There are few cities as interesting as Christchurch, New Zealand, in my opinion. It suffers more earthquakes on a daily basis than most other inhabited places, it’s a little England plopped into the chilly sub-Antarctic South Island, and it’s only one of eight pairs of cities worldwide with an exact antipodal city. There are other […]
A lot of people consider Nelson, New Zealand to be the gateway to the northern parts of the South Island. To get to the remote Golden Bay, Farewell Spit, and Wharariki Beach, you must pass through the fertile lands of Nelson and Motueka. And a lot of people do go up there; it’s beautiful. However, […]
I’m only a bit partial to Wellington, New Zealand. It’s the first place I moved to when I lived in NZ, and I quickly fell in love with the relaxed, quirky, chill vibe. Wellington attracts a lot of artists, entrepreneurs, and other creative types. Because it’s the capital, it also has a lot of government […]
There are few cities in the world that are as complete in one architectural style as Napier, New Zealand. Following a major earthquake in 1931, the city rebuilt completely in the style of the times, which happened to be Art Deco. Today, Napier is a major stop on tours of New Zealand because of this […]
If you’re seeking exciting cultural activities and geothermal attractions, Rotorua, New Zealand – and the nearby town of Taupo – is where you need to go. The heart of the Bay of Plenty, only 3 hours from Auckland, Rotorua is one of the best places to learn about the Maori culture. It’s also the base […]
Auckland, New Zealand might not be the capital of this tiny country but it’s by far the largest city (population approximately 1.5 million). It’s home to the major international airport, and is therefore the usual first stop on a New Zealand itinerary. Auckland, New Zealand has quite a bit to do, and (with the average […]
Kia ora! This week and next I’m going to talk about New Zealand cities. While most people are familiar with Auckland, Wellington, and Queenstown, there are a few more than that. New Zealand only has a population of 4.69 million, and the majority of them live in the North Island. There are five large cities […]
For anyone considering a weekend in Boston, one of the first things to think about is what hotel to stay at. There are a bunch of great hotels in the city, and Virtuoso is lucky to partner with six of them. Over the last few months, I’ve made a few trips to Boston and had […]
We have reached the final major world wine region today: South Africa! (Certainly, there are other wine regions, smaller ones, that I’m not going to touch on just because they’re not places we go to for wine. We go there for other reasons.) But, anyway, we are talking today about South African wine! Did you […]
As promised, this week I’ve got two bonus posts because I spent too much time talking about New Zealand wine! Today, we hop the ditch to Australia and pick up where I left off in Friday’s intro paragraph. Every Australian state produces wine, although the more well known wineries are in Victoria, South Australia, and […]
