September 2009 - Travel Stripe

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Travel Stripe - September 2009

New Zealand from Reinga to Rakiura with TIME Unlimited

September 30th 2009 02:50

" New Zealand is made up of two main islands and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. Not to forget Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland. The Auckland city is located on the North Island and the main city in the South Island is Christchurch. Both Islands have lots of vast open spaces and mountainous terrain.

A wild west coast Auckland Beach

Getting around New Zealand is nice and easy with plenty of modern and efficient transport networks including quiet roads, buses, rental car and campervan options, plenty of flights and gorgeous scenic rail journeys. The unusual plant and animal life offers once in a lifetime opportunities to see kiwis, seals, dolphins and whales to name but a few.

New Zealand is home to the world’s largest flightless parrot (kakapo), the oldest reptile (tuatara), the biggest earthworms, the smallest bats, the heaviest insect (weta), some of the oldest trees, and many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the world.

Enjoy the chance to explore extensive wine regions, taste wonderful cuisine, stroll on sunny beaches, hike through the forests of numerous national parks or over alpine passes on well-maintained, beautifully sited tracks.

New Zealand is also perfect for every kind of outdoor activity. Not surprisingly, some of the world's most cutting-edge adventure activities originated in New Zealand. Try bungee jumping, caving or white-water rafting. Or, immerse yourself in culture in one of numerous museums, galleries, outdoor events and theatre productions.

New Zealand is one of the cleanest, greenest, most popular places to live and visit. Tourist numbers rocketed around the release of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, which showcased New Zealand's fantastic scenery to a worldwide audience"
Text and Photo TIME Unlimited

TIME Unlimited will tailor a New Zealand tour to your taste and your time frame. They will guide you through your New Zealand experience. Or, if you prefer, they will take care of all the details, like transport, activities and accomodation bookings and leave you to enjoy it in your own way. Because, with TIME Unlimited the tour is all about you!

To find out more about TIME Unlimited's New Zealand tours, or to view a sample itinerary, visit www.newzealandtours.travel

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Visiting a Marae in New Zealand with TIME Unlimited

September 28th 2009 06:57

New Zealand is famous as a country that offers everything; stunning beaches, magnificent mountains, pristine lakes, wild rivers, lush bush, rich farmland, 21st century cities, quaint country towns, pure fresh food, luxury hotels, sumptuous spas and gourmet restaurants. But it is the Maori culture that sets it apart from any other place on earth and makes it truly unique. TIME Unlimited’s Maori Culture Tours are a chance not just to see, but to live that culture.

The Hongi

A TIME Unlimited Marae (village, or community centre) visit begins with a traditional welcome, or Powhiri. The speeches during this profoundly moving ceremony show Te Reo Maori (Maori language) at its finest, purest and most poetic. Even in translation the imagery is exquisite. They are supported by beautiful, traditional waiata (songs) The powhiri ends with the legendary hongi or nose-press and after this, the manuhiri (visitors) are no longer waewaetapu (sacred feet) but whanau, or family.

At the Marae gate (Photo TIME Unlimited)

Together the new whanau share a hakari (feast) of kai Maori, or traditional Maori cuisine. Nights are spent together in the communal wharenui, or meeting house. Stories of Marae history and traditions, including the signifance of the structure of the meeting house and its decoration are shared before sleep.

The Marae visit offers opportunities to learn some Reo, some waiata and karakia (prayers) and to participate in cultural activities such as the haka (the Maori war dance made famous by the All Blacks), flax weaving and wood carving.

Most importantly, it offers another chance to forge bonds and form friendships.

For more about TIME Unlimited’s Maori Culture Tours visit www.newzealandtours.travel

Next post; Uncover your very own New Zealand with TIME Unlimited

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Exploring Auckland with TIME Unlimited

September 27th 2009 07:46

Auckland is New Zealand’s biggest city and the largest Polynesian city in the world. Crowned with the bush-clad peaks of ancient volcanoes and wrapped around the Waitemata Harbour, where flotillas of yachts blow across the sparkling blue waters, it has been dubbed the Queen city and the city of sails. Yet Auckland is often underestimated and sometimes completely overlooked as a tourist destination. For many it’s a corridor, a springboard to attractions further north or further south. For those who do linger, it often means little more than a cursory look around the Queen Street shops, a quick bite down at the waterfront café and restaurant precinct and a lightning trip around the harbour and across the bridge.

Auckland (Photo TIME Unlimited") wrap="0

This beautiful, fascinating multi-cultural and multi-faceted city merits much more time and a much closer look. The TIME Unlimited team knows Auckland intimately; after all it is their own backyard. Their Backyard Breaks and Auckland Tours explore the diverse faces, the rich history and the secret, unexpected corners of the city.

Nowhere is Auckland’s diversity more apparent than in its shops. TIME Unlimited backyard shopping tours cover the spectrum of colourful (and extremely cheap) Polynesian markets, local Maori and Pakeha design boutiques, landmark Auckland Department Stores, as well as global concept stores.

Backyard Breaks take in Auckland parks, like the tamed and ordered Parnell Rose Gardens, the rambling Auckland Domain with its spreading Pohutukawa trees and rolling lawns and even the famous Auckland Zoo.

Auckland’s history is long and rich. TIME Unlimited tours explore this in the city’s museums, monuments and landmarks. They also uncover the ancient stories written in the Auckland landscape - of prehistoric volcanoes, of Maori mythology and of mighty tribes and chiefs.

Auckland wilderness walk (Photo TIME Unlimited)

Less than an hour from the CBD, an Auckland Guided Wilderness Walk leads the intrepid away from civilization, through virgin rain forest and along a rugged coastal path, where the wild Tasman Sea crashes against soaring cliffs and onto stunning black sand beaches.

Auckland Kayak tour (Photo TIME Unlimited)

In the city of sails, getting out on the water is de rigeur. TIME Unlimited’s Auckland Kayak tours paddle out into the beautiful Hauraki Gulf, passing penguins, Australasian gannets and dolphins. A sunset gourmet picnic in secluded bay and a sound night’s sleep under the Southern Cross complete the experience.

For more about TIME Unlimited’s Auckland Tours and Backyard Breaks, visit www.newzealandtours.travel

Next post steep yourself in Maori culture on the Marae with TIME Unlimited

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Kia Ora Cuisine; Dining in New Zealand with TIME Unlimited

September 25th 2009 04:27

Manaakitanga, in Maori, means hospitality. However, hospitality in Maori culture has layers of meaning. It’s not just a question of rolling out the red carpet, giving up the best beds, killing the fatted calf and providing the guests with lively entertainment, it’s doing all that with warmth, kindness, generosity and a friendly, welcoming, inclusive spirit. Manaakitanga is a cornerstone of Maoritanga, but the entire country enjoys a reputation as one of the world's most hospitable.

Kia Ora Cuisine (Photo TIME Unlimited)

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Fishing in New Zealand with TIME Unlimited

September 23rd 2009 04:25

No New Zealand adventure is complete without a little fishing. After all we are a country blessed with beautiful and accessible fishing grounds, from crystal clear lakes and meandering rivers to the wild beaches of the Tasman sea and the tranquil bays of the Pacific Ocean. TIME Unlimited has a fishing tour to suit every place, every taste and every range of experience.

Catch of the day (Photo TIME Unlimited)

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Time Unlimited in New Zealand

September 21st 2009 05:10

New Zealand Travel Company TIME Unlimited is a small fish and a relatively young fish too, but with a fresh, innovative approach and a range of unique experiences to share, it is making quite a splash in the big pond of world tourism. It has hit the TV screens of the UK (BBC’s Extreme Fishing with Robson Green) and Germany (“Am anderen Ende der Welt. Neuseeland, Heimat der Kiwis” - On the other side of the world, New Zealand, home of the Kiwis) as well as the pages of the UK’s Daily Mail, Blinker (Europe’s biggest fishing publication) and Russia’s leading fishing magazine. And of course, they're talking and writing about it back home, down under, too - on New Zealand Maori Television, in the New Zealand Herald, the Herald on Sunday, Kia Ora (Air New Zealand Inflight Magazine), The National Business Review and NZ Fishing News. So who and what exactly is TIME Unlimited?

Auckland's West Coast Beaches (Photo Time Unlimited)

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The Sambadromo, Rio de Janeiro

September 9th 2009 09:02

The Sambadromo, the home of Carnaval, is a one-off among world stages, a uniquely Rio answer to a peculiarly Rio question – how to create a fitting venue to contain and channel the huge extravaganza, which, by the 1980s, had grown too unwieldy and unruly for the streets?