GINZ.com Newsletter
November 2004 Vol 1 No# 88
Kia ora and welcome to our November travel newsletter from Australia, New
Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.
If you know anyone planning to travel here over the coming few months, send
us their name and address and we will forward a complimentary calendar of
photographic images to wet their appetite and one to you as well for referring
us as a travel service!
We are delighted to have found some excellent new accommodation options on
our recent 'travel research' trips - Michael has just returned from a trip
around the Gisborne-East Cape area in the North Island, Jane from Te Anau,
Wanaka and Queenstown and Sharyn from Melbourne.
GINZ has a short video clip available on our homepage, explaining a little
more about how we operate. See details.
All the very best from the Team at GINZ.com
Index
New Zealand News and Specials
Gisborne and the East Cape
Australia News and Specials
A Taste of Melbourne
Pacific Island News and Specials
Travel the Pacific
New Zealand News
Less visited by travelers and locals than the Coromandel Peninsula, the East
Cape isn't on the way to anywhere and therefore is a destination in it's own
right. Making the effort to get off the beaten track, you will be rewarded
with beautiful uncrowded beaches and coastlines full of pohutakawa and other
natives plant species. The windswept coast, sandstone cliffs and bare hills
give the landscape a raw, spiritual feeling. The movie 'Whale Rider' was filmed
in this region with the lead actress, Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest actress
at 13 to have won an Oscar nomination for her role. The Gisborne region is
a major fruit producer. Citrus, avocado, persimmon and tamarillo trees love
the climate with roadside shops that let you indulge your passion for fresh
fruit.
Experience one of New Zealand's hidden treasures 30 minutes drive from Gisborne,
the Eastwoodhill Abortetum with the largest and finest collection of exotic
trees and shrubs in the country. It also hosts the largest collection of Northern
Hemisphere temperate trees in the Southern Hemisphere. The tracks here wind
around ponds and lakes, revealing amazing vistas at every corner. If you pack
a picnic, you could make a whole day of it. The semi-formal gardens around
the homestead are also worth studying. Hackfalls Arboretum spreads over 20
hectares. It has the best collection of Mexican oaks outside Mexico – they
obviously love the dry, sunny Gisborne climate. You’ll also see beech, maples,
chestnuts, alders, birch and eucalyptus. Waterbirds live on the lakes and
dams. It’s easy to wander for hours around this beautiful tree park – spring
and autumn are the best times to visit.
The area is home to a large Maori population and there are many places of
cultural and historical significance. Gisborne's magnificent Te Poho-o-Rawiri
is one of the largest carved Maori meeting houses in New Zealand. At the Morere
Hot Springs, a 50 minute drive from Gisborne you can soak in the Nikau Pools
set in a tranquil forest grove and take short bush walks in the area. Visit
the historic Tolaga Bay Wharf - at 660 metres in length it is the longest
in New Zealand. Stroll over the Cooks Cove Walkway - gives panoramic views
of the rural countryside. Tupaea's Cavern, a natural rock archway, connects
Cooks Cove with Tolaga Bay. Here in the cove Captain Cook stayed six days
repairing the 'Endeavour' and taking on water and supplies.
There are some excellent wineries in the area and deep sea fishing and horse
trekking are also available and a good way to experience the East Cape. We
have a suggested 'Whale
Rider Country' itinerary. Suggested accommodation properties are Big
Tree Hideaway, Cedar
House and Opou
Country House. Information about the Gisborne
area.
New Zealand Specials
See a range of Motorhome
specials and Last-Minute
Hotel specials.
Back to Homepage
Australia News
A Taste of Melbourne - We arrived in Melbourne on a Thursday evening and
headed for our accommodation at The Fountain Terrace in St Kilda. Well situated
in a quiet, leafy street, one block back and a quick walk from the bustling
and colourful Fitzroy Street with it's huge variety of cafes, clubs and bars,
an easy stroll down to the beach and on the direct tram route into the city.
The next morning we drove along the coast road to Sorrento and Portsea, an
hour or so south and a popular weekend retreat for Victorians. Well worth
the drive, we took a walk around the cliffs at Ocean Beach and came across
an Echidna (spiny anteater) on the way. The sea was beautifully clear and
the beaches golden and empty, although I can imagine a weekend in summer might
well be busier! Sorrento was a pleasant stop for lunch and some great little
galleries worth visiting - I particularly liked the 'Antipodes' bookshop and
gallery.
Back in Melbourne, we headed into the city by tram for the evening - impressed
by the architecture, modern standing alongside Victorian and Edwardian, the
parks, gardens and sports centres and of course by the range of shopping.
Well worth a visit is the new David Jones Foodhall, all decked out for Christmas
and full of tempting treats. A couple of hours of walking and taking in the
city sights and we headed to Toorak Road for dinner, again on the tram, and
settled on a small and cosy Italian restaurant. Toorak Road is well known
for it's boutique shops and restaurants and and its leafy streets with expensive
housing. We decided to hunt for bargains instead and went to to Bridge and
Chapel Streets on Saturday where there are plenty of sales and plenty of willing
shoppers - another option is the Queen Victoria Market in the city which has
been operating since 1878 and now houses over 1000 traders in everything from
exotic fruit and vegetables to clothing, jewellery and a wine market. Another
smaller market well worth a stroll on Sunday morning is the St Kilda market
next to the St Kilda salt water baths and beside the beach.
We headed north out of the city on Sunday to Woodend in the Macedon Ranges
and spent the afternoon visiting gardens and taking in the countryside before
flying back to Christchurch on Sunday evening. Three days is just enough to
leave you wanting more and although we managed to pack quite alot in, there
are plenty of options left for the next trip which we have decided will include
a drive along the Great Ocean Road. Perhaps a cruise up the Yarra, or hire
a bike for a peddle along the river? Strolling through some of the City's
500 hectares of parks and gardens, or shouting from the highest rooftop in
the Southern Hemisphere at the Observation Deck on top of the Rialto.
To find out how Melbourne became the graceful city it is today, spend a day
or two at one of the many local museums. The Melbourne Museum houses the state
collection in an imposing modern building. The Maritime Museum and the Immigration
Museum, both on the Yarra River, unveil key events in the growth of Melbourne.
Other histories include the stomach-turning tales of the Old Melbourne Gaol,
the genteel accounts of life within La Trobe’s Cottage, home of Victoria’s
first governor; or Cooks’ Cottage, the parental home of Captain James Cook,
one of the first European navigators to chart the east coast of Australia,
relocated to Fitzroy.
The Fountain
Terrace offers very quiet and comfortable rooms with a lavish breakfast,
we also like Villa
Donati in Richmond - well sited for the shoppers and elegantly furnished
and The Charsfield Hotel, a boutique 40 room hotel on St Kilda Road, 5 minutes
by tram into the city centre.
Australia Specials
See a range of Australia
Package specials and Last-Minute
Hotel specials.
Back to Homepage
Pacific Island News
Well worth the short flight from New Zealand are a great range of island
holiday options - GINZ offers the best current deals online for honeymoons,
family holidays, adventure, sailing, golfing, cruising, diving, snorkelling
and just relaxing in the sun. Contact us for best value all inclusive Pacific
Island holidays ex New Zealand including airfares, accommodation, transfers
and meal deals to Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa,
Vanuatu and Norfolk Island. We have visited many of the resorts on offer and
can personally recommend something to suit your tastes and budget.
Tempted? Contact GINZ.com for quotes and
further information.
Pacific Island Specials
See a range of Pacific
Island Package specials.
Pacific Island Specials
See a range of Pacific Island Package specials.
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