New Zealand - A dream comes true (Part 1)

New Zealand has always been a dream destination for me. "The land of the long white cloud", as it was called by the Maori when they first discovered it, offers amazing landscapes, beautiful mountains, forests, lakes and gorgeous beaches. Although tourism is an important income for the country, I felt that New Zealanders are very proud of their land and wish to protect it the best they can through ecotourism initiatives. 

Some people might comment on the fact that this was far from being a green holiday. And I agree. My aim is to pursue my travels in the most environmentally friendly way possible when options are available. In this case, I will probably visit New Zealand once in my life and 2010 was the right time for me to fulfil that dream.

Our itinerary

We spent 18 days travelling across both south and north islands. Obviously, we had to select the areas to visit as several months would have been needed to visit the whole country.

Our method of transport and accommodation was a campervan. We did manage to get a good deal but we ended up with a pretty old vehicle. It did survive the trip (just!).

Although this method of transport involves a lot of driving, it is a fantastic way to discover a country which has so much to offer. Being able to park up and spend the night wherever we fancied was amazing.

View from our campervan, in a DOC campsite

The advantage of having a campervan is that you can stay in a campsite or freedom camp where allowed. Some areas are against freedom camping particularly around Wanaka and Queenstown. So you need to check the signs. We have stayed in both basic campsites which offer toilet facilities and fresh water only (no hot water and no showers) and modern campsites which offer a whole range of facilities.  

We decided to spend 2 weeks in the South island and 1 week in the North island. Below is our itinerary.

South island - A chance to re-connect with nature



         

Photo diary

Lake Wanaka

Lake Wakatipu

Milford Sound

Climbing Fox Glacier



A scenic route between Queenstown and Wanaka

Blenheim - The wine region

Whales watching in Kaikoura - Magical!

In my next post, I will share our itinerary for the north island. Feel free to ask me any questions if you are planning a trip yourself. It really is a beautiful country, just like I had imagined it (and much more!).

Through the lens - Tiptoe Traveller in Cuba

Parque Natural Topes de Collantes

Why I fell in love with Portugal

The real Lisbon: simplicity, authenticity and joie de vivre

I spent 3 days in Lisbon with 5 girlfriends. One of them is actually Portuguese. There is no better way to discover a new country when you are accompanied by a local person.  

I loved the city, the people and the food.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. The history of this city is fascinating. The Lonely planet guide describes this very well. Walking around is probably the best way to discover this place. If you get tired, there is a very good tram system. The line 28 takes you to the old part of town.




As you get closer to the centre, you will find beautiful classic architecture. Some buildings need a bit of TLC but it actually gives the city its unique charm. It did remind me of Cuba: not overly developed (if we compare with other European capital cities), very old shops and a few graffiti.

It is really nice to see that Portuguese people are holding on to their traditions. Finding souvenirs which are made in Portugal is pretty easy. You can get some lovely potteries or colourful ceramic tiles.  

The food is simple but so tasty. Their speciality is bacalhau, dried salty codfish which is cooked in many different ways (tomato sauce, olive oil and garlic sauce, white sauce etc...).

Portuguese people love their desserts. One of their specialities is custard tarts. If you are going to have one dessert, you should definitely try them.

This country has so much to offer. The best places seem to be hidden behind old facades. You have to talk to the locals to discover those treasures.

And how refreshing it was to find a place which wasn't developed to accomodate tourists needs. I believe the resorts by the seaside are pretty developed in this country, but the capital is so full of character. I highly recommend a little trip to Lisboa.



Our first Portuguese lesson





Bacalhau: Portuguese word for dried and salted codfish - simply delicious





Amazing choice of pastries






















Old cash register - holding on tradition

Tram: a great way to visit the old town



Have you been to Portugal?
What did you think?

Tiptoe Traveller in: Cuba

Independent travel versus package holiday: why do people choose to hide from local communities?

The Republic of Cuba is an island in the Caribbean. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the capital of this country. We went to Cuba a few years ago and decided to hire a car for 10 days to explore the island.

What an amazing experience!


That wasn't our car by the way

 The landscape was so different from one side of the island to the other.

Parque Natural Topes de Collantes

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 1: Do not rely on maps!

First of all, it is a mission to find a road map. The one we managed to find in a little shop in Havana was very basic and did not show all the roads. Good start! And no need to say that we got lost a few times.

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 2: Hablas Espagnol? A few words is a must...

Cubans are very helpful but only speak Spanish. If you need to ask for directions, it needs to be done in their language. Luckily, I get by so we managed OK. Just!

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 3: Bed and Breakfast accommodations, the best option to meet friendly locals and to eat great food!

We had booked most of our accommodations in advance from England. However, we had 3 nights for which we did not have any accommodation. We thought we would try to find something once we got there. So, we stayed in a town called Cienfuegos for one night. We then asked the owners if they could recommend a place to stay in Trinidad, our next stop. They did have some friends living there who help us find a room for two nights. We had a great time with the new family and we ate delicious food every night. From there, we did the same thing. We got another great recommendation for our next stop, Santa Clara.


Bed and Breakfast in Cienfuegos

After our 10-day tour, we had planned to spend three days in an all-inclusive resort to relax before heading home. The resort, Superclubs Breeze in Jibacoa, was very popular with Canadians. They like coming to Cuba to spend a couple of weeks in the sun. They are very recognisable because they walk around the resort with HUGE plastic mugs which they fill with cocktails at the bar (No offence to our Canadian friends, it's just that we had never seen this before).

Can you spot the HUGE mug?

Why are there so many people who do not take the time to discover the country they have travelled to?

The majority of guests in this resort were spending one or two weeks at the resort with, in some cases one day spent in Havana. As far as we are concerned, we went to Cuba to meet the Cubans, not to sit on the beach all day and eat European style food. We ate with the Cubans, we slept in their houses, we travelled on their roads and we even picked up a few Cuban hitchhikers on the way (which was another interesting experience).

Me and our new Cubans friends

Did you know that the majority of Cubans are not allowed to leave their country? I was very chocked when I found out. We are so lucky to have the freedom to travel as and when we feel like it. I think it is sad that people spend time in a resort without ever meeting the local community and discovering their culture.

How can we encourage people to look outside their resort and explore the real world? How can we show them what they are missing?

Tiptoe Traveller in: Antalya, Turkey

September 2010 - 10 days in the sun

1. Accommodation: Mediterra Art Hotel - excellent location right in the heart of the old town
2. The old town (Kaleiçi) and the private beach (hard to find but well worth it!)
3. The Turks: very friendly and helpful
4. Backgammon: the local favourite pass-time to be enjoyed while drinking Efes beer and eating roasted chick peas
5. Public transport: brand new tramway; buses are good too once you have worked out the system.

1. Food: not bad but the same tourist menus everywhere - the kebabs are delicious though
2. Souvenirs: same old stuff everywhere - Turkish delights are a good thing to bring back to your friends. I bought some local honey and a set of Turkish tea glasses at a bargain price.

Local map



Turkish spices



Mediterra Art Hotel





Bey mountains - view from Antalya old town

Amazing Duden waterfall - 15km from Antalya

Let's not forget recycling

Airport lounges: are they missing a trick?



Photo from: My Opera

Ever been bored in airport lounges?

I have just travelled back from Turkey via Zurich airport. Unfortunately, we had to wait 3 hours for our connection back to the UK.

When I go to a new airport, I am always quite excited. I am hoping to find something a little bit different: a great shopping experience, a good choice of places to eat, anything to help pass the time. However, as soon as I get through passport control, I find myself wondering around another "soulless" airport lounge with the same designer shops (who can afford these products?), the same boring coffee shops (you can only have so many coffees) and if you are lucky you might find a couple of places to eat (with uninspiring and overpriced menus). In large airports, you might find an area where you can access the Internet.

The waiting area for me is the worst of all with the most uncomfortable seats (if you can find one), bad lighting and no entertainment whatsoever. How depressing!!

Isn't there an opportunity here to create fun and interesting areas to make the journey a bit more enjoyable?

Isn't it a great place to educate travellers about responsible travel?

What would you like to see in airport lounges, that would change your travel experience?

Independent hotels: do they support ecotourism?

To experience the culture of a new country, I tend to favour bed & breakfast accommodations (Gîtes in France) or small independent hotels. These places are usually run by individuals who take customer service seriously. The ones I have experienced so far offered personalised services and provided a lot of information about local places of interests. If you wanted to hire a guide, they could recommend local people with excellent knowledge of the region, its history and its secrets.

You also get the chance to meet other travellers who are happy to share their own discoveries over breakfast (particularly the ones not advertised in the brochures).

Finally, I like to find out if there is a local market in the area as it is a great place to discover how the local people live. In Turkey, I was amazed to see the choice of fresh fruit and vegetables produced locally. Markets are sometimes a good place to get gifts and souvenirs made locally. In the south of France, artisans sell a lot of their goods at various markets. You can find potteries, jewellery, clothes etc...

I really feel that by choosing small hotels, I contribute more to the local economy. Do you agree?