Two Markets in Rotorua, Aotearoa New Zealand
When Captain Cook discovered the lush pocket of country that stretches back from the east coast and wraps around Rotorua, about halfway down the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand...
View ArticleLovely Lake Rotorua
The lake! As a child returning from holidays it was my first glimpse of home. Later, leaving for supposedly greener pastures, it was my last. Still, now when I think...
View ArticleRotorua adventures
To many, Rotorua is a thermal wonderland, a mecca of Maori culture and the heart of the lakes district. To others it is an amazing adventure playground. No matter which...
View ArticleBush Magic; the Strathbogie Ranges
I must confess I probably wouldn't have gone to the Strathbogie Ranges, if I hadn't been conscripted to a school camp. Once I'd adjusted to the idea of five days...
View ArticleThe Cafe Edison, New York City
Breakfast was not included in my deal at the W Hotel in Times Square. If it had been, I would never have discovered the Cafe Edison. To have missed this...
View ArticleFifty Shades of Paradise at the Uprising Beach resort, Fiji
I'm at the Uprising Beach Resort, about one hour out of Suva, on the Coral Coast, at the southern end of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. It's paradise...
View ArticleLa Bella Ferrara, Little Italy, New York
Dinner, on Mulberry Street in New York's Little Italy was very good, very good indeed, in fact, but it was totally eclipsed by dessert at La Bella Ferrara, just a...
View ArticleBen E King's New York Birthday Bash
On my second day in the Big Apple, I was reclining on a cloud-like chaise longue, beside the window in my room at The W Hotel in Times Square, recovering...
View ArticleBula Magic; Traditional Fijian Massage
A winter shackled to the laptop and the TV, a long plane flight, followed by a flurry of unaccustomed activity in the first day or two at a holiday destination...
View ArticleAnother Throw of the Dice - Another Country
Aotearoa New Zealand's modest little capital is a hot topic in the travel pages at present. "Edgy", "funky", "a creative hub" set in "pristine" bush covered hills with "stunning vistas...
View ArticleThe colours of holidays
According to a French article I read recently, tourism can be distinguished by colour. Green Tourism, or rural, country or agri-tourism, is motivated by the quest for nature and tranquillity...
View ArticleHamilton Island
The plane tilts and slants through the clouds. Suddenly, there below, is an expanse of sunlit sea, a crowded launch trailed by long threads of wake, a yacht in full...
View Articlequalia, Hamilton Island, Part 1
Hamilton Island's qualia, which modestly (or is it defiantly?) eschews the initial capital, is queen of Australia's luxury retreats. It was here that Oprah Winfrey and her inner sanctum took...
View Articlequalia, Hamilton Island, Part 1
Hamilton Island's qualia, which modestly (or is it defiantly?) eschews the initial capital, is queen of Australia's luxury retreats. It was here that Oprah Winfrey and her inner sanctum took...
View Articlequalia, Hamilton Island, Part 2
It would be easy to stay in our qualia pavilion forever, living on the complementary champagne, the Phillppa's fine bagel crisps and garlic nuts, the mini-bar chocolates, the pretty little...
View Articlequalia Hamilton Island, Part 3
They've thought of everything and everyone at Hamilton Island's qualia resort, even gym junkies like me who might struggle to forgo their daily fix of physical torture. (Although strain, sweat...
View Articlequalia, Hamilton Island, Part 4
Qualia dawns are signalled by bird song and the whisper of the breeze in the trees. Top of the list of daily activities left on my bedside table last night...
View Articlequalia, Hamilton Island, Part 5
It's the second and last day of our qualia weekend. After breakfast in the Long Pavilion, we sit dithering over the lengthy list of daily activities which was left on...
View Articlequalia, Part 6; Spas
Spa qualia sits at the heart of the resort. Like all qualia buildings, it is designed to draw the outside in and awaken the sensory imagination. Soft salt breezes waft...
View ArticleFarewell to qualia
We're leaving qualia. We've taken a final dip in the infinity pool, taken in the views from our verandah for the last time and said goodbye to our pavilion. The...
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