NZ/Aust.: Top Recognition, Honors, etc.

Here are a couple of updates regarding New Zealand that might be of interest. First, yesterday, the latest edition of Travel+Leisure magazine arrived with their "Best in the World" rankings. These are not always perfect surveys, but they are always interesting. Among their list for the 100 best hotels in the world, they had the "Farm at Cape Kidnapper" at Hawke's Bay as 40th on this international listing with an outstanding 96.54 rating. During our 2014 cruise, we had an excellent tour and lunch there. It was fabulous!! It's nice to see this well-deserved recognition for a place that we super loved.

For Australia, The Louise in the Barossa Valley was on this T+L Top 100 listing being at the number 53 position with a 96.22 rating. In this area of the world, The Langham in Auckland, QT in Sydney and Crown Towers in Melbourne also received high recognition in this report. When these rankings looked just at Australia, NZ and the South Pacific, they had Sydney as the top city. Second was Queenstown with Melbourne, Wellington and Auckland following in the top five positions. For islands in this region, they had NZ's Waiheke ranked as the best, beating Moorea and Bora-Bora. Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island got high marks, plus in Sydney, The Langham, Pullman Quay and Park Hyatt also received nice mentions. NZ's Lodge at Kauri Cliffs also got very, very high marks. Let the debates start on the pro/con factors with such surveys.

From People Magazine this past week, they have this headline: “New Zealand Travel Guide: Her 5 Must-See Destinations” from Bryce Dallas Howard, an actress and daughter of well-known director Ron Howard. Her overall summary for NZ is: “It was like stepping into a portal and stepping out into a magical kingdom. The green was shocking, the mountains epic, the water full of what looked to me to be sparkling diamonds. I have been chasing this experience my whole life. New Zealand is truly my ‘happy place.' ”

Here are two of the key highlights for two different locations that we were able to very much have enjoyed. This included Arrowtown: “This charming town is an example of a historic gold mining town. It almost feels like the Wild West out there. Autumn in particular is so beautiful with the leaves falling around you in these little towns — it feels like a movie!”.

And she said this about Bay of Islands as this location: "must be one of the most beautiful and peaceful places that I’ve ever been. Looking outside of my hotel room one day I thought to myself that it looked like Neverland. There are little sandy coves with untouched beaches, dozens of private islands, and pods of hundreds of dolphins diving in and out of the water. Being there is such a serene experience. It’s transformative to see and experience such natural beauty. It’s my favorite place in contrast to Queenstown, which is more mountainous and gets snow in the winter. It’s a perfect example of how everything in New Zealand is so geographically close yet so different."

Nice thoughts and comments that bring back wonderful memories from traveling in New Zealand.

Full story at:

http://people.com/home/bryce-dallas-howard-new-zealand-travel-guide/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 183,986 views for this posting.

Hi Terry,

Thanks for another great travel media post! Would you kindly help us out & link in the T&L 100 article in your post? Thanks so much & thanks for including the link to the People article!

We appreciate all your posts!

Thanks Terry for reminding me I need to organise another NZ holiday.

CHPurser - I think a lot of people would like to live Down Under!

Yes, lovely places.

But then we read that only 11% of the world population lives South of the Equator.

Why do so few people want to live there?

It is a secret, at least for those of us that live in Australia and one that we want to keep to ourselves.

Australia - Lots of sand and millions of flies.

Nothing like a good feed of french flies and fish - most Aussies would have this probably at least once a week

Hi Terry, Thanks for another great travel media post! Would you kindly help us out & link in the T&L 100 article in your post? Thanks so much & thanks for including the link to the People article! We appreciate all your posts!

Appreciate this nice follow-up from Host Colleen and the other posts. With this magazine, there is a time-lag as to when they post the full text contents of their most-current edition. I had just received my copy in the mail late last week, but it should be around mid August before these various, newer stories and details will be available on their Internet site. Currently, you can check:

www.travelandleisure.com

to see this magazine, but they now are only posting last month's content. It will be a couple weeks or so before this newer report will be available on-line. I will try to post this newer link in later August when it is available.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

As a follow-up to my initial post, here is the direct link to the Travel+Leisure magazine that has all of the details for the various "BEST" listings in their most recent 2017 edition. Good luck with your future research and planning. Go for "IT"!!

Check at:

www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 218,699 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

From Harper's Bazaar magazine earlier this week, they have this headline: “The 18 Places to Travel in 2018”with these highlights about wonderful Sydney: “Landing in Sydney for the first time feels a little like walking into a fantasy world. With azulene beaches and green nature parks, friendly locals, and exotic animals making appearances around every corner, Australia's best-known city is an adventure a minute. A stop at the Sydney Opera House is an absolute must, as is taking in the foaming swell of the world-famous Bondi Beach, but there’s much more to Sydney than it’s big-name sights. Learn more about the area’s original inhabitants, the aboriginal Guringai people, at the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, where over 800 sites have been preserved. Admire some of Australia’s astounding native animals as well as samplings from all over the world at the Taronga Zoo or the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, then take an afternoon break at one of the many (many) excellent coffee shops in the city–Australians don’t kid around about coffee. Grab dinner in the city’s revered Chinatown (or Koreatown, Thaitown, or the Singaporean Spice Alley); Sydney is home to some of the most delicious and authentic Asian food outside of the continent. ”

This is the time of the year when many publications are highlighting the best places to visit for the upcoming year. Nice that Sydney gets lots of these top mentions. Well deserved honors!!

Full story at:

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/a14427100/travel-destinations-2018/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,297 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

Here is the Sydney graphic used in this magazine article. Brings back nice memories for us about the Opera House, Sydney, etc.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

From the Travel Section of the London/UK Telegraph this morning, they have this headline:“Why Sydney is the greatest city on Earth right now” with these highlights: “Find culture, couture and cocktails in Australia’s most vibrant metropolis this winter, says Ariela Bard. Sydney’s beaches aren’t the only spots that heat up over summer. The place lights up from Jan 6-28 as the annual Sydney Festival (sydneyfestival.org.au/2018/) transforms pockets of the city into a cultural hub of ideas, theatre, dance, art, music and circus. And if you are in the city tomorrow night, the New Year celebrations are world class.”

It would be super fun to be in Sydney for the spectacular fireworks in the harbor area.

Full story at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/new-south-wales/sydney/articles/why-sydney-is-the-greatest-city-on-earth-right-now/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358