GINZ.com your personal one-stop travel service for all Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island. Accommodation, rental cars, motorhomes, flights and other travel arrangements.
Kia ora from sunny days in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our Marketing Manager Sharyn Wilding has recently given birth to a baby girl so you will be getting this edition from Pamela.
Just another reminder that Easter is early this year - 25th - 29th March 2005 and falls outside the usual school holiday period in New Zealand. The weather is likely to be warm and settled in March so it will be an excellent time to travel. Campervan bookings are already high. If you are planning to travel by camper or rental car in this time period we recommend you make bookings as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Also, remember the New Zealand winter season is approaching fast - see new New Zealand Skiing Packages.
All the very best from the Team at GINZ.com
The Catlins Coast, Southern Scenic Route, Dunedin to Invercargill
Experience South Australia's wildlife and indigenous history
Samoa - Treasured Islands of the South Pacific
The Catlins Coast - tucked quietly away in the south eastern corner of the South Island - is a curious place. For some reason it has been neglected by the tourists who flock to other parts of Southland and Otago. It is, as they say, 'off the beaten track' and although it doesn't have the towering beauty of Fiordland or the sublime appeal of the Southern Lakes, it is Heartland New Zealand with it's rugged bush, mountain, river and coastline pretty much untouched by the sort of development that has happened elsewhere in the South Island. It has been aptly described as abit of south Westland out east.
This is one part of New Zealand where you can imagine what the country was like before human habitation - continual birdsong on a fine day in the bush with bellbirds, tui, yellow heads, shining cuckoos, grey warblers and South Island robins, pristine golden beaches, original podocarp forest coming right down to the sand and seaweed and shells lying on the beach. No tatty baches, no tarsealed roads, no carparks and hardly any people!
Wildlife is plentiful - penguins yellow eyed and blue, shags, herons, mollyhawks and mollywawks, seals and sea lions, moreporks and Hectors Dolphins.
A 3 night stay in the Catlins provides visitors with the opportunity to explore the area properly - starting with Nugget Point in the North with its yellow eyed penguin colony, lighthouse and wildlife reserve, to Curio Bay in the south with a petrified forest of fossil trees 160 million years old. In between are the Cathedral Caves, Jacks Blowhole, Cannibal and Surat Bays where the sea lions bask in the sun, Purakaunui Falls and walking in the Catlins River area.
If you like the night lights and lots of action, stay away but if you want to really escape and see how New Zealand used to be get here double quick - before the hordes arrive!
GINZ recommends - Catlins Farmstay and Otago Nature Tours.
See a range of Last-Minute Rental Cars and Last-Minute Hotel specials.
South Australia is a wildlife wonderland - nowhere in Australia can you get so up close and personal with the native fauna and flora and nowhere is nature so accessible. You can cuddle a koala, potter about with potteroos or watch a wallaby within 30 minutes of the Adelaide CBD. Across the State, passionate people are waiting to guide you through amazing natural experiences - from swimming with sealions and bird watching to star gazing and cave diving. Between June and October every year, Southern Right Whales migrate and breed in waters off the South Australian coast. They can be seen from Head of Bight on Eyre Peninsula, along the coast between Victor Harbor, Middleton and Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula and from the cliffs of Innes National Park on Yorke Peninsula.
For keen bush walkers, there are plenty of well-marked trails right across South Australia, many designed for self-starters and many form part of the landscape for tour operators who know where to go and can advise on levels of fitness and other aspects of a walking tour.
Well worthwhile is the Granite Trail around the town of Wudinna on the Eyre Peninsula, where you can will travel through some of the world's most fascinating geological landforms and get to see the world's second largest monolith. Twenty-five kilometers in length, the trail takes you through undulating, scenic agricultural country. These granite giants bear fascinating names: Polda Rock, Tcharkulda Rock, Pildappa. Ucontitchie Hill stands in complete isolation and can be seen for tens of kilometers around.
For anyone interested in learning more about our feathered-friends and their habitats there are opportunities for bird watching incorporated into many tours. Guides are knowledgeable and usually binoculars are provided. All you need to bring is a willingness to watch and listen, the thrill of sighting is well worth it. Indigenous Australians can claim the world's longest continuous culture - rock carvings found in the north of South Australia are 16,000 years older than Neanderthal carvings in Europe.
The Ngarrindjeri people have lived on the Coorong for thousands of years and at Coorong Wilderness Lodge they will welcome you to their homeland with bush food, Dreaming stories and lessons in basket weaving and the medicinal uses of local flora. From the lodge you can take a comprehensive three-day wilderness and cultural tour that allows you to experience the daily lives of the Ngarrindjeri. You'll do as they once did: paddle the Coorong's waterways, taste traditional foods and trek across the dunes to the Southern Ocean.
GINZ recommends - Seaview Lodge on Kangaroo Island and Myoora Boutique Hotel in Adelaide.
See a range of Australia Package specials and Last-Minute Hotel specials.
Samoa is comprised of two relatively large islands, Upolu and Savii and eight smaller islands. The capital and business centre Apia is located on Upolu and most of the population live on this island where the majority of major hotels and resorts can be found. Savii is less populated and also popular with visitors because it has largely resisted change and development. The pace of life is slow and life centres around the villages - the beaches of white sand are secluded and the landcape has many interesting geographical features including Lava caves and blowholes.
Samoa offers a range of accommodation options to suit all levels of comfort and budget from International hotels to cheerful guesthouses, motels and simple beachfront fales(usually with thatched roof supported by wooden posts and generally no walls). Recently eco-resorts have opened up on some of the more remote beaches.
The climate is pleasantly warm with temperatures cooled by the south-east trade winds from May to November, while December to April is the wet and humid season.
For more information, see Tourism Samoa.
Contact GINZ.com for quotes and further information.
See a range of Pacific Island Package specials.
See a range of Pacific Island Package specials.
Email: info@ginz.com | Phone: +64 3 366 4486 | Fax: +64 3 366 4452 | Level 1, 538 Wairakei Road, Christchurch, New Zealand
New Zealand Travel Northland Auckland Bay of Plenty Rotorua Taupo Napier Taranaki Wellington Picton Nelson Kaikoura Christchurch Westcoast Glaciers Greymouth Queenstown Wanaka Dunedin Invercargill Fiordland Auckland camper Christchurch motorhomes rentals Wellington vans New Zealand Queenstown rentals Avis Budget Hertz Thrifty Apollo Maui Kea Skiing Honeymoon Golf Exclusive Packages Car Rentals Accommodation Specials Operator Links Index Guide Australia Guest Trip Planner Selfdrive Guidedtours Itineraries
