gtrekker

The BBC Profiles provide an economic, historical, and political overview, with a section on current leaders. The Profiles also list the media outlets, which include television and radio stations and the press.

Destination New Zealand
Author George Dunford spills the beans on New Zealand. Learn about Lord of the Rings, lamingtons and essay extensions.

Published March 2006
The siren call of wave action brings out surfers and their surfboards at Hot Water Beach, on the North Island, a popular, yet sometimes dangerous place to ride the waves....click to view photos

National Geographic's People and Places feature provides a short overview of the destination and include a Features section with related articles, photos, and videos, depending on the destination.

Travel + Leisure Magazine's guide to the greatest hotels worldwide as selected by its team of reporters and editors.

Weatherbase provides historical weather information such as "average number of day above 90," "average number of days with thunderstorms," and other similar types of data.

Up-to-date information provided by the State Department on matters such as passport and visa requirements, safety and security, crime, health and medical issues, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. It also links to Travel Warnings for that country, if there is one.

From website: New Zealand's awesome landscapes, lush forests, amazing wildlife and pleasant climate make it a haven for many outdoor activities, and a great place to unwind. New Zealand society is diverse, sophisticated, and multicultural, and the honesty, friendliness, and openness of Kiwis will impress you. And the great advantage of New Zealand is that all of its diverse physical, cultural, and artistic landscapes are so close to each other...click for website

Frommer's Forums are divided into countries, and all the messages relating to a country are presented in a list that makes it easy to browse through the topics.

Review site with hotel reviews and candid photos posted by users.

Virtual Tourist has user reviews on topics such as Hotels, Things To Do, Restaurants, Local Customs, Nightlife, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Transportation, ... etc.

Asiarooms.com Travel Guides provide information on topics such as Culture, Tourist Attractions, Festivals, Things to do, How to get in, and Where to Eat.

Concierge.com destinations guides include information on getting there, getting around, lodging, places to eat, see and do, ... etc. Although Concierge.com may not have as many hotel recommendations as some guide books, they provide hotel photos along with the recommendations. The destinations guides also have links to articles about the destination published by Concierge.com or Conde Nast Traveler.

Frommer's has put a substantial amount of content online, making Frommers.com a good resource for travel planning. The site is easy to navigate since all the destinations are organized by similar topics such as "Getting There," "Restaurants," and "Suggested Itineraries."

USA Today's Country Guides have information on topics such as Money, Health, Accommodations, Entertainment, Top Things To Do and See, Getting There, Getting Around, Climate, and Map. You can also select the topics you are interested in and create a mini guide that puts all the information on one page for easy reading.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published January 2004
More than a thousand miles of vibrant colors, tropical species, and open sea, it already contains the largest marine park in the world. Now a bold new plan could increase protected areas sevenfold, but not everyone approves. Above and below the water, Mike Di Paola confronts the caretakers of the Great Barrier Reef
The dive site is known as The Bommie, but it is in fact many bommies, or coral outcrops, lined up here in huge columns and submerged in forty-five feet of crystal clear water. In a gentle drift dive like this, the ocean's current pushes me along and I don't need to kick my fins much, so I can almost simulate flight. But being the way I am, I do at least as much air supply-monitoring as fauna-gawking. A pity. According to the excited accounts of others on the dive boat, I missed seeing the green sea turtles, a couple of laggards in the mass migration that peaks in this part of the Great Barrier Reef in October; a spotted wobbegong shark that blended in with the scenery on the seafloor; and a moray eel. Maybe so, but disappointment never entered my mind, because I did see an endless parade of fish, including an impressive school of chevron barracudas, passing by with unnerving insouciance. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2003
Adam Sachs's 46-city world tour (see Incredible Journey, Conde Nast Traveler, October 2003) is a cornucopia of travel intelligence. Below are the nuts and bolts for every bit of advice he doles out.
All room rates quoted are for the current month.

ANGUILLA
Temenos (264-222-9000; temenosvillas.com; villas, $20,000-$50,000 per week).

AUSTRALIA
Federation Square, Melbourne (61-3-9655-1900; federationsquare.com.au).
Icebergs, Sydney (61-2-9365-9000; idrb.com; entrees, $19-$35).
... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published December 2003
In a BMW 745Li, Kevin Doyle discovers that New Zealand's northern half is a wholly enchanting place
To reel in a whopper, even a god has to think big. Maui Tiki Tiki-a-Taranga, a Maori deity and sportfisherman of some renown, recognized the limited allure of a worm on a hook. So, in an act of divine innovation, he tied a hook made from the jawbone of an ancestor to his line, daubed it with blood from his own nose, and cast it deep into the sea. What he pulled up was enough to startle even a son of heaven: The Maori call it "the fish of Maui." To the rest of us, it's the North Island of New Zealand. From my prospect behind the wheel of the elegant and substantial BMW 745Li, it looks like the place probably hasn't changed much since that fish tale was first told. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published November 2004
Ripe with variety, New Zealand wine has taken off. Joseph Ward noses out the new stars

Because of its relative isolation, New Zealand remains something of a mystery. We know generalities: clean, beautiful, underpopulated, and off by itself on the edge of the world. Nonetheless, 20 years ago the country's young wine industry managed to get our attention with its crisp, herbaceous, pungently fruity sauvignon blancs. They put the South Island region of Marlborough on the map and led to a boom in vineyard development. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published September 2004
Kiwi beaches inspire Saffron Burrows to get out of town in the Lexus SC 430

I'm four weeks into a three-month stint in New Zealand, and my impressions of the country are positive enough to merit immigration from my home in London. I'm filming a picture called Perfect Creature, and my fascination started on the first day of production: Just before dawn, cast and crew gathered to watch a Maori elder administer a karakia blessing to the set. At first light, we all stood silent, and though I didn't understand a word of what this man was chanting, I was moved by the intensity and the beauty of the ritual. I thought of this land's history of whites, called pakehas in Maori, immigrating here not as prisoners, as the Australians did, but as settlers, arriving in the early 1800s after British explorer James Cook claimed the land for his queen. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
Unrivaled access, special connections, destination savvy-these are just some of the tools each of these uber-agents can deploy to bring the most to your next big trip. In parsing the day-to-day events of an actual itinerary, Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin demonstrates how the intuitive maneuvers of a great travel planner can turn any journey into a smoothly orchestrated, magical experience. ... click for full article

In addition to standard listings on attractions, restaurants, and lodging, Fodors.com has a section called "Features" that are specific to the destination. For example, the Features section for Paris has articles titled "Cheese Primer," "Bistro to Brasserie," "Pampering Spas," . . . etc.

Gayot's Business Travel Guides provide a short list of Where to Stay and Where to Dine. The suggestions are accompanied by a short description.

IGoUGo is a travel review site. The reviews are organized into "journals," which are a collection of reviews by an author about a trip, such as reviews on hotels, restaurants, nightlife, experiences, photos, ... etc.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published May 2005
Why cut corners on the Continent when you can still live large for less all over the globe? Our foreign correspondents scout out seven of your favorite spots for swell hotels, top tables, and plenty of the high life for under $250 a day.

The Wild Side
Queenstown may bill itself as the adventure capital of New Zealand, but that's hardly its sole appeal. Yes, visitors can hurl themselves around by bungee-jumping, jet-boating, or doing some extreme mountain biking. But the most extreme thing about Queenstown is the setting, which you don't need to be a daredevil to enjoy. Better still, it costs nothing to be dazzled by the glittering waters of Lake Wakatipu or by mountains that are aptly named the Remarkables, and surprisingly little to stay in comfort amid such awesome scenery. Summer (Dec.March) and the winter ski season (JuneOct.) are peak periods, but mid-April through mid-June is when you'll score the best bargains and steady-temperate weather. ... click for full article