Month: November 2013
ZB Travel – Innsbruck Nov 30
Innsbruck is an Alpine city, right? Very much so. It’s the capital of the Tyrol region of Austria. So if you’re heading north from Italy, you cross the Alps via the Brenner Pass, and Innsbruck is the twinkling city that greets you. Innsbruck does mountains , like some cities do skyscrapers. The city is cocooned… Read More ›
The Press- News column Nov 26
Forte Health a Force for Good. The reincarnation of the Oxford Clinic as Forte Health, a super-charged, short-stay hospital facility in Christchurch, should be warmly welcomed. Forte’s foray into the heady world of private hospital care is clearly ruffling the feathers of the established players, St. Georges and Southern Cross, but the addition of four… Read More ›
ZB Travel – Italy’s Country Roads.
You don’t strike me as a coach tour kind of traveller. Is it for everyone?It’s a damn good question because I had a stack of pre-conceptions that this might be a hokey, stuffy coach tour with a pack of disparate high-needs tourists, always running late and leaving their passport behind in the hotel safe. But… Read More ›
The Press- News column Nov 19
Have you been Phubbed lately? As a regular on-the-go user of social media, its immediacy and informality is undeniably enjoyable. I like to dip in and out of it, principally for work-related activity. But I could never imagine becoming a slave to it. Nor do I understand why for many people, every murmur, every muse,… Read More ›
ZB Travel – Hong Kong Nov 16
You’ve just been to the tallest bar in the world? My head is still lingering in the clouds, of that bar. If you’re heading to Hong Kong, check out the swanky new watering hole, Ozone, which crowns the roof of the Ritz Carlton, housed in Hong Kong’s tallest building, and the fourth tallest in the… Read More ›
The Press- News column Nov 12
Demonising Oil and Gas. Remember back in the late ‘70s, the fashionable wisdom was the world’s oil reserves were rapidly running out? I distinctly recall my primary school teacher lecturing our classroom about it, in excitably apocalyptic tones. She scared the bejesus out of us. ( I also recall she frequently chomped on sandwiches over-stuffed… Read More ›
ZB Travel – Ephesus Nov 9
If you’re Turkey-bound, why should Ephesus be high on your agenda? From my various visits to Turkey, the ancient site stands out as a top-tier highlight. Ephesus contains the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Med. Slowly but surely, the city is being unearthed and restored. Two thousand years ago it was one… Read More ›
The Press-News Column Nov 5
Rough Ride on Christchurch Roads How would you rate the state of road repairs in your neighbourhood? According to SCIRT, a fifth of the city’s roading work programme has been completed, with nearly 300,000 square metres of road pavement now laid. Yet, from my observations, I think you’d have better luck staking out an un-etched… Read More ›
ZB Travel – French Polynesia
Last week you talked about the main island of Tahiti. What about further afield? How many islands can you explore? French Polynesia spans a large slab of the Pacific. It’s home to one hundred and eighteen islands, scattered over an area ,equivalent to the size of continental Europe. You can easily get to over fifty islands… Read More ›
The Press- News column Oct 29
Spongers at Council. Mayor Lianne Dalziel has hit the ground running with a wave of pleasingly populist, but entirely sound decisions. Appointing Vicki Buck her deputy, and declaring war on cavalier council expenditure strikes the right notes. Perhaps Dalziel, who was raised a Catholic, has been channelling the refreshing frugality of Pope Francis, who wants … Read More ›
Mike Yardley News and Travel 