While photos can capture the beauty of a place, they only sometimes do it justice. New Zealand can be like that, no matter were you look, there is another photo opportunity. The best photos though are the ones in your head. The memories and feeling conjured up from the trip you just took to New Zealand with True New Zealand Adventures. You know, the trip where you kayaked with dolphins in Milford Sound, hiked the Routeburn Track beneath towering mountains and watched the sunset from the West Coast while sipping a New Zealand wine … these experiences are the best photos.

If you can’t make it there yet, here is a little eye-candy to help you keep working toward your dream.

Only in New Zealand ... this one makes us chuckle every time.

A beautiful day hiking to Salisbury Lodge on our 12 day Mountains to Sea adventure tour.

Sunset while kayaking the majestic Milford Sound fiord. Experience this on our Rugged West or Southern Shot adventure tours.

Check out our fearless leader Gavin Pond (top left) running a paddling trip in Milford Sound.

You’ve finally booked your flight to New Zealand. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get an upgrade into business class or even first class?

There are two types of upgrades: free ones and ones you pay for.

A paid upgrade is when you use your flight points, either through the airlines travel membership or your credit card mileage program. These are usually only confirmed at the  last minute and are not guaranteed on every flight. One word of advice – save them for the long haul flights, you’ll get more bang for your buck.

Free airline upgrades don’t happen often. They are often based on an airlines frequent flier programs and are usually handled by the airline computer system. These upgrades occur usually because seats have been oversold or a plane change has occurred, requiring some shuffling of the seating plan.

Here are 5 tips to help you on your way.

1. If you’re not a member already, join your airlines frequent flier program. If you travel a lot it may also be worth joining your airlines travel club – Air New Zealand’s is know as Koru and features many great benefits.

2. Fly at times when an airline is more likely to be overbooked, hence they are looking to upgrade. For flights to or from New Zealand this is typically Friday, Saturday or Sunday depending on whether you are coming or going. If flying from the United State for one of our adventure travel tours, a departure day of Saturday evening from Los Angeles will land you in New Zealand Monday morning, ready for our friendly tour pick up.

3. Ask – there is no harm in asking nicely, do this at check-in … depending on the airlines policy you may find yourself sitting with more room.

4. Dress the part. It never hurts to dress up, especially if the check-in staff have some leeway in seat allocation – a positive first impression can get you a long way. Just remember to bring something comfortable for the flight.

5. If you’re traveling on your honeymoon or for some other special occasion, let the staff know. It may just help you get that seat upgrade or at least special attention on the flight.

While free upgrades are very rare these days, you just never know your luck. For more information on traveling to New Zealand see our FAQ page or check out our travel options for Air New Zealand on our blog.

New Zealand has been listed in National Geographic Traveler magazine as one of the Best of the World 2012: a must-visit destination for your 2012 travel adventures.

We enthusiastically agree.

No matter if you are looking to explore the culture, scenery and kiwi-lifestyle or looking to explore New Zealand’s outdoor opportunities (such as hiking) True New Zealand Adventures has a guided tour for you.

Come explore hot pools, snow-covered mountains, glaciers, rainforests and volcanoes and, at the end of the day, sit down, put your feet up and sip a New Zealand wine while you sample local food.

Te Araroa, a 1,864 mile hiking trail has just opened in New Zealand. Traveling the full-length of New Zealand this hiking trail takes 120 days to complete.

New Zealand’s newest hiking trail Te Araroa  ” The Long Pathway”, officially opened December 3rd.

A whopping 3,000 km (1,864 miles) trail stretching from the top of the North Island (Cape Reinga) to the bottom of the South (Bluff), “The Long Pathway” incorporates existing and newly constructed trails but has the privilege of being the first official full length through-hiking trail in New Zealand — starting and finishing north and south at the sea.

Taking approximately 120 days to hike, you’ll pass through cities, towns, traverse mountains and volcanoes, follow valleys, streams and rivers and circumvent lakes. The trail traverses a wide range of geological features and environments. It’s is a true New Zealand experience in the purist sense: You are literally walking New Zealand after all.

If you don’t have 120 days to hike the length of New Zealand don’t worry, there are plenty of other tracks to explore. Our favorite is the Routeburn Track, a three day hike over 32 km (20 miles) crossing the great divide and right in the heart of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Check out our 14 day Rugged West, South Island, New Zealand tour for more information on how you could be hiking this amazing “Great Walk.”

While New Zealand is best known for its scenery and outdoor adventure, it also has great cuisine and, of course, wines.

Founded as a British Colony, New Zealand inherited British cuisine … hence the shared love of fish and chips!

That said, the last couple of decades have seen New Zealand develop its own unique food and dining experience, pulling flavors and styles from Polynesia and Asia — along with some kiwi ingenuity. Heavily influenced by rich pastures, livestock and abundant sea life, New Zealand cuisine, especially in restaurants, can be refreshingly creative.


Here are some more traditional and truly New Zealand cuisine:

• kumara: sweet potato. Used in a similar way as potatoes but usually roasted or fried to form kumara chips.
• pavlova: a desert of whipped egg whites topped with whipped cream and decorated with sliced fruit.
• ANZAC biscuits: plain hard oatmeal biscuits held together by golden syrup. Originally made for and by ANZAC troops during the First World War.
• pies – There is nothing like a good old New Zealand pie. Individually sized, and about 4-5 ” in diameter, pies have a non-flakey pastry crust and contain beef, lamb, pork, potato, kumara, vegetables, and cheese or any other combination.
• New Zealand green-lipped mussels: a large mussel by comparison. These are farmed in New Zealand coastal waters. They are great either marinated or steamed in a tomato, garlic and white wine broth.
• New Zealand lamb: often roasted with other vegetables but can also be served many other ways. Free range and feed on green grass and rich clover fields. New Zealand Lamb is hormone and steroid free.
• whitebait: Considered a delicacy, these are tiny tadpole sized sprat of native freshwater fish species. Caught in the coastal rivers as they migrate each year in November and December, they are usually fried as a Pattie.
• hangi: or earth oven. A traditional Maori way of cooking usually seen at large gatherings. Food cooked in a hangi has a distinctive flavor as the food is steam- cooked over several hours.

Air New Zealand, with its modern fleet of aircraft, has several travel options for your flight experience as you travel to and from New Zealand.

I plan to review each over the next couple of months, starting with their newest feature “Economy Skycouch” – available on the new 777-300 planes, flying daily between Auckland, Los Angeles and London.

The “Skycouch” is a trio of three Economy seats that together create a flexible space or “couch.” The hand rests fold completely up into the seat, while the foot rests raise to create a flat platform about 29″ wide and three seats long.

While there are three seats, Air New Zealand suggests the Skycouch be used for either a couple or family and kids. Feedback from travelers suggest that it is not comfortable for side by side sleep due to the fact that the reclining seats in front of you limit the usable space and the overall length of just over 5 feet is a little short.

It can be ideal though for a couple (see photo) if one person sleeps with their feet or head resting on the other, while the non-sleeper either reads or watches movies. You can alternate every few hours or so. It is also ideal for a single parent traveling with kids as the flat area makes a great play area and later the perfect bed for the young ones.

As a couple traveling, the additional cost of the extra space is slightly cheaper than the equivalent of that extra seat.  So .. you are basically buying an extra seat for a couple hundred dollars cheaper — though I am sure there are some deals to be found either last minute or through promotions.

So if you are looking for some extra space to make that flight across the pacific a bit more comfy consider Air New Zealand’s “Skycouch.”

In case you need more proof that New Zealand is an amazing place to visit, Lonely Planet has named Southern Lakes (including Lake Wanaka and Fiordland) and Queenstown in their top-ten must-visit destinations.

Thanks to year round activities and spectacular scenery, “there isn’t a bad time to turn up in the world’s top adventure playground,” writes Lonely Planet.

We couldn’t agree more. With amazing hikes, walks, a smorgasbord of adventure activities and breathtaking scenery, it’s no wonder this area in the south of New Zealand made the list.

The Routeburn, Kepler and Milford Track hikes bring thousands of people each year to the region to explore and walk through the stunning scenery — which just keeps coming around every corner.

For those with an adventurous spirit, the list of activities is almost endless: bungee jumping, jet boating, horse trekking, trout fishing, skiing, rafting and paragliding.

We’ve long known that this is a destination not to be missed. In fact, every single one of our trips visit this area!

Air New Zealand flight

If you’re thinking of traveling to New Zealand this spring, Air New Zealand has a great deal currently going.

To check out these travel deals visit http://www.airnewzealand.com/new-zealand-in-autumn

It’s been a long time since 1987 — the last time the New Zealand All Blacks claimed the Rugby World Cup as their own. The long wait ended last weekend in Auckland with the New Zealand All Blacks winning it all against France in the finals.

Mirror.co.uk

The Rugby World Cup, hosted in New Zealand and played over  6 weeks, consisted of teams from  20 countries, playing a total of 48 games played all over New Zealand.

Many loyal fans travelled to New Zealand from all over the world to support their home teams. Over 100, 000 visitors made the trek to New Zealand over the last 3 months.

Now that the event has ended and everyone has returned to the “real world” — now is a great time to consider traveling to New Zealand.  Air fares have dropped and the crowds are gone! For tips on air travel — see our FAQ page.

Bring a little New Zealand into your life…  Check us out on Facebook!