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In Praise of Packing Cubes

For years, I’ve been hearing about the marvelous creation called packing cubes. Packing has never been a problem for me. I’m an experienced traveler and, therefore, have a lot of experience packing suitcases. Who needs packing cubes, I thought. Oh, how wrong I was....

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A Magical Visit to Hobbiton

We recently spent four days touring Matamata, the National Park, Taupo, and Rotorua before returning to Auckland and jumping on a cruise ship to Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Milford Sound, Dunedin, Wellington, and Tauranga. Excellent weather, splendid company, and many...

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Review: Country Cruise P & O, Pacific Explorer

P & O Cruises Dates: 17 November 2023 (Three nights) Auckland return. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t anticipating this cruise with the same enthusiasm I might have for our other holidays. I'd sailed with P & O a few years ago and was underwhelmed. A...

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Stewart Island, Inspiration for Protecting the Bride

Stewart Island is the third-largest island in New Zealand, and it sits around thirty kilometers south of the South Island. Mr. Munro and I visited in 2020 and enjoyed our visit so much that I decided to set a book on the island. After percolating the idea for a few...

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Cape Reinga, NZ – The Northernmost Point

Last weekend, Mr. Munro and I visited Cape Reinga, a place I'd never gone to before. Cape Reinga is at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand, and from here it's possible to see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide with currents going in...

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Antarctic Icebergs

Icebergs are chunks of ice that have calved off glaciers and ice shelves. They vary in size from small to large enough to sink a ship. The Titanic, for example. New icebergs are white while the older ones are blue or sometimes green. An iceberg comprises fresh snow...

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Meet the King Penguin: Ten Facts About the King Penguin

One of the things I was most looking forward to seeing when we visited the Antarctica region was the penguins. Penguins are fascinating birds, and I never tired of seeing them or watching their antics. Facts about King Penguins 1. They’re the second-largest species of...

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A Visit to South Georgia Island

South Georgia is a small island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It’s a British territory, and the island’s nearest neighbors are Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. Until I visited the region in early 2020, I’d never even heard of South Georgia. Now I know what I...

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