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Big Boys’ Toys – drive diggers and ‘dozers just for the sheer hell of it

Big Boys’ Toys – drive diggers and ‘dozers just for the sheer hell of it

Ever felt you’d like to drive some real Big Boys’ Toys like a bulldozer, a front-end loader or a digger?  Just for the fun of it? Then take a road trip to Invercargill in New Zealand’s deep south.

At Dig This Invercargill you can have a go at feeling like a superhero in a 4 tonne front-end loader, stacking up to 20 tonnes of tyres.

Or dig a whole lot of dirt in the king of the gravel pit. Dump, dig and push your way around in a five-tonne digger. Guide your hulking piece of machinery through delicate twirls and spins that would seem at home in a ballet performance. Operate five tonnes of sheer power, in a machine that can master the most gentle of manoeuvres.

And if five tonnes isn’t enough heavy metal for you, have a go with a mega-monster, the 15 tonne version

But for the … Read more

Brighton – a great weekend road trip from London

Brighton – a great weekend road trip from London

High summer. What a great time to take a UK road trip to explore the beautiful British countryside, lush in its verdant midsummer mantle, on a weekend road trip.

Here’s an easy two or three day road trip from London to Brighton via Royal Tunbridge Wells. Good for a weekend, even better for a long weekend.

This is just one of hundreds of road trip ideas for great British road trips you’ll find at  http://greatbritishroadtrips.co.uk. Nut out visits to all the places on your bucket list. This book will help you plan what to see, where to go and how to get there.

Much of the journey twixt London and Brighton is through the Kentish “Garden of England”, before crossing The Weald into East Sussex.

This is a fertile stretch of countryside with orchards, cornfields, market gardens and hops growing easily and plentifully. It’s also a well wooded region … Read more

Wilderness, walks, wildlife, wine, even a wizard on this Northland roadtrip

Wilderness, walks, wildlife, wine, even a wizard on this Northland roadtrip

The Leigh / Pakiri / Mangawhai / Waipu Road

If you are planning a road trip from Auckland, New Zealand, into Northland (the locals will try to kid you it’s ‘the winterless north’) why stick to boring and ultra-busy State Highway 1?

It’s a road trip for heaven’s sake. Do something different. Quit the highway. Go explore the byway.

This is a diversion from State Highway 1 in Northland that will take you through Matakana (a rapidly developing wine and food area), Leigh, Pakiri and the seaside resort village of Mangawhai back to SH1 at Waipu.

It’s a highly recommended detour if you have the day to spare – Goat Island Marine reserve is reason enough to go this way but so are the vineyard cafes in Matakana and the long sandy stretch of Pakiri Beach.

Even on it’s own as a road trip it’s a great exploration with a … Read more

10 Stately Days Out in the UK

10 Stately Days Out in the UK

The shackles of lockdown are slowly coming off and on April 12 domestic tourism resumed. Even international travel is beginning to stir from its Covid slumber. Where better to take a staycation than a lavish estate housing a drive-through safari, or the opulent birthplace of Winston Churchill?

House of Oak have reviewed the top stately homes in the UK and whittled them down to reveal a hotlist of the most grand and luxurious houses to visit, all steeped in an immersive history.

The estates listed below make the perfect day trip for a majestic experience.

1 – Longleat House, Somerset, £25.45 entry

Longleat is home to a safari park which opened in 1966, the first drive-through safari outside of Africa. It houses tigers, rhinos, giraffes and more!

Longleat House is steeped in history, housing a collection of over 40,000 books. There are seven beautiful libraries to explore, with some books … Read more

Bluff, New Zealand –  oysters, sharks and extremities.

Bluff, New Zealand – oysters, sharks and extremities.

Had a birthday party last night and in a chat with a friend I mentioned that the previous weekend I had been in Bluff, the southernmost town in New Zealand.

“Why the hell would you go there?” they asked.

So I thought about it.  Three reasons.

Oysters, sharks and geographical extremities.

Let’s deal with the extremities first.

Many travellers go to Bluff because Stirling Point, on the southern edge of the village, is often regarded as the southernmost point in the country.

It isn’t, of course, but that hasn’t stopped the signpost there being the most photographed road-sign in the country.

It’s an interesting debate about which is, in fact, the southernmost point, and that depends on which definition of “New Zealand” you choose. Stewart Island, further south across Foveaux Strait is most certainly part of “New Zealand” and therefore the island’s South Cape could, with some validity, claim the … Read more

Heading south from Auckland? Leave the high road, take the low road

Heading south from Auckland? Leave the high road, take the low road

 So you are heading out on the great road south from Auckland towards Taupo and beyond. Why not take a road less travelled and enjoy drop-dead beautiful rural landscapes, an environmental success story, a bit of history and some great photo ops for Facebook or the ‘Gram?

 

Instead of the crowded, and dare I say it, perhaps too-familiar State Highway 1 south of Cambridge,  take the back roads that follow the Waikato River and the hydro lakes along it.  Slower, no doubt, than the sprint down SH1 but you will be richly rewarded for the extra 20 minutes or so.

Actually, I lie.  It will be more like 45 minutes because every few km you will be out of the car getting the kind of photos that usually pop up on TV One’s weather presentation.

Arapuni translates roughly as the Hidden Path, and how apt is that? It’s a … Read more

Haddon Hall – England’s Greatest Mediaeval House

Haddon Hall – England’s Greatest Mediaeval House

There are hundreds of great and grand houses in the UK but Haddon Hall, near Bakewell in Derby, is unique among them.

It is 900 years old and has been in the same family all that time.  But that’s not what makes it all that special.

For 200 years during the reign of Queen Anne to the late 19th century it was locked up. When the key was turned to close it the house was left in a state of suspended existence. Everything was left stock still . . . the tapestry on the walls, the furniture, the pewter in the cupboards. Everything, just waiting to be dusted off and lived in again.

Over the centuries it became known as the “Sleeping Beauty” house.

The owners preferred to live at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire and Haddon Hall slumbered on.

Restoration begins

It wasn’t until early last century that the … Read more

A London to Brighton Road Trip through one of England’s loveliest regions.

A London to Brighton Road Trip through one of England’s loveliest regions.

Living in London or just visiting?  Here’s an easy two or three day road trip to Brighton via Royal Tunbridge Wells .

It can be done comfortably in two days with an overnight stop in Brighton but why not take the extra day and really get the most out of a region that has history, outstanding natural beauty, opulent architecture and some great shopping.

Much of the journey twixt London and Brighton is through the Kentish “Garden of England”, before crossing The Weald into East Sussex.

This is a fertile stretch of countryside with orchards, cornfields, market gardens and hops growing easily and plentifully. It’s also a well wooded region so that much of the time you will drive through leafy lanes and narrow tree-lined roads.

 

This road trip is one from my eBook Great British Road Trips.

Put together a pick-and-mix British road trip from a collection of

… Read more
The Catlins Forest Road: What an amazing place

The Catlins Forest Road: What an amazing place

Just finished a road trip through the Catlins area in New Zealand’s Southland.  Been a few years since  I rode that road . . . what an amazing place it is.

Wildlife – much of it threatened species – in luxuriant abundance, wild golden sanded beaches,  life-filled forests set to the music of waterfalls, historic lighthouses, and more walks than you could cover in a month.

Tie it all up with some particularly attractive accommodation options . . . no, there are no five star hotels, not even some fairly average hotels. The real gems are to be found on the farms and in the homes of the locals.

First, however, a few words of warning:  There are no ATMs between Balclutha and Invercargill, but many businesses are happy enough to give cash out with purchases.   There is minimal cellphone coverage in the area – some around Owaka but that’s … Read more

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