Fri 13 Feb 2009
Kiwi theme park operator, New Zealand Experience, has reported an 18.4% fall in net profit to NZ$590,000 (US$315,000) for the second half of 2008, the NZ Herald reported. The company said that the result was a direct result of declining visitor numbers at the company’s Rainbow’s End theme park in South Auckland.
Sat 31 Jan 2009
The air temperature takes a vicious plunge below freezing as I exit Halifax airport. I’m in Nova Scotia to do research for a book on cold-water surfing, and to talk to the pioneers who, armed only with worn-out diving suits and boards imported from the altogether sunnier climes of California, took to these waters back in the early 1960s. This is an environment where icebergs occasionally drift through the line-up, so I am expecting a truly hardcore bunch of surfers.
They don’t disappoint. "OK, (more…)
Sat 24 Jan 2009
“END the occupation of Tibet ,” the graffiti would have said, if some wit hadn’t crossed out the word “Tibet” and scribbled “East London” instead.
There’s graffiti all over this part of London , but these particular words, tinged with nostalgia and rebellion, tell a story. This gray and unfashionable immigrant-heavy neighborhood is going through a major makeover, and not everyone is happy about it.
The neighborhood of Stratford is taking the torch from Beijing as the site of the next Summer (more…)
Mon 19 Jan 2009
The website
Another travel website hits the internet this week. www.Globalista.co.uk will focus on luxury travel. Log on to read inside guides to destinations by leading travel writers and to discover how you can arrange itineraries to make your travels extra-special.
The walk
Forty free guided walks in the London area will be on offer on 31 January and 1 February. The Winter Wanders will feature "urban rambles" in the city, "suburban strides", and "rural (more…)
Mon 12 Jan 2009
Today…
British Airways takes off for St Kitts in the eastern Caribbean. Flights depart from Gatwick every Saturday, touching down en route in Antigua (ba.com).
This week…
The Olympic Park at Whistler is hosting the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup and Cross Country Skiing World Cup from Monday to Thursday, gearing up for next year’s Winter Olympics in the Canadian ski resort (whistler.com). In Japan, Kyoto will fling open its doors to cultural sites normally off-limits until (more…)
Mon 29 Dec 2008
A MIDAIR emergency involving a sick Qantas passenger forced the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, to touch down in Fiji for the first time yesterday.
But what was supposed to be a quick turnaround became an overnight holiday in paradise after an onboard computer problem was unable to be fixed by local engineers.
Flight QF12, with 337 passengers on board, was 10 hours and 45 minutes into its journey from Los Angeles to Sydney when a male passenger apparently suffered diabetic (more…)
Wed 24 Dec 2008
Mark Rowe joins the Walhalla Trail, part of a mind-boggling wilderness endurance test
The cry went up: “Tiger snake!” Some animals have misleadingly fearsome names, such as the antlion, which isn’t a lion. But “tiger” and “snake” carry baggage, especially in Australia. In the time it took me to work this out, and study the undergrowth for the reptile, I noticed I was now alone. My four walking companions had taken an eighth of a second to put 50 yards between them and danger.
I clambered over (more…)
Wed 17 Dec 2008
Newfoundland’s Long Range Traverse feels remotely high and mighty, and cold and lush
WESTERN BROOK POND, Newfoundland — Dark clouds unleashed a fury of rain that pelted our bodies and swelled the volume of water cascading down the precipitous cliffs. We were on the deck of a tour boat with some 40 other passengers taking in the scenery of Western Brook Pond.
Not technically a fiord, since this 10-mile lake (a pond only in Canadian terms) contains no hint of saline, how else could one describe (more…)
Mon 8 Dec 2008
Hearty Smithfield breakfasts of the offal and ale variety have long been a staple of the Fox & Anchor, watering hole of choice for hard-grafting meat porters, hard-partying Londoners and anyone else in search of a carb fix at dawn.
Now this famous Victorian inn has been beautifully re-invented as part gastropub, part boutique hotel. The quality and attention to detail almost evoke a "Disney does Dickensian London" feel, but the experience is infinitely more satisfying for being authentic (more…)