One of the liveliest characters I met at TRENZ was Blair from Waimarino, an outdoor adventure/soft adventure tour company that specializes in kayaking. Along with Blair’s enthusiasm for kayaking (check out some his personal adventure pictures on our Flickr page – he PROMISES that you don’t have to do that!), the company is most famous for its glow worm kayaking tour.

Located in the Bay of Plenty, Waimarino’s Glow Worm Kayaking tour is a soft adventure that allows first time kayakers to safely enjoy an incredible experience. Individuals or groups start off by paddling across Lake McLaren in late afternoon, stopping on the shore for a lovely picnic of wine, cheese and crackers as the sun sets. Sitting there in the beauty of New Zealand nature, with a nice glass of locally produced wine in one hand and some delicious cheese in the other – you realize that this is more than just a trip up the river.

Entering the canyon, there are millions of glow worms glittering through the darkness, like stars in the sky. They are twinkling everywhere. As you gently paddle through the silence of the evening, it’s hard to tell where the glow worms end and the night sky and stars begin. This really is a must do when you visit New Zealand.

For the upcoming season, Waimarino has added a luxury component to the Glow Worm Kayaking soft adventure. With this new package you can choose to stay in Qualmark 4 Star plus accommodation and winery.

Also launched at TRENZ, Waimarino now offers a multi-day kayaking wilderness adventure tour, which takes you deep into Te Urewera National Park. You will experience the warmth of the Tuhoe People (Children of the Mist) during a marae stay enroute. The native forest envelopes you as in your kayak, you meander down the twists and turns of the river, taking in the ever-changing and awe-inspiring landscape.

Kayak fishing is also now available and, according to Blair, it is the world’s fastest growing sport. In your kayak, you can fish for fresh and salt-water species, including New Zealand’s world famous rainbow and brown trout. (I heard through several people while I was in NZ that the only way you can taste these delicious fish is if you catch them yourself. You apparently can’t buy trout in NZ grocery stores. Now, I am not sure if they were pulling my leg or not, but I thought that was a pretty interesting little tidbit and would love for a Kiwi to comment and tell us if that’s true or if they were just having fun at my expense!!)

Freedom Sea Kayaking allows you to explore the expansive Tauranga Harbour at your own pace. If luck is on your side, you just might be guided around by dolphins!

Check out Blair’s website and the photos on Flickr – including Blair’s own personal photos of stuff that I can tell you right now, I will NEVER do. The glow worms and the multi-day kayaking sound pretty good – hurling myself in a kayak over Haka Falls like Blair, not so much!

I have been emailing back and forth with the team at Ngai Tahu Tourism and they have quite a few exciting activities that look like they would be awesome to do (my wish list keeps getting longer!). Check out a few images here.

First there is the Dart River Jet Safaris located in Queenstown. According to the info I received, it’s a unique combination of exciting river jet boating, Maori heritage and inspiring adventure. There are three Safari options – the discovery of the Wilderness Safari, the exhilarating Jet Boat Safari or the Funyak Safari adventure.

Next up is Shotover Jet – the world’s most exciting jet boat ride. Shotover Jet is the only company permitted to operate in the spectacular Shotover River Canyons. It’s a thrilling ride – skimming past rocky outcrops at close range as you twist and turn through the narrow canyons at breathtaking speeds.

And last, but certainly not least, is the Hollyford Track. I recently had the opportunity to work with outdoor adventure journalist Peter Potterfield on a cross-Canada tour as he spoke about the great hikes in New Zealand, and this is certainly one of them!

The Hollyford Track is an incredible 3-day/2-night all inclusive guided wilderness experience. Located in Fiordland National Park, Hollyford Track is a walk from the heart of New Zealand – the Southern Alps, to its western boundary – the Tasman Sea. The scenery is geologically spectacular and ever changing with snow capped mountains, glaciers, rainforests, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, sand dunes, reefs and surf. Imagine walking into a world that has remained largely unchanged since the age of the dinosaur.

One of the coolest things I saw at TRENZ was Harley Tours New Zealand. The company has been in existence for seven years and came under new ownership about a year ago.

Baz and Ali Howie are incredibly friendly, easy going and know what it takes to give you an excellent motorcycle experience across New Zealand. And not just on any bike either, we’re talking Harley Davidson.

They offer rentals or self ride guided tours for those with a motorbike license. If you don’t have a license, you can still experience the Harley thrill on a chauffeured passenger tour.

Take a look at the photos on Flickr and check out their website – all the info you could possibly need is there. Baz and Ali are great people and will give you the ride of your life!

As they say: “On a Harley it’s all about the journey not the destination!”  

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!

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.  

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.

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.

While TRENZ might be over—and I am getting on an Air New Zealand flight later today to head back to Vancouver (directly, no layovers for me!!)—the blog has been so well received that we have decided to keep it up for longer than planned. The TRENZblog will stay up for several months for reference and referral.

I have quite a few more posts on some of the interesting, innovative and amazing things to do in New Zealand. So please keep coming back to check them out over the next few days.  

InterCity Group (the company that is bringing the Ipipiri ship to the Bay of Islands) also has a pretty interesting approach to travel through New Zealand. They offer a Travelpass and Flexi-Pass. These allow you to travel throughout the North and South Islands on coaches (buses) in comfort and at your convenience. You can hop on and off where you choose and the costs are based on the number of hours of travel. If you are planning on checking out several spots, it’s worth a look.

One of the bonuses of travelling this way is that you will get to travel New Zealand alongside the locals. I know that when I travel, the people I really want to talk to are the ones that live there. They know the best places to go, where to eat, what to do, what NOT to do and can give you a glimpse into the life of a Kiwi.

Check out the websites here:

Travelpass

Flexi-Pass 

I had a great (get it!) conversation with Daniel of GreatSights. Along with a few other interesting services, they offer overnight cruises in the Bay of Islands on a brand new and beautiful ship called the Ipipiri. (And another wish goes on my list for my next trip to New Zealand.)

Ipipiri is the scared Maori name for the Bay of Islands and the InterCity Group graciously accepted the generous offer to use the name after consultation with the people of Rawhiti.

On the Ipipiri, which launches in October 2009, you can surround yourself in nature, immerse yourself in history and treat yourself to a truly unique night of style. The Ipipiri is the largest overnight cruise ship permanently based in New Zealand.

The Ipipiri will depart daily at 1:30 p.m. and return at 11 a.m. the following morning. Each cruise will include full commentary on the history, environment and some of the Bay of Islands most spectacular landmarks.

From Kupe, the very first voyager and Maori to discover New Zealand over 1,000 years ago, to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Northland brings together the unique culture and history of the original Maori and European settlers of New Zealand. With some of the warmest waters in New Zealand, the Bay of Islands is home to an abundance of marine life – including dolphins, whales, seals and penguins.

The ship can be used as a self-contained conference facility. Imagine having a workshop and at the end of the day, sitting on deck with a drink and watching dolphins frolic!

Check out some of the images here.