TRENZ SPOTTING: What’s happening in New Zealand

Real Journeys and Steward Island Experience

Real Journeys has a strong environmental focus, focusing on conservation in the Fiordland National Park. Its newest “bullet” coach has a glass roof for optimum Fiordland views, and has been built to minimise environmental impact.

Real Journeys is launching a purpose-built cruising vessel – the 75-passenger MV Sinbad – in September to boost capacity, bringing the total number of nature cruise vessels operated by the company to three.

The 55-year-old privately owned company offers a range of tours of Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and provides bed and breakfast accommodation at the upmarket Stewart Island lodge.

In winter, Real Journeys operates overnight cruises in Milford Sound on selected dates as well as a 5-7 day Discovery Cruises into remote Fiordland and Stewart Island on the Milford Wanderer.

See www.realjourneys.co.nz

Sail the Gulf for the weekend

Sail NZ is offering visitors to Auckland an opportunity to sail an 80-ft maxi yacht in an America’s Cup style match race.

Lion New Zealand, built for the 1985-86 Whitbread Round the world Race is also available for two-night weekend trips sailing the Hauraki Gulf.

The boat departs Auckland Harbour at 2.30pm on Fridays and returns Sunday at 6pm. The trip costs NZ$350 per person.

SailNZ, a member of the Explore NZ company, also offers On the Edge catamaran trips around the Bay of Islands, and swim with the dolphins sailing adventures.

See www.explorenz.co.nz

Mollies up there with the best

Auckland’s boutique hotel Mollies is one of just 25 establishments around the world to become a new member of the Relais & Chateaux accommodation group.

The inter-city hotel in waterside St Mary’s Bay was chosen from 100 possible candidates, and now joins with some of Europe’s finest castles and palaces in Relais & Chateaux.

See www.mollies.co.nz

Anyone for golf?

The Best of Golf is a collective marketing network promoting the New Zealand golf experience.

The network has 27 members including courses and resorts, specialist golf tour operators, transport and accommodation providers.

Golf course members must achieve 100 percent under the Qualmark tertiary golf criteria to qualify for entry.

See www.bestofgolfnewzealand.com

Bush and Beach Tours

Personalised tours of beach and bush, including a full day tour to Auckland’s coastal rainforest and black sand west coast beaches. Small group tours of the city together with wilderness experience tours, including an all-day visit to flora and fauna-rich Great Barrier Island, which includes a 30-minute flight over the Hauraki Gulf.

See www.bushandbeach.co.nz

Tracking the albatross

The Royal Albatross Centre at Dunedin has tracked a pair of its juvenile birds using satellite transmitters.

The technology being used allows the Centre to collect data about the feeding behaviour and migratory patterns of the adolescent Royal Albatross.

The birds spend 80 percent of their life at sea.

The pair of juveniles from New Zealand has been tracked to the Patagonian Shelf off the coast of South America since leaving the Centre in mid-January 2009. The journey took them eight days.

Visitors to the Royal Albatross Centre can view the interpretative wildlife displays, learn of the historical use of the area and take part in guided tours of the headland rich in birdlife.

Beneath the nature reserve lie the tunnels of Fort Taiaroa, established over 100 years ago to counter the anticipated threat of invasion from Tsarist Russia.

Visitors can view the only working order Armstrong Disappearing Gun (1886)

See www.albatross.org.nz

Land of sacred peaks

Te Kahui Tupua is New Zealand’s land of the sacred peaks, an area of sacred places within the Ruapehu, Wanganui and Rangitikei regions.

The region has strong Maori influences and there is a range of ways to explore it – by car or canoe, by horseback or plane, by foot or by jet boat.

“We cater for most needs: luxury, eco, adventure and backpacker,” says Sandy Waters, communications executive for Te Kahui Tupua.

“People come here for the fantastic landscape and the strong
culture.”

Accommodation ranges from farmstay to ski lodges to adventure
lodges and bed and breakfast guesthouses.

See www.sacredpeaks.co.nz