Mondo Mt Eden

Queenstown, The Rees Hotel.

Family getaway Queenstown, November 2010 the new gateway to the True South. Accommodation: The Rees Hotel. When we travel with our children, apartments are our preference accommodation. The Rees Hotel and Apartments, offered us the best of both, Situated on the lakefront with the most amazi...

Tahiti 2011 winter

July & August tha Tahitian winter. When I think of Tahiti, the first thing that comes to mind is its beauty, the islands, waters and the spectacular landscape. The second thing that comes to mind is the cost. During this holiday we keep receipts to help relay the true cost. NB the exchange rate...

Volendam 2008

The Hammonds Family Volendam Holland America Line 14 nights Sydney ? Auckland 7 / 11 / 08 We chose this cruise as it had 9 port days and 2 scenic cruising days the highlight being the Milford Sounds, which has always been on our must do list. Weather did not disappoint with the calmest of seas ...

Vanuatu Port Villa

In 2007, Chris and I stumbled apon the best resturant in Port Villa The place is by far the cleanest, most modern resturant in town. Easily missed as it is located upstairs in the Au Bon Marche supermarket building above a fast food take-away outlet. The resturant looks over the water to Iririki R...

Royal Caribbean Cruises Rhapsody of the Sea

8 nights October 2011 Cruising around New Zealand Embarkation Auckland, ports of call: Napier, Wellington, Picton, Tauranga, Bay of Islands This cruise Chris and I took the children Harry 9 and Sophie 8. For the first time we utilized the interconnecting cabin option, which worked well for us....

Themed Cruises, Rugby World Cup 2011

Royal Caribbean, Rhapsody of the Sea 6th - 14th October 2011 Themed cruises place like minded passengers together, creating a positive and friendly on board environment. As we booked over 500 passengers on the RWC cruise we received a lot of positive feedback on all aspects of this crui...

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is 1.5hours flight from Auckland Population 1800, of whom 500 are kiwi. The island reminded me of an older New Zealand. With Poutakaua trees and pukekos. Norfolk have a maximin tourist allocation as there is limited accommodation The local accent sounds kiwi. Emily Bay, the...

NSW Central Coast - Shoal Bay

NSW Central Coast Shoal Bay Hight light: climbing the peninsular through native bush and surrounded by the wild coast. Shark feeding This is an inside event which is a good option for these rainy day. Set up is in a warehouse like environment with lots of shallow pools which house large rays a...

MAGENTA SHORES Central Coast

MAGENTA SHORES Quay West Resort 3 bedroom apartment Bedrooms up stairs lounge and kitchen down. The lower level lead out into a garden area with outside table which lead to a very nice pool. The accommodation I rate in the 4 - 5 stars very nice undead. Amenities On one side of the Magent...

Spirit of Adventure Saga

The Spirit of Adventure Saga Saga is a UK based company with a very English flavour, and their ships have really interesting ports of call. The Spirit of Adventure Saga carries 350 passengers and ships this size create a very social environment. There is also a large amount of repeat and solo pas...

Chris - Onboard - Queen Mary 2

February 2009 Chris and another lucky 88 New Zealanders boarded the Queen Mary 2, in Auckland and set sailing for Sydney. Due to her size she was unable to berth at Princess Wharf Passenger Terminal, which is used by most cruise liners, and instead had to berth at Jellico Wharf. The Queen Mary...

P&O Pacific Pearl, Auckland to Sydney

30 January 2011, 4 nights, Lifestyle Cruise Pacific Pearl Vital Statistics 1,456 Passengers lower Berth 1,800 passengers all berths 11 passenger decks Max speed 21.5 knots 811 ft/247 mtrs on length 63,500 tons London Uk registration Built 1989 Day 1 Sunday 30th January 2011 Blog: After c...

Queenstown: The Drive to Glenorchy

Rental car sorted, we through a dart at a map and found ourselves driving to a destination new to us, Glenorchy, the perfect setting for a movie, I found myself taking photos at every corner, this area is the home to the prestigious Blanket Bay Resort, our plan a rustic one, gold hunt, after all we ...

Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort

On the edge of Morton Island is Resort with a point of difference Wild dolphins have been lovingly encouraged to visit every night around 6pm Resort guests are given an opportunity to feed these amazing creatures. The island resorts accommodation Offering 3 star Hotel rooms or 5 star Apartments...

Saga Ruby Famil April 2011

DUD to AKL 7.15am flight to DUD, the sky was clear and the scenery spectacular. The South Island was looking fantastic, what a way to start. Arriving at 9.00am, I had plenty of time to get to Port Chalmers. Dunedin airport is actually closer to Mosgiel, so a half hour or so, then another 20 odd ...

Elise Wedding Planner Conference Fiji

Elise's Wedding Designer Fiji Trip: September 2008 As the Wedding Designer in our office I was fortunate to take a trip to Fiji to see several high end resorts. Fiji has to be one of the most beautiful places to get married with each resort offering something unique. One of my favourite resort...

Mt Eden's Sport Specialist: Melbourne Cup 2008

Sport Specialist: Steve Kirwan THUNDERING HOOVES, cracking whips, glitz and glamour Melbourne Cup Day - Without a doubt, the Australian racing scene offers some of the best horse racing in the world. ...... Steve's story Melbourne Cup This event can only be described as 120,000 going to a ...

Family Cruising

Tamsin's Tips traveling with a young family As a child I experienced a round the world Cruise with my family, which I adored. Now married to Chris - ICCA Master, I have had wonderful opportunities, with cruising with my children. These notes are from my personal experience, written for all thos...

Chris Onboard QM2

Well, when I was offered the opportunity to join the QM2 for three nights from Auckland to Sydney, I had no choice but to accept. Who wouldn?t? The streets around the ports were full of spectators, milling around trying to get a good look, as were all the vantage points around the city. This is t...

Wedding Designer Rarotonga Trip

June 2009 I recently returned from my second trip as the Wedding Designer in the Mt Eden office and I gained so much from it. Our destination this time was Rarotonga (my first visit) and I can tell you that the variety of accommodation available is so diverse. There are options for private and ...

Sydney, Weekend Escape

Weekend Escape The Observatory Hotel, Sydney Australia’s most awarded Hotel, where boutique luxury is assured and personalized service is unsurpassed. Located near Sydney's historic Rocks and central business district My ratings I was impressed at the level of service provided, even the ...

Radisson Fiji

A family Holiday Fiji is one of the best destinations for a winter family holiday. This year we tested the Radisson Resort Denarau Island It is one of the newest resorts on Denarau Island with a 5 star rating The accommodation, as we are a family of four, we chose a two bedroom apartment offer...

EMIRATES A380

Our adventure started with Emirates A380 Business Class. Yes there is a bar and lie flat beds. Long haul flights are no longer something we have to endure; it is more like a pleasure.

DUBAI

Staying at the Marriot Harbour Hotel, Each couple was provided with a two bedroom apartment which I can honestly say was an understatement, our accommodation consisted of 3 bedrooms one of which was designed as a maids quarters, 3 bathrooms and a larger kitchen than we have at home. We were very imp...

OMAN

40 minute flight from Dubai, costing $50 US each leg Muscat City (Oman) is both close and affordable. (This is in conjunction with an Emirates air fare, called an Arabian air pass.) Muscat is the home of the most impressive Mosque; this grand Mosque has every building material and crafted item, co...

Marriott Harbour Hotel, Dubai

Marriott Harbour Hotel, Dubai The accommodation. Two bedroom apartments, offering two generous sized bedrooms, with a bonus third bedroom designed as a maids quarters. The accommodation also provided three full bathrooms All the amenities were high end, including the very impressive pillow men...

Bledisloe Cup Melbourne 30 July – 02 Aug 2010

We flew out via Sydney on the new Qantas Airbus A330-200 in business class. This is a new aircraft, and the seats are fully lie flat. It’s the plane they use on the direct route Auckland to L.A. This is a much better craft than the 767’s, with the flat screen behind each seat, all the mod cons...