To truly experience this area you have to be prepared to get wet. Beach after clear- watered beach offers munificent opportunities for swimming, surfing or just splashing about. Consequently the hot spots heave with Kiwi holidaymakers at peak times, but even then it’s possible to find isolated stretches of sand where your footprints are the only ones.
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A true Pohutukawa paradise, the town of Whakatane (fa-ka-ta-ne) sits in a natural harbour at the mouth of the river of the same name. It’s the hub of the Rangitaiki agricultural district, but there’s much more to Whakatane than farming, with blissful beaches and volcanic Whakaari (White Island) for starters.
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It wasn’t long ago that New Zealanders maligned the town of Twizel, just south of Lake Pukaki. The town was built in 1968 to service construction of the nearby hydroelectric power station, and was due to be abandoned in 1984 when the construction project was completed. Now the town’s tenacious residents are having the last laugh as house prices are increasing and new lakeside subdivisions are being built to take advantage of the area’s relaxed lakes and mountains lifestyle. Mt Cook is just 63km down the road, and Twizel’s range of affordable accommodation and a few good eateries make it a good alternative to staying in more expensive Mt Cook Village. Twizel as a travellers’ nirvana. Who would have thought?
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If Goat Island Marine Reserve whetted your appetite, diving at the Poor Knights is the feast followed by a wafer-thin mint that might cause your stomach to explode. Apart from the natural underwater scenery, two decommissioned navy ships have been sunk nearby for divers to explore.
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What Can I Do On The Big Island?
There are a multitude of excellent swimming beaches but a visit the black sand beaches of Kahena Beach and Punaluu Beach are a must, as is the green sand beach of Puu Mahana. Hapuna Beach is a favorite and falls into the category of the tourists classic version of what a Hawaiian beach should look like. Surfing enthusiasts will be drawn to the Hilo Surfboard Company to see their large selection of surfboards across the ages.
Taylor Hwy runs 161 miles north from Tetlin Junction, 13 miles east of Tok on the Alcan, through the lovable tourist trap of Chicken and on to the sleepy, historic community of Eagle on the Yukon River. Save for recent wildfire scarring it’s a scenic drive, ascending Mt Fairplay, Polly Summit and American Summit, all over 3500ft. Until recent years the route was infamously rough, though these days the only white-knuckle stretch is the last 65 miles from Jack Wade Junction to Eagle.
The superscenic but severely lonely Steese Hwy follows an old miners’ trail 162 miles from Fairbanks to the Athabascan village of Circle, on the Yukon River. This hilly and winding road is paved for the first 53 miles, and then has a good gravel base to the mining settlement of Central. In the final 30 miles it narrows and becomes considerably rougher and more twisty. While an interesting drive, the route’s main attraction – Circle Hot Springs – was closed at the time of research. If it doesn’t reopen, this trip may not be worth the trouble; inquire at the Log Cabin Visitor Information Center in Fairbanks.
Just west of KK, the five islands of Manukan, Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik and Sulug and the reefs in between make up TAR National Park, which covers a total area of just over 49 sq km. Only a short boat ride from the city centre, they have some nice beaches and t
Nowhere in Sumatra is the pace of development more rapid than on Batam. With the island’s proximity to Singapore, Batam is the labour-intensive production leg of the Singapore–Johor Baru industrial triangle. Land and labour are cheaper here than in Singapore and many electronics companies have established production plants in the industrial park of Mukakuning. Much like the factory towns outside of Hong Kong, Mukakuning employs and houses mainly young women from impoverished areas of Indonesia. Hardly anyone living in Batam is a native and half the population is under 30 years old.
Don’t think for a minute that this plateau is some boring old elevated flat landmass (which is what the dictionary will tell you), because this place rocks. For a starter, it ain’t flat. In the middle of the plateau and the heart of Tongariro National Park are the three massive peaks of Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, all sitting like something from another planet. Then there’s New Zealand’s largest lake, Taupo, a vast, water-filled crater, the legacy of a volcanic blast that shattered the island and shook up the world more than 26, 500 years ago. And the area is still active, with Mt Ruapehu often having a hissy fit, the last blast in 2007. This is all part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, a line of geothermal surfacings that stretches to White Island via Rotorua.
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