences clustered around Hokitika. A short and sweet driving circuit encompasses the Tree Top Walk, the splendour of Hokitika Gorge, Lake Kaniere and the lusty waterworks of Dorothy Falls. Mike and Chris both love Hokitika, a creative hot-spot, famed for its driftwood beach sculptures and knock-out sunsets.
Across Europe, many blue-ribbon destinations tout their museums as their most cherished landmarks and must-see attractions. And of course, most of them remain shut, thanks to Covid. Fear not, we are here to help, with a grab-bag of some of the best virtual museum visits across Europe, from the majesty of the British Museum to the poignant stroll-through-life at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. We highlight some superb virtual tours on offer.
Finally on this episode, let’s indulge in some bucket-list travel dreaming of South Africa, and Cape Town in particular, with an eye on wine. Hello Cape Winelands! Just an hour’s drive from Cape Town, the sprawling townships of Cape Flats gives way to the Cape Winelands region, where serrated mountains rise up from rolling valleys, studded in Cape Dutch architecture. Scenically, it is stupendous, matched only by the splendour of the pinotage.
The Best travel movies to fire up the travel bug. Movies have the power to inspire and transport—to spirit you away on a European grand tour, to hills that still seem alive around Salzburg, or to ogle wildlife on your own Out of Africa adventure. Great travel movies are the ones that evoke the magic of the journey or the destination, the wondrous scenery, the sense of place, the escapism of travel and its life-changing rewards. The list of worthy contenders is inexhaustible, but we highlight some sure-fire favourites to add to your Netflix queue.
The Golden Pass Line. If you’re busy planning and dreaming about some bucket-list travel experiences, Mike is a trainspotter from way back. And we are going to profile some bucket-list rail experiences over the next month or two. On this episode, we start with Switzerland’s Golden Pass Line, which runs between Montreux and Luzern with hop on-hop off options galore.
Virtual touring National Parks across the Americas. Many of us are itching to stretch the legs in the great outdoors, beyond our own neighbourhoods. In that spirit, join us for a virtual roam through some of North and South America’s finest national parks. From Utah’s starry-eyed offerings to the wonders of Iguazu Falls National Park in South America, we criss-cross the Americas. Read the companion article with all of the website links at https://fortheloveoftravel.net.nz
Virtual Australia. Are you suffering from Australia withdrawal? It’s such a handy holiday playground for Kiwis, but until the border reopens, Mike and Chris discuss some fabulous virtual offerings of Australian culture and creatures. Check out the companion article with all of the website links at https://fortheloveoftravel.net.nz
Kiwi Tripsters is showcasing bucket-list travel experiences, ultimate adventures and travel dreams that top your wish list. We started in the last episode talking about Mike’s adventures at Gallipoli Peninsula, making the pilgrimage for ANZAC day. First up on this edition, we discuss the magic and mystique of Wadi Rum in the Jordan desert.
Bucket List Travel: Iguazu Falls. Despite all the hype about these waterfalls, Mike was pleasantly surprised that they live up to their billing as one of the new seven wonders of the world. From above, it as though a giant fist has pulverised the plateau, shattering the earth’s crust and creating a deep chasm where the river plunges over the cliffs. It is a ridiculously humungous natural spectacle, accurately described as Niagra on Viagra!
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep our wings clipped, we check in with one of New Zealand’s travel trade leaders, Robyn Galloway, who has been Managing Director of the Innovative Travel Company for 30 years. Operating a vast array of tours, with a particular focus on Ancient Kingdoms like Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, how is the travel industry withstanding the turmoil? How will this change the travel landscape? And how difficult has it been to repatriate Kiwis back home from far-flung places?
Virtual Travel. We showcase the very best virtual tours of the world’s greatest palaces. From the Papal Place to Buckingham Place, Windsor Castle to Versailles, Schonnbrunn to Peterhof, we’ve got the inside word on the very best virtual palace tours. For full details, take a look at our supporting travel article at www.fortheloveoftravel.net.nz
Bucket-list Travel. Our wanderlust has been constrained by the Covid-19 crisis and the inability to free roam. But there’s no reason to suspend your armchair adventures and your bucket list travel dreams. Now’s a great time to keep the spirit of travel alive by plotting and planning your ultimate bucket-list adventures. For Mike Yardley, observing ANZAC Day at Gallipoli is a major bucket-lister.
Mike and Chris discuss the bucket-list destination of Gallipoli Peninsula. The sheer size of what we loosely call ‘‘Gallipoli’’ surprises newcomers to the peninsula. It’s 80 km long, very undulating and mountainous, with incredibly steep valleys. We discuss the power of the Dawn Service, the main memorial sites and the Turkish hospitality. Let’s hope 2021 will see a resumption of ANZAC day commemorations.
To help you deal with the Covid-induced cabin fever, Kiwi Tripsters is going bid on virtual tourism. Virtual vacations! One of the epi-centres of the Covid crisis is New York, which is certainly no stranger to modern day struggles. We look at how you can virtually tour iconic sights like the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Met, MOMA and the Guggenheim.
Virtual Tourism across the United States. Beyond museums, Mike and Chris showcase a range of family-friendly banner attractions across the USA, which have ramped up their virtual tour offering. NASA has loaded up its website with a stack of eye-candy experiences. nasa.gov Also, you can try some "augmented reality experiences" via The Space Center Houston's app. spacecenter.org/app/ Meanwhile, take a “trip” to Walt Disney World. Virtual tours you can take include Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot, just to name a few. https://lol.disney.com/virtual-worlds.
The allure of Aitutaki. Just a forty five minute flight away from Rarotonga, the spectacle of final approach to Aitutaki is beyond words. Even the most worked up hype can’t do justice to the tropical glory that emerges out of the ocean. A triangular-shaped reef cradles the atoll with all its miniature islands or motus, bathed in every shade of blue water imaginable. It is one flight where you really want to score a window seat.
Safari in Kalahari. In South Africa’s Northern Cape, butting up against Botswana, the wild Kalahari is brilliantly remote and very unpeopled. The topography is quite diverse, with the craggy splendour of the Koranneburg Mountains, blood-red desert, lush valley forests and sweeping savannah grasslands. It’s also home to Tswalu Wildlife Reserve, a remarkable labour of love for the wealthy Oppenheimer mining family, gallantly achieving some epic conservation triumphs. Mike Yardley paid a visit and was spell-bound.
On the trail of Van Gogh in Arles. Vincent has a lot to answer for. Arles bulges with post-impressionist junkies, staking out immortal sites linked to the artist, like the hospital courtyard he painted, while being a resident patient after lobbing off his ear. Beyond the Van Gogh legacy, Ancient Rome still resonates on the streets of Arles, headlined by their spectacular arena.
San Diego Sparkle. The transformation of the waterfront district has been heroic. It’s the new and shiny part of town, with edgy statement architecture and all very pedestrian centric. The promenades are abuzz with hoverboards and e-scooters, backdropped by the perennial crowd-pleaser, the USS Midway. Next door is the Maritime Museum and Mike Yardley was transfixed by a potent piece of New Zealand immigration history. The Star of India. Tens of thousands of our ancestors journeyed to New Zealand on this ship. It’s the oldest active iron sailing ship in the world - and it’s in mint condition. Mike unwraps his best urban discoveries from San Diego.