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ZB Travel – Naseby July 6

Much snow down there still? An astounding amount of snow, which is taking forever to melt around people’s houses. Naseby and the Maniototo district looks like a winter wonderland. The boss of the Royal Hotel in Naseby showed me just high the snow drifts piled up a week ago. It was above the windows, so… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Rotorua June 29

$50 MTA Gift Card. Congratulations to Tina Riley of Napier, who has won this week’s card.   Why do you recommend Rotorua as a mid-winter destination? Well, I reckon Kiwis exude a lot of sniffy  urban snobbery towards Rotorua. Have you noticed that when you mention to friends you’ve just been there, they tend to… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Copenhagen June 22

( Mike’s travel notes from Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame Show.) Copenhagen has earned a reputation of being the capital of cool. Why so? You’ll often hear Copenhagen referred to as Scandi cool or Nordic cool, primarily because its such an eminently engaging, attractive, compact and human-scale city. Its considered by the world’s urban planners as… Read More ›

APN – Monaco. June 18

( First published in APN Newspapers, Mike’s travel page. June) Surrounded by vaulting mountains and an opal-blue sea,  bejewelled Monaco is a metropolitan marvel in the Mediterranean. But despite its reputation as a residential bolt-hole for the mega-rich, it is a misnomer to suggest that Monaco requires a mega-sized holiday budget. Two of the marquee… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Melbourne June 15

What’s Hot in Melbourne this Winter. ( From Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame Show.) The great and the good will be out in force for a world premiere in Melbourne tonight? They certainly will. It’s a mega night in Melbourne for the mega-stars. No doubt that will include the first lady of Moonie Ponds  gracing tonights Red… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Assisi June 8

( Mike’s travel notes, as discussed on the Jack Tame Show.) There were two key magnets that led you to Assisi, the Pope and disaster, right? Yes, the new Pope has taken his name from one of the world’s most famous saints, Francis of Assisi, and being a Christchurch lad, I was intrigued to see… Read More ›

APN Travel – Sydney May 31

Winter warm-ups are a great excuse for travelling in the cooler months and Australia’s leading lady is a trusty mistress, seasoned in the art of perking-up your winter blues.  In fact Sydney has become quite defiant about the descent into winter, best exemplified by its annual illuminated art festival, Vivid, which has become a signature… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Shanghai.

The Pudong skyline is constantly changing. What are the latest skyscrapers? Shanghai seems locked in an arm-wrestle with Dubai. Futuristic Pudong  is evolving at dramatic speed. The Oriental Pearl Tower, is the building that looks like a giant grasshopper after  ingesting a pair of ping pong balls. Very  Battlestar Galactica, and that’s  has been Pudong’s… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Riviera May 25

It’s party time on the Riviera, isn’t it? Yes, mother nature is still sporting her winter blanket in Western Europe. It’s been ridiculously wet, windy and cold through May, but that hasn’t stopped the big sunglasses, the big hair and the big money swarming the Riviera for the two headline events of the year. The… Read More ›

ZB Travel – Rome’s Walls May 18

Why the walls? What’s the back story to this? Well, I’m a sucker for the punishment of a long, hard walk. But I do think it’s one of the best ways to tap into the soul of a city, and I came across a story about how the NATO Defence College in Rome uses the… Read More ›