Archive for 2009
HAKA TOURS – Experience the insane!
Posted by Ruth Atherley on June 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm
One of the people I really wanted to meet at TRENZ was Ryan of HAKA TOURS. However, we were destined to be ships passing in the night. His booth was always busy and that says something!
HAKA TOURS was showcasing for the first time at TRENZ and they create adventure tours for the 18-40 year old crowd (or in my case, a little over 40, but not ready to toss in the towel just yet crowd). Their tagline is “Tour New Zealand and get more than a Polaroid snap!”
They offer extreme adventure tours, snow tours and instructional snow and surf tours. HAKA TOURS are designed for customers that want an adrenaline fueled New Zealand experience and want to push their own personal boundaries. (I think I like doing that kind of thing!) They take small group tours of up to 16 people; which makes for a personalized road trip and an amazing experience.
Check out the photos on Flickr and visit their website to learn more!
Rock the boat!
Posted by Ruth Atherley on June 16, 2009 at 12:30 pm
One of the most interesting tour operators that I met at TRENZ (and that is saying a great deal because I met quite a few very engaging people with great tourism services and products) was Sarah and Jonny of The Rock. This is something that I really, really, really want to do.
This is an overnight cruise on a converted car ferry around the Bay of Islands and it was created to provide you with a special time in this beautiful area. Sarah and Jonny were so warm and welcoming at their booth at TRENZ that I can only imagine how amazing it would be on their boat. Making this trip an exceptional experience matters to them and that comes across so clearly when speaking with them.
You are met at the Paihia Wharf at 5 p.m. and after introductions and a safety briefing, you get set up in your cabins and the boat leaves the dock. For a couple of hours, you have the opportunity to fish (and the lures are set for you if you like) as you tour about the Bay of Islands. There is skeet shooting (you can win a free drink!), you can sit back and just enjoy the scenery or even play a game of pool. I was told that on almost every cruise, you have the opportunity to see the largest and friendliest of the dolphin family – the bottlenose dolphins.
If you are successful fishing, and choose to keep the fish, you can have it for dinner – along with mussels and other delicious foods. Then you can go night kayaking if you would like. On dark nights, you can see unique phosphorescent fish lighting up the water, it is an incredible sight. On full moon evenings, paddling under the millions of stars in the moonlight is almost equally as impressive. For the daring, you can go night swimming in the phosphorescence where millions of tiny lights radiate off your limbs as you swim, it’s like swimming in “fairy dust.” Then you can climb back into the boat and hang out at the cozy bar getting to know Jonny and Sarah and the rest of the guests onboard.
After a nice night, lulled to sleep by the calm movement of the sea and the fresh air, you can watch the sunrise. See it either from your bed or, if you are an early riser, from the deck. Rumour has it that if you are an early riser, you might be fortunate enough to get to see a few extra things because Jonny is no sleep-in-type guy either and he might take you for a kayak tour while the others get in a few extra snores.
At 8 a.m., the breakfast bell is rung and a traditional NZ breakfast of hot oats, fruits, cereal, tea and coffee is served. Then you get to explore the islands further. Sarah and Jonny are very well versed in the historic and cultural aspects of the area and can provide some interesting background and information on the area, the wildlife and the people that live there. If the sea co-operates, you can go snorkeling and find New Zealand’s famous green-lip mussels. The fish are so trusting and friendly here that you can feed them mussels by hand! But don’t give up all the mussels, you might want to keep a few to steam and eat on the way home. The snorkeling locations are so clear with deep drop offs in lush subtropical kelp gardens, you can see rays, moray eels, octopus and crayfish.
There is so much to do – snorkel, kayak, sit on the boat and enjoy the view, and walk around the land areas where the boat anchors. It sounds like an incredible experience.
Don’t forget to check out our Flickr page for some photos that Jonny and Sarah provided to us or check their website for more information.
Don’t leave home without it!
Posted by Ruth Atherley on June 15, 2009 at 11:52 am
I left my hotel in Auckland to head to the airport early so I could write some more blog posts on the interesting and exciting things to do in New Zealand. I have many, many more to write!
I got to the airport, returned my rental phone and headed to check in. I was flying Pacific Premium Economy with Air New Zealand, which means I was able to avoid long lines and head to Air New Zealand’s Koru Lounge.
There are rules in airline security that are inconvenient, but made for our safety. Well, when I went on the wine tour, I had bought a bottle of wine specifically for my husband and had tucked it into a bag and not thought of it again. I used this bag as a carry on – and security discovered the wine (it was tucked into a side pocket) and, as they should, confiscated it. I received a lecture about it. Naturally, I was upset. I know better than to do that. I was in New Zealand on behalf of Tourism New Zealand and had accidentally broken a serious rule. And on top of that, 20 hour days had left me a bit worn down and tired out. The whole experience completely threw me off.
I headed to the lounge really upset with myself and sat down to calm down. Three minutes later, I realized I no longer had my passport. I thought I was going to have a meltdown. I looked through my bags (and I had brought a lot of things with me because I was going to work on blog posts and needed the info). I searched my bags again. I pulled my stuff apart. My heart was beating a mile a minute and I could feel the sweat beads starting to form on my forehead. It was awful. If you have ever realized at an airport that your boarding pass, passport, or your credit card is missing – you understand that awful, sinking feeling. Even writing about it makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Knowing I was in a bad situation, I went to the concierge desk at the Koru Lounge and tearfully explained that I couldn’t find my passport. Let me tell you, they leapt into action. They calmed me down, they took charge and they knew exactly what to do. The Lounge Concierge Pamela Graham took the lead on this and she was incredible. We went to security and they looked there for me (that was the last place I recalled having it), security then joined the search with us and Pamela went back to the lounge to re-search my bags. Everyone was so professional and courteous. While I knew and could tell by their reaction how serious this was, they went out of their way to make me feel better – because by this point, I felt like an idiot. I mean, who loses their passport at the airport.
We were into about an hour and a half of searching (and I mean searching) the airport. Pamela was briefly explaining what would happen if we did not find it (she already had a call into the Canadian Embassy in case the worst happened and we didn’t find it). She said they would have to take my bags off the plane if we didn’t find it within the next 20 minutes. I made one last round of the lounge and a lovely woman who was sitting in the chair I had sat in went out of her way and put her hand way down between the cushions – and there it was.
What a relief it was to see that little black book! And I can’t tell you how exceptional the Air New Zealand team was, especially Pamela Graham. I have had worse moments in my life, but those 90 or so minutes rank up there in the top ten. I was tired and just wanted to go home, I had work to do, it had been a long two weeks and when I thought I wasn’t going to be allowed back into Canada – it was an awful feeling. Pamela made a terrible time a little less so. She was professional to the core, knew exactly what to do, and she was kind and compassionate. I knew it was my fault it was missing – and to push that on me would have served no purpose. I was beating myself up over it enough. She let me know that no matter what, they would help me, which is just what I needed to hear.
The people at Air New Zealand are exceptional and I will be writing to the Chief Executive about that right after I finish this blog. I think sometimes it is easy to forget just how good they are at their jobs – until you need them. The concierge and flight crew are highly trained professionals who know what to do in an emergency. They understand human nature and need to deal with people in unusual situations and in high pressure moments. I know that by having Pamela take charge and handle this situation so well, it reminded me of how much each of these men and women bring to their work each day. We often only see the hospitality side of their job. There is so much more to what they do. While I hope you never have to see them in action like this, I hope you will keep it in mind and will give them the respect, courtesy and consideration they deserve. They have a tough job and sometimes passengers—like me—make it even tougher.
After I had sat down, with my passport in a safe compartment in my purse, and had a glass of wine, Pamela came over to me and explained what probably would have happened had we not found it. The Canadian Embassy would have entered into a series of legal negotiations to get me back into Canada – perhaps on the flight I was booked on, perhaps on another flight. It would have taken time, energy and efforts on the parts of a lot of people around the world. However, she did assure me, I would have gone home and they would have sorted it out.
She also then did something very thoughtful. With a little twinkle in her eye, she explained that she had set up a massage for me just before we were to board the flight to help take my stress level down. Talk about excellence in customer service.
Air New Zealand has a lot to be proud of – they have a green approach to travel that is excellent, they have non-stop flights from Vancouver to Auckland, they win awards and they are highly respected. They also have the best staff ever. Dealing with Air New Zealand is a delight. No matter what contact I had with them, they were exceptional. And Pamela Graham is right at the top of the list when it comes to being exceptional. And I am so appreciative of how much work she did to take care of me. Thank you, Pamela!
My advice – fly Air New Zealand, but keep your passport in a place where you can find it!
Prime Minister John Key and me!
Posted by Ruth Atherley on June 11, 2009 at 2:43 pm
After his speech at the TRENZ luncheon and a media briefing, I had the opportunity (and the honour) to speak with Prime Minister John Key. I have to admit, speaking with the leader of New Zealand was a bit intimidating, but everyone around him assured me that he is an easygoing and open person and “not to worry.” That of course didn’t stop me from worrying and waking up at 3 a.m. to review my questions to make sure I wasn’t wasting his time (or your time in reading what he had to say to me).
He is indeed, a very easygoing and open person. In fact, after dealing with a media scrum about some domestic topics that weren’t about tourism, he took a little walk about through TRENZ to check it out. He stopped and chatted with tour operators and made the time to really connect. The people he stopped to speak with seemed delighted to spend a few moments with the PM and it seemed to me (and I was right beside him), it looked like the Prime Minister was enjoying himself. He had been described as a “people person” and that’s a pretty apt description.
When we sat down for a brief chat, I asked the Prime Minister about the tourism focus for North America. In his presentation at lunch, he mentioned China and India as important tourism markets. I wanted to find out, with the current economic challenges, how he felt about North America as a tourism market for New Zealand. He told me that North America is an important market for New Zealand. He also said that with the upcoming Rugby World Cup in 2011, he believes that although Canadians and Americans might not be as rugby crazy as some other areas of the world, the events surrounding this exciting event will be a draw for us. (That morning, I got to see a virtual tour of the renovated Eden Park Rugby stadium and it’s pretty impressive.) While rugby is at the core of it all, the approach NZ is taking is that they are going to create a moving festival during the Rugby World Cup in 2011. There will be events, parties and activities that go along with the games and that going to a match will just be one part of the fun. It sounded like an interesting approach to me – and I have to admit, it raised my curiosity about rugby. I think I would like to see a game.
The PM also assured me that with all of the attention being focused on the Rugby World Cup, other events such as the upcoming filming of The Hobbit won’t be left behind. He knows how popular the Lord of the Rings movies are and what they did for New Zealand. Mr. Key is excited that filmmaker (and Kiwi) Peter Jackson will return to make The Hobbit. I am sure there are many, many fans out there that are excited about this movie too!
You can see the interview here on YouTube (the quality isn’t great, but hopefully you can hear it). Prime Minister Key is a big fan of Whistler. He loves to ski and was enthusiastic about skiing in British Columbia, especially Whistler.
I also found out that the PM is a beach guy too. He has a summer place on a beach just north of Auckland and you could see his face light up when he spoke about it. It’s always fun to see someone bring a piece of themselves to a conversation (especially the leader of a country!). Hearing Prime Minister Key talk about the beach was a nice end to a great chat.
Redevelopment of Queen’s Wharf announced at TRENZ
Posted by Ruth Atherley on June 11, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Yesterday at TRENZ, Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, John Key announced his support for the redevelopment of Queen’s Wharf. There is an interesting article from a New Zealand point of view on stuff.co.nz, it’s worth a read.
At the luncheon, the PM announced that government has, at the very minimum, secured Queen’s Wharf for use during the Rugby World Cup 2011, and that negotiations are well underway to purchase the wharf and develop a cruise terminal before the event.
Tourism Auckland Chief Executive, Graeme Osborne, said he was delighted with the government’s support for the redevelopment of this harbourside area, which is an integral element of Auckland City Council’s waterfront development proposal. “The Waitemata Harbour is clearly one of Auckland’s jewels and Queen’s Wharf is the ideal starting point for better connecting the city to the sea,” he said. “A future commitment to developing enhanced cruise ship facilities is also vital to securing this important sector for Auckland and New Zealand.”
Auckland is a critical exchange port for the country and attracts a large proportion of New Zealand’s cruise activity, with 66 ships expected to dock in the city this year.
“The cruise industry in New Zealand is growing every year and Auckland is reaping significant benefits. It’s crucial we have the infrastructure to fully capitalize on this, and of course to enhance the visitor’s experience,” said Osborne.
Throughout the 2007/2008 season, approximately 89,600 passenger days were spent in Auckland, or around 21 percent of all passenger days in New Zealand. During this period the Auckland region received $123.8 million of total cruise industry direct expenditure. This equates to around 60 percent of the national direct spend of $204 million.
The total effect of this injection into the regional economy generated $94.6 million of value added in the Auckland region. It is estimated that this activity sustained the employment equivalent of 1,434 full time workers for a year.
