Travel Agent - August 18, 2008 - (Page 36)

DESTINATIONS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 drama The Lost World. Soon we maneuver through narrow passages and expansive, cavernous spaces aglow with calcite formations in their natural unmodified state. Helmet lights off, inner tubes joined together by booted feet, the cadre of curious visitors floats in total darkness and in awe beneath thousands of glowworm galaxies before tubing into the sunlight down rapid and back to our base. Continuing down the famed Coast road, we ogle Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks, with their crashing, spewing tidal geysers and blowholes cavorting amidst 30-million-year-old limestone formations. The Punakaiki Resort (www. punakaiki-resort.co.nz) is a unique location for your clients’ overnight stay—ask host David Thompson for an environmentally friendly eco-suite on the hill and revel in the sounds of fashion nephrite jade into wearable works of art. We can’t stay the night, but recommend your clients do, at hospitable Kathy Gilbert and Neil Ensor’s intimate Paramata Lodge (www.para matalodge.co.nz) in Ross Township, 25 minutes south of Hokitika. Here on the site of a former sawmill and on the border of a Dept. of Conservation reserve, Neil creates curious and captivating sculptures, while Kathy makes fabulous homemade pickles, butter, mayonnaise and tomato chili sauce. The couple eagerly hands over gum boots for a kayak trip in adjacent wetlands; beach access is easy, too. In 90 minutes, we take a trip back in time to the alpine village of Franz Josef, where the boutique B&B Franz Josef Country Retreat (www. glacier-retreat.co.nz), on 200 acres of farmland, is the right choice for luxury overnight stays. Each of the 12 rooms, including two “honeymoon” A “medium” level of fitness is required for this walk, lest a “self-pay” airlift out of the glacial valley be required. On day six, we take a 1.5-hour ice-climbing lesson at Hukawai Glacier Centre (www. hukawai.co.nz). After donning even sharper ice-piercing crampons, jacket and helmet, Neville, our Swiss instructor, beckons us into the climate-controlled chamber to 15 different routes straight up the 30-foot frozen wall. “Walk like John Wayne,” he says, as we first carefully, then assertively dig our picks into the ice. After a blood-stirring climb, take in the calming, informative Glacier Experience next door, where all your questions about “glaciology” are answered. Informative Discussions A perfect choice for the afternoon is an easygoing wildlife eco-cruise aboard the enclosed Hanna K on lovely Lake Mapourika. Glacier Country Lake Tours (www.laketours.co.nz) provides comprehensive detail of area history, biology and geology that’s as clear as the sparkling waters of this 140,000-year-old, glacier-carved lake. The following morning, we move on to the next glacier town, Fox, 30 minutes away: only two of 140 glaciers flowing from the Southern Alps make it to the lower rainforests. Fox feels more “open” than Franz Josef. Take a walk around lovely Lake Matheson, where, if breezes are at bay, you’ll marvel at the realistic reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook—New Zealand’s highest—and towering Mount Tasman. It’s a spectacular six-hour drive along rocky rivers and expansive lakes, and through dramatic mountain passes, but we choose to continue south from Fox to two other regions: Lake Wanaka and then to Queenstown, for our day seven arrival. Another option is to double back to Hokitika, Greymouth or Westport for return flights to Auckland and home to the U. S. West Coast of the Southern Alps’ Region Brand Manager Tina Chiffers (tina@west-coast. co.nz) advises cautioning clients about driving distances and times. We were told to add a few hours to enjoy the scenic stops—and to snap some once-in-a-lifetime pictures. I Rough & Tumble Lodge in South Island crashing waves. In the Waterline Restaurant, Chef Alex Hogg’s shiitake and ginger-crusted salmon fillet is the oceanfront meal ticket. Day four on Highway 6, we find ourselves in Greymouth, the endpoint for the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch, and the largest town on the West Coast. In the nearby charming, interactive recreation of an 1880s’ gold-mining town, Shantytown (www.shantytown.co.nz), visitors ride one of three vintage steam trains, with veteran Ian Tibbles at the controls, doing double duty as he shovels coal into the furnace. Next, it’s on to the town of Hokitika for an energizing jolt of “flat white” coffee and a “ticky-tour” through the shop at Westland Greenstone, where artisans 36 | TravelAgent August 18, 2008 suites, is named for a local pioneering family. We love the Wallace Room, which beckons romantics with sumptuous touches of red velvet. Visiting Glaciers On our fifth day, we set out on a half-day glacier walk hosted by Franz Josef Glacier Guides (www.franzjosefglacier.com). Our guide, Greg Davenport, says that “Franz Josef is forecast to reduce in length by up to 40 percent in the next 50 years.” We trudge over river rock and straight up the terminal ice face, appreciative of the safe, spindly crampons on our boot-bottoms and hand-ropes that help us pull ourselves up manmade “stairs.” Note: CONNECTING YOU To learn more about fun activities for adventure travelers in New Zealand and Australia, visit www.travelagent central.com/australia-new-zealand http://www.paramatalodge.co.nz http://www.paramatalodge.co.nz http://www.hukawai.co.nz http://www.hukawai.co.nz http://www.punakaiki-resort.co.nz http://www.punakaiki-resort.co.nz http://www.glacier-retreat.co.nz http://www.glacier-retreat.co.nz http://www.laketours.co.nz http://www.franzjosefglacier.com http://www.shantytown.co.nz http://www.travelagentcentral.com/australia-new-zealand http://www.travelagentcentral.com/australia-new-zealand

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - August 18, 2008

Travel Agent - April 18, 2008 Online Now Contents From the Editor Pacific/Asia: Visitors to Ubud will Discover the Essence of Balinese Art and Culture Special Supplement: Malaysia Travel Planner New Zealand: There is Plenty to See and Do Throughout the West Coast of the Southern Alps Europe: Beauty, History and Culture Combine in Valencia, Spain Caribbean: Scrub Island is the BVI’s First Development in 15 years The Wyndham Rio Mar’s $40 Million Makeover is Well Underway in Puerto Rico The Latest on Grenada, a Caribbean Up-and-Comer Mexico: Big Hotel Plans are in the Works for the Riviera Nayarit Florida: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel turns Orlando into Italy Las Vegas: Dinner at these Restaurants Can Get your Clients into Vegas’ Hottest Nightclubs Cover Story: Medical Tourism Special Supplement: Destination Weddings Specialist 3.0 Hotels: Everything Old is New Again at New York’s Algonquin Cruise: Short Cruises Keep your Clients on the Move for Less Group Travel: Disney makes Exotic Locales Friendly for Family Travel Car Rentals: How Much Insurance Does your Client Need for a Rental Car? Agency Profile: Corporate Travel Sales are Rising at MTravel.com, a Division of Montrose Luxury Travel Expo Agenda: Fam Trips, Deals & Incentives, Calendar Hyatt comes to Curaçao New Hotels and Resorts in Asia CLIA Tightens Qualifications for ID Tripology Links Agents to Clients In the Spotlight Agent Access Editorial Index Advertising Index Trendwatch

Travel Agent - August 18, 2008

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