A sprawling residential suburb, Portmore stretches across the plains west of Kingston. Shopping malls, entertainment centers and fast-food joints add color to an otherwise drab environment. The suburb is linked to the capital by the Portmore–Kingston Causeway.
Read more to view related tour Video clips share by others on Portmore
River-hugging Warkworth makes for a pleasant pit stop, its dinky main street retaining a village atmosphere. Grab a free Heritage Trail brochure from the Warkworth i-SITE (09-425 9081; www.warkworthnz.com; 1 Baxter St; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-3pm Sat, 8.30am-noon Sun) if you’ve got some time to kill.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
Once the pirate capital of the Caribbean – and for more than 200 years the hub of British naval power in the West Indies – Port Royal today is a dilapidated, ramshackle place of tropical lassitude, replete with important historical buildings collapsing to dust. Today’s funky fishing hamlet gives little hint of the town’s former flamboyant glory.
Read more to view related tour Video clips share by others on Port Royal
The Wanganui region’s lifeblood is the Whanganui River running through the Whanganui National Park. Despite the fact that there’s more sitting down than walking involved, canoeing or kayaking the ‘Whanganui Journey’ is classed as one of NZ’s Great Walks. Early Maoris named the river’s estuary (over 30km long) Whanganui, meaning ‘Great Harbour’ or ‘Great Wait’.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
Beyond the turnoff for Folly the A4 meanders east of Port Antonio through the coastal villages of Drapers, Frenchman’s Cove and Fairy Hill. This is where most visitors to Port Antonio, and indeed to Portland, will find accommodations and explore the nearby Rio Grande Valley, Nonsuch Caves, Blue Lagoon as well as the luxuriate sands of Frenchman’s Cove, San San Beach and Winnifred Beach.
Read more to view related tour Video clips share by others on Port Antonio To Fairy Hill
The Wanganui and Manawatu districts comprise a sizable chunk of the North Island’s south, running from Tongariro National Park in the north down towards Wellington. This is mellow, pastoral country, draped with rounded green hills, gently bent roads, socially significant cities and magical national parks, rivers and gorges.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
Cupping an unruffled bay while backing into the sleepy Rio Grande Valley, Port Antonio is the perfect capital for Portland. The parish’s only sizable town is largely untarnished by the duty-free, tourist orientation of Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, its streets, squares, quayside and market inviting leisurely strolls – invitations freely accepted by the town’s dog and goat populaces. Wandering away from the bustle past the dilapidated houses lining the potholed streets of Titchfield Peninsula, it’s very easy to think you’ve roamed onto the set of some quaint colonial ghost town.
Read more to view related tour Video clips share by others on Port Antonio
With rafts of casual Huck Finn sensibility, Wanganui is a raggedy historic town on the banks of the wide Whanganui River. Despite the recent NZ housing boom, local real estate remains relatively cheap, much to the satisfaction of the thriving arts community. Old port buildings are being turned into glass-art studios and the town centre has been rejuvenated – there are few more appealing places to while away a sunny afternoon than beneath Victoria Ave’s leafy canopy.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
Taking its name from the Spanish oro cabeza (golden head) Oracabessa, 21km east of Ocho Rios, is a small one-street, one-storey village with a vague aura of a Wild West town. The street itself is lined with Caribbean vernacular architecture, its wooden houses trimmed with fretwork. This was a major port for shipping bananas in the 19th-century, yet while the boom era has passed, the town itself is far from derelict.
Read more to view related tour Video clips share by others on Oracabessa
With overgrown valleys, unspoiled rivers and tumbling glaciers, the Wanaka region is crowned with the colossal Mt Aspiring (Tititea), the highest peak outside the Mt Cook region. Enter this area from the north via Haast Pass, and you encounter the region’s beautiful twin lakes, Wanaka and Hawea, two expansive freshwater siblings wedged between awesome hills and cliffs. From the south via Cardrona, stunning valley views and mountain vistas are on tap. The Wanaka region, and especially the activity-filled town of Wanaka itself, is seeing more and more travellers, but it’s still a quieter alternative to pumpin’ Queenstown. And once you’ve sampled a few closer-to-Wanaka action activities and told tall stories in the town’s pubs and bars, get off the tourist trail by exploring the Mt Aspiring National Park, or the forested wilderness around Makarora.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.