Cruise the South Indian Ocean in 2012
Heritage Expeditions
Ten years since their last expedition to the islands of the South Indian Ocean, New Zealand based cruise company, Heritage Expeditions, has organised a return to this remote location.
Archive for 'New Zealand'
Dinosaur spotted in Wellington
The tuatara lizard is endemic to New Zeland.
Well, not a Tyrannosaurus rex of course, but it does date back 200 million years – the tiny tuatara lizard. What makes this sighting so unusal is that is is only the second time in more than 200 years that one has been spotted on the mainland, the first one being back in 2008.
Often referred to as a “living fossil’” the tuatara is endemic to New Zealand and the only place on the mainland where it exists is in Zealandia, a purpose build sanctuary in the capital Wellington.
Tuatara fact: The name “tuatara” derives from the Māori language, and means “peaks on the back”.
Air New Zealand offers beds in economy
Air New Zealand is now offering beds in economy class
With a flight to New Zealand taking almost a day, the report that Air New Zealand will be implementing beds into their economy class cabins will come as welcome news to the airline’s passengers.
From April passengers will be able to buy the seats, which work by foot rests rising to the level of three adjacent seats. Passengers will be required to purchase all three seats but the middle seat will be charged at approximately half the price of the standard economy fare.
As an airline that we use regularly here at Audley I’m sure our clients will be pleased to hear about the new beds which will take up the first 11 rows Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777-300 planes, as will our specialists, who often use the airline to visit New Zealand on familiarisation trips!
‘Last Chance to See’ on BBC2
'Last Chance to See' on BBC2
Have you been watching the BBC’s news series ‘Last Chance to See’ which began on 6th September? Presented by Stephen Fry, the programme is a remake of a radio series from 1985 and book of the same name, released in 1990 as a companion to the radio series.
Client seminars begin again with ‘Wildlife, Walks & Wine’
Grapes in the Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand.
The summer season of client seminars kicked off on Friday 12th June with a presentation by some of Audley’s Australasia specialists. ‘Wildlife, Walking and Wines’ covered both Australia and New Zealand and was attended by 18 Audley clients.
New Zealand seminar at Audley
Arthur's Pass, New Zealand
On friday I attended the ‘Seasons of New Zealand’ client seminar which was presented by members of the New Zealand team here at Audley. The seminar aimed to show New Zealand as a year-round destination by highlighting just a few of the attractions available throughout the various seasons.
It is generally considered that the best to visit New Zealand is during their summer (December to February), however, as I, and 20 other people discovered there are some real benefits to visiting during spring, autumn and winter, a few of which I have detailed below:
Audley supports New Zealand Sealion Trust
The New Zealand Sea Lion (formerly known as Hooker’s Sea Lion) has only recently returned to breed on the mainland after an absence of 200 years.
The New Zealand Sea Lion Trust was formed to support research on, and public education about, this native treasure that has chosen to return to New Zealand’s mainland shores.
The charity has just completed a schools’ education programme in association with the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at Otago University, and is hoping to have a sea lion education road show in 2009.
In the meantime research into the movement, foraging behaviour and diet of these unique, charismatic marine mammals continues. Much of this work is undertaken on a voluntary basis by two scientists on the board of trustees, Shaun McConkey and Simon Childerhouse, assisted by a team of enthusiastic undergraduate scientists and volunteers.
An overview of the Trust, its goals and current projects, can be found on the Sealion Trust website.
Travel Specialist of the Year 2008 to New Zealand
Fliss & Rachel accept our award
Following the success of the Canada department at the BACTAs last month, it was with high hopes that Rachel and I set off for the annual Tourism New Zealand Awards in London in early May. The awards this year were comprised of eight categories, of which we were eligible to enter five, and so with the help of the whole team we prepared our submissions and handed them over to TNZ during their recent visit to the Mill.
The awards themselves were presented by Gregg Anderson, the Regional Manager for Tourism New Zealand UK, with the assistance of Simon Calder – travel editor for the Independent, broadcaster and industry expert. Simon was also part of the judging panel.
The first award was for Best Brochure, and we were disappointed to hear that we had lost out to Tailor Made. However, it was onwards and upwards from that point as we took awards for Best Online Content and Best Responsible Tour Operator to New Zealand.
The moment of glory came when they announced the shortlist for the Supreme Award – Travel Specialist of the Year. The list included several of our major competitors, but we came out on top. Gregg Anderson said the following in presenting the award: “Audley Travel have a remarkable and growing range of New Zealand product. They provide a great example of tailoring holidays specifically to the traveller. Rigorous staff training and on-going educational opportunities are reflected in the detailed knowledge of each country specialist. The dedication this company has shown to developing their New Zealand Programme since 2004 is outstanding and evident in their great results.”
The champagne went down well after that! Huge congratulations go to the whole team, whose hard work and commitment are ultimately what have won us these awards.
Pacific Wanderings
For many years I had a strong desire to visit New Zealand, thinking it would be the perfect place for me. I’m a real outdoors person and love hiking, biking, rock climbing and getting away from it all.
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