What does a movie location tour guide do when he goes on vacation? Over the Christmas/New Year period, Nicole and I took a rare break and visited Oregon and Hawaii. This is the busiest time of year in New Zealand tourism and I'm usually working. Nicole hasn't had Christmas with her family since 2005 so it [...]
Buy the Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy Location Guidebook HERE! Buy the Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook HERE! Ian Brodie's book, The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy Location Guidebook is a very useful tool when planning and executing your own Middle-earth adventure in New Zealand! I met Ian in Queenstown way back in 2002 (I think), when he was researching [...]
Yesterday was a memorable day on the road. As I write this, we're sitting in the very nice Colonial Motel in Blenheim on day 2 of a road trip on the South Island. The purpose of the trip is meeting some tourism industry people, checking out some new locations to include on future trips, and my wife [...]
Britomart Transport Centre, Auckland As somebody who makes a living (and loves) driving people around New Zealand, it's hard for me to admit it, but Kiwirail Scenic's Northern Explorer train ride between Auckland and Wellington is an incredible experience. Before taking the ride, I viewed an all day train journey through the central North Island [...]
I love cars. I love to drive. I love the smell and the sound of cars racing on a circuit and the roar of a Spitfire buzzing an airfield. I know I'm not alone. Whether you are into Veteran, Vintage, Hot Rod, Rat Rod, Classic, Modern, European, American, British or Australian cars, New Zealand is [...]
The real beauty of making multiple trips to the same country is that you don't have to rush to see everything. This was my client's (let's call him "Lemmy"), fourth trip to New Zealand. His first three times here were all based in the South Island, where I was lucky enough to meet him while [...]
