48 Hours in Hong Kong

My story from last month's Kia Ora Magazine (Air NZ inflight magazine) is here if anyone's planning a trip to this fascinating place.

Hong Kong

The travel gods do love me, afterall! Am off to Hong Kong, one of my favourite places on the planet, tomorrow for a quick media trip.

Hello exquisite dumplings, shopping and the best subway system on the planet.
See you on the other side.

 
(Pic Credit: Google)

Happy 2019

So the big fat geezer in the red suit has come and gone - and we've done another orbit around the sun. Here's to an even better year than last year.

It started off well for me: my story on three key Bali regions - Uluwatu, Jimbaran and Canggu - was published in the January 2019 issue of Kia Ora, Air New Zealand's inflight magazine. Read it here.

Bonjour Bora Bora

So I've just come back from four nights of being cooked in the Gold Coast heat which wasn't always pleasant.

But while I recover, here's my story on Bora Bora's luxury resorts, one of three stories I have in the December issue of Kia Ora, Air NZ's inflight magazine (and this one is the cover story - insert happy dance!) 

Oops

So I went to Bali for Kia Ora Magazine and came back, and then went to Oamaru also for Kia Ora Magazine and also came back.

In between, there has been a heap of deadlines and renovation of the new house and all the other usual twists and turns of life. Apologies to the three people who are still reading this blog.

But here are some pics of the Bali media trip where we stayed at the ever glorious Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay and then Alila Villas Uluwatu (both of which I stayed at last year for a story). This time we also ventured to Canguu where we stayed at the fantastic Hotel Tugu Bali, a traditional Balinese hotel which is charmingly old school, an oasis among the sometimes chaos of Batu Bolong Beach. If you're headed to Canguu, then I would definitely recommend it.

         

Kapiti and Palmerston North

Kept it local for the October issue of Kia Ora Magazine, the Air NZ inflight magazine, with a story on my new hood, the Kapiti Coast (click here to read) and one on the best places to eat and drink in Palmy (click here to read).

Bora Bora

So last week I spent six nights in Bora Bora, the French Polynesian idyll that's as nice to say as it is to visit.

Of course it was for work. And I was on my own (not so much fun in honeymoon central). And it rained most days (but it was bath-water warm and didn't last very long). And, don't hate me, but I got to stay at four amazing resorts for a magazine story - Four Seasons Bora Bora, the St Regis Bora Bora, Intercontinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa and Conrad Bora Bora Nui.

I was sooo spoiled but, of course, loved every minute of it. Now I have to go back to cooking and cleaning for myself (and generally deal with the trauma of not having a butler or five star service).

But when I'm scrubbing the toilet, I can always look at these pictures and be transported back to paradise.

Now I just have to write the bleeding story....

          

Canvas and Invercargill and Macau

There's a lot in that heading, I know, but I've just come back from two days in Invercargill for a story (the first time I've ever been there), am heading to Macau for six nights on Sunday for another story, and here's the link to the cover story of Canvas Magazine (NZ Herald) published last Saturday (click here).

Pics - the welcome I got from The Seriously Good Chocolate Company in Invercargill yesterday, where I did a choccie making class, as well as the cover of Sat's Canvas Mag. See you on the other side.

Tauranga - and another Impossible Burger

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to nibble my way around Tauranga for a story for Kia Ora Magazine. That piece is in the August issue (click here) as is yet another something I scribbled about the San Francisco jaunt to Impossible Foods (click here).

   

48 Hours in Shanghai

My story about 'doing' this magical city on a stopover is in the July issue of Kia Ora Magazine, Air NZ's inflight magazine (click here to read).

Also in this issue, I chatted to Kiwi chef Samantha Dinsdale who recently moved back to New Zealand and is taking part in next month's Visa Wellington on a Plate (click here).

   

Pink rain in Osaka

The second of three stories I have in the current (Jan) issue of Air NZ's inflight magazine, Kia Ora, is about the delights of Osaka (click here to read).

Find your bliss

Back in September, I flew to Bali to visit five luxury resorts. In six days. It was a whirlwind of five-star resorts, in the shadow of Mt Agung which threatened to blow at any minute (thankfully it didn't while I was there).

I would have loved to have stayed longer at all these resorts but even one or two nights was enough for a taste of how the other half live. Here's my story in the January issue of Kia Ora Magazine, Air NZ's inflight magazine (click here to read).

Gorgeous Gizzy

A few months back, I flew to Gisborne, the first city in the world to see the new day, for a story about the region's sustainable wine industry. And I drank and ate far too much, but had a wonderful time.

That story is in the December issue of Kia Ora Magazine, Air NZ's inflight magazine (click here to read).

Paradise in the Pines

A couple of months back I spent a few nights in the glorious Isle of Pines in New Caledonia. That story is one of three I have in the September issue of Air NZ's inflight magazine, Kia Ora (click here to read).