Exclusive Tours

25/08/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
Did you know that Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world? And one of Auckland's most iconic markets and a place to experience Pacific Island and Asian culture is the Ōtara Flea Market, also known as Ōtara Markets. It is a weekly market held in the town of Ōtara in Manukau, South Auckland.
Ōtara Markets is one of Auckland’s oldest markets, having been around since the 1970s. The market is a community-driven event, and it is a great place to meet local people and learn about their culture. It's also a great place to shop for unique and affordable items, as well as experience the Pacific Island and Asian culture in New Zealand.
Ōtara Market is indeed famous for its vibrant atmosphere and cultural diversity, with great food, live music, and street performers adding to the festive atmosphere.
Here you can find a variety of food stalls offering traditional Pacific Island cuisine, such as taro, fish dishes, traditional hangi, chop suey, and Cook Island doughnuts. It is also a great place to find second-hand items and vintage clothes. You can also buy traditional Pacific Island arts and crafts such as tapa cloth, woven baskets, and other items, making it a perfect destination for those looking to buy souvenirs.
With its diverse range of products and lively atmosphere, Ōtara Flea Market is a must-see destination for both locals and tourists visiting Auckland.
The Saturday market is open every Saturday from 6am to noon. The next time you are in Auckland on a Saturday morning do visit this culturally diverse and colourful market.
Recently I visited the Otara market. I took the first 3 photographs. I did not take the last 2 photographs.
Have a great week.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

17/08/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
From 7th August to 15th August I was driving an American colleague of mine on a tour of the North Island of New Zealand followed by a tour guides meeting in Wellington. I was showing my American colleague, from Boston, areas of the North Island that she had never visited. Highlights during the 4 day whirlwind tour included:
A guided tour of the world famous Hobbiton movie set.
A presentation, tea tasting and high tea at Zealong Tea Estate.
A guided tour of Ruakuri Cave.
A guided tour of the National Kiwi Hatchery.
A guided tour of Paradise Valley Wildlife Park.
A presentation at Wingspan.
A guided tour of Te Puia followed by dinner and a Maori cultural performance.
A visit to Lava Glass.
Wine tasting, my colleague participated in this, and a light platter lunch at Mission Estate.
A visit to Cafe Norsewood which is located in a small town where the original settlers were from Norway.
A visit to a sheep farm.
Lunch at Kokodeli in Greytown.
A guided tour of Stansborough Mill.
My top two highights were:
Cafe Norsewood and Norsewood town - population about 150.
Norsewood was founded by mainly Norwegian settlers in 1872 as a loggers settlement and retains a Scandinavian tenor. The village was carved out of the forest, and was subsequently destroyed in a fire in 1888.
The government of New Zealand requested Norwegian immigrants and made an agreement with Winge & Co. in Christiania, which would allow for 3,000 emigrants to New Zealand. In the years 1870–76, nearly 1,000 Norwegians moved to the Norsewood area.
Modern township
The settlement continues to celebrate its Scandinavian culture. A Scandinavian festival is held every year. Traditional celebrations of Norway's Constitution Day are held on the Sunday closest to 17 May.
The main square by Coronation Street welcomes visitors to "Little Norway", and a Norwegian flag flies from the street's tourist office.The Bindalsfaering, a fishing boat gifted by the Norwegian Government, is displayed in a glassed boat-house in Upper Norsewood, near a replica of a Norwegian stave church - see photograph below.
And:
Stansborough Mill, Petone. Stansborough is a Wairarapa farm, a unique breed of grey sheep, a weaving mill and an international fashion label. Operating out of a mill in Petone, Wellington New Zealand – Stansborough creates heritage woven products from the grey wool of our unique breed of Stansborough Grey sheep. Read bout Stansborough Mill history, connection to movies such as Lord of the Rings, Hobbit etc and other amazing achievements. www.stansborough.co.nz
Have a fabulous week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

03/08/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
One of the highlights of last weekend was experiencing DIVA! Two friends and I experienced this amazing, extraordinary, stunning, breathtaking, sensational, wonderful exhibition on show at Auckland Museum. DIVA is a dazzling celebration of the artists who have captivated audiences around the world, driven change, and redefined culture. This spectacular international exhibition comes exclusively to Auckland Museum from the V&A in London. Upon arrival, we received a slick black headset through which our experience was amplified with music from divas such as Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Rihanna and Cher. As we wandered the galleries, the headsets automatically trigger performances by individual divas for an iconic soundtrack that plays throughout the exhibition. Amazing!
www.aucklandmuseum.com/visit/exhibitions/diva
Have a great week everyone.
Kind regards - Sharron your tour guide friend in New Zealand.
P.S. If you are visiting Auckland in the near future DIVA is now on until Sunday 19th October.

From opera goddesses and silent movie stars to Hollywood legends and today’s global megastars, this spectacular international exhibition comes exclusively to Auckland Museum from the V&A in London. Including show-stopping costumes, fashion, photography, and music, DIVA explores the power, ambition...

28/07/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
Autumn is over and winter has arrived. Ski areas and resorts are open all over New Zealand. We have 36 ski areas and resorts located in the North and South Islands. The majority (31) of the ski areas and resorts are in the South Island.

Today I thought I would share some common New Zealand words and phrases with you.
Choice: Great, excellent, very good.
Chur: A versatile term, can mean "cheers", "thank you", or "okay".
Yeah nah: A common way to express disagreement or refusal.
Arvo: Afternoon.
Dairy: A corner store or small grocery shop.
Togs: Swimwear.
Bach: A holiday home.
Kai: Food.
Hangi: A traditional Māori method of cooking using heated stones in a pit.
Koha: A gift or present.
Mana: Respect, prestige.
Skux: Cool, attractive, good-looking.
Beached as: In a difficult situation, stuck, or tired.
Hard case: A funny person.
Dunny: Toilet.
Far out: An expression of surprise or awe.
Wops: The middle of nowhere.
Scull: To drink quickly in one go.
Gawk: To stare.
Chocka block: Crowded.
Knackered: Tired.
Stink one: A bad thing.
Heaps: A lot.
Māori words used in New Zealand English:
Aotearoa: New Zealand.
Whānau: Family.
Iwi: Tribe.
Tangi: Funeral.
Kāinga: Home.
Te reo: The Māori language.
Other useful terms:
Good on ya, mate: Well done, good job.
Cuzzie: Cousin or close friend.
Dole: Unemployment benefit.
Gizza: Give us a... (e.g., "gizza smoke," meaning "can I have a cigarette?").
Sweet as: Excellent, cool.
Chur bro: A friendly greeting, similar to "hey man" or "thanks man".
Kia kaha: Be strong, keep going.
This list provides a good starting point for understanding Kiwi slang, but there are many more unique phrases and expressions to discover.
Have a great week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron
Your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

22/07/2025

Hello everyone.
Greetings from New Zealand! Last week a friend and I went for a walk (about 3 miles) at the Hunua Cossey Dam Track. There was a clear blue sky and a rather cool temperature. Perfect weather for a winter walk. We hiked up to the Cossey Dam on the bush track and walked down from the dam on the Cossey Dam road and through a small amount of bush to get back to the carpark. There were many Fantail birds along the way and several Nikau palm tree groves. Below are some photographs that I took.
Have a great week.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand

www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/get-outdoors/aklpaths/Pages/path-detail.aspx?ItemId=352

14/07/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
Here is another great New Zealand / USA connection. John Edward Lovelock - known as Jack Lovelock. He was born in the gold mining town of Crushington (near Reefton, New Zealand) as the son of English immigrants. From his early days at school he participated and excelled in fields beyond athletics. At Fairlie School (1919–23) he was dux of the primary school, represented the school in rugby, competed in swimming and athletics, and was a prefect. At Timaru Boys' High School, which he attended as a boarder from 1924, he set school athletics records but was also involved in nearly every area of school life. In 1928, his final year, Lovelock was school dux, head prefect, and won the school's boxing championship cup. The following year he went to University of Otago to study medicine. Lovelock showed a talent for sports while at the university, and competed for the university team in the New Zealand 1-mile (1.6 km) championships. In 1931 he became a Rhodes Scholar at Exeter College, Osford, England from 1931 to 1934. He graduated with an MB ChB degree as a medical practitioner.
On 15th July 1933 Jack Lovelock's run at Princeton University broke Jules Ladoumegue’s record for the mile by 1.6 seconds. The race was dubbed the 'greatest mile of all time' by Time Magazine.
The race was a feature event during the sixth annual Oxford-Cambridge vs Princeton-Cornell track meet. There was much media interest in the showdown between Lovelock (Oxford) and Bill Bonthron (Princeton), with speculation that the world record might be broken. Bonthron had won that year’s intercollegiate 800-m and 1500-m events impressively. As a warm-up for the Princeton-Cornell meet, Lovelock and Forbes Horan (Cambridge) competed against a Yale-Harvard team over a mile. Lovelock won the race in 4 minutes 12.6 seconds, an intercollegiate record.
On the day of the event there were about 5000 spectators at Palmer Stadium, Princeton. Rain threatened but held off, and by the start of the programme at 4.30 p.m. conditions were good for running. In the mile, Bonthron took the lead before giving way to John Hazen (Cornell). To Lovelock’s delight, they set a fast pace. With half a mile to go, Bonthron moved back to the front. At the top corner Horan overtook Bonthron to make sure the ¾-mile mark was reached in the target time. Horan then dropped back, leaving the race to Bonthron and Lovelock.
With 300 m to go, Bonthron pulled away. Lovelock was prepared and shortened and quickened his stride, closing the gap before the final bend. As they came into the home straight he drew level and then hit the front. Bonthron was unable to muster his usual ‘blistering kick’ and Lovelock breasted the tape seven strides ahead.
Lovelock’s time of 4 minutes 7.6 seconds broke the world record by 1.6 seconds. It was the first time a New Zealander had set a recognised world record. Now the top miler in the world, Lovelock was inundated with invitations to social engagements and races in Europe and the United States. In 1933 he ran 33 major races, winning most of them. That year he came second to baseballer Carl Hubbell in the Associated Press Athlete of the Year poll in the USA. What a great New Zealander!
Have a fabulous week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron
Your tour guide friend in New Zealand

07/07/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
Below is an interesting write up with another fascinating New Zealand / USA connection.
On 1st July 1978 Beatrice Tinsley (nee Hill), from New Zealand, became a professor of Astronomy at Yale!!
Beatrice Tinsley (née Hill) was a New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist who made remarkable discoveries about the evolution of galaxies. She was English-born but raised in New Plymouth, and later studied at Canterbury University College. In 1963 Beatrice and her husband, also a physicist, left for the United States, where academic opportunities were greater.
Beatrice completed her PhD thesis, ‘Evolution of galaxies and its significance for cosmology’, through the University of Texas, Austin in 1966. She was the first woman to study in the astronomy department. Her research on the evolution of galaxies and changes in star populations was influential. She was the first person to develop a method of calculating star formation rates and the chemical evolution of galaxies, demonstrating the behaviour of galaxies over time. Before her research, astronomers believed galaxies were static or changed very little over time.
In 1978 Tinsley became the first woman to be appointed as Professor of Astronomy at Yale University. She published around 100 research papers during her 14-year academic career and was the first female recipient of the Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (1974).
Sadly Beatrice died on 23 March 1981 at the age of 40 after a battle with melanoma. Following her death, her scientific contributions have become more widely-known and celebrated. The Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, established by the American Astronomical Society in 1986, recognises outstanding research contributions to astronomy of an exceptionally creative or innovative character.
Have a great week.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

30/06/2025

Hello everyone and greetings from New Zealand! I have just arrived home after 8 days in Australia. I was the tour guide for 17 New Zealanders and we have had a great time on the Sunshine Coast (Queensland, Australia) and K'gari Fraser Island. If any of you ever plan to visit Australia then I would highly recommend that you include a stay at Kingfisher Bay Resort on K'gari Fraser Island. www.kingfisherbay.com An island made entirely of sand, World Heritage-listed K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) offers surprises at every turn. Within minutes of landing on K’gari, you’ll feel its magic. Drive on wide-open beaches with the wind in your hair, marvel at shifting sand blows, swim in iridescent waters and witness playful marine life just metres from shore. Complete with a blend of holiday resorts and wilderness camping, there’s an adventure for everyone on K’gari.
Here are some photographs that I took whilst staying 2 nights on K'gari Fraser Island.
Have a great week.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

24/06/2025

Hello and warm greetings from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia!!
I am the tour leader for a group of New Zealanders and we are having a great time. One of the great highlights happened yesterday when we visited QCamel! QCamel, Australia's premium supplier of Certified Organic camel milk products, is owned and run by the Brisbane Family and our dedicated team of wonderful staff. A great presentation and experience. www.qcamel.com.au Australia has about 400,000 wild camels and currently about 7 certified camel milk dairy farms.
Did you know that camels actually originated in North America millions of years ago, not in the deserts of Asia and Africa where they are most commonly found today? The earliest camel ancestors, small, rabbit-like creatures, appeared in North America during the Eocene period. Over time, these animals evolved and migrated to other parts of the world. The first camelids, including the ancestors of modern camels, emerged in North America during the Eocene epoch, around 40-45 million years ago. From North America, camels migrated to other continents. Some crossed the Bering land bridge into Asia, and others migrated south to South America.
In Asia, the camel lineage diversified, leading to the Bactrian and dromedary camels we know today. The dromedary camel (Arabian camel) was domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula, while the Bactrian camel was domesticated in Central Asia. North American camel populations, including the genus Camelops, eventually went extinct, with the last ones disappearing around 10,000 years ago.
Below are some photographs that I took yesterday.
Have a fabulous week.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend.

16/06/2025

Hello and greetings from Autumnal New Zealand!
It's such a beautiful time of the year here in New Zealand. The vast majority of deciduous trees, in New Zealand, are exotic trees - introduced into New Zealand. New Zealand has a small number of native, deciduous trees, with some consistently losing their leaves in winter and others being semi-deciduous depending on conditions. Notable examples include several species of Olearia (tree daises), Hoheria, and Fuchsia exorticata (tree fuschia). 28 species (4.8%) of the New Zealand woody flora have a marked loss of leaves in winter. Only 11 species are consistently fully winter deciduous.
Arrowtown in the South Island has an annual autumn festival and visitors, artists, photographers etc, arrive from all over New Zealand and from around the world to take in the autumnal beauty of the area in and around Arrowtown. This years Arrowtown Autumn Festival was 24th to 27th April 2025.
I took the first two photographs, below, at Ernies Reserve and Pond here in Pukekohe.
The third photograph is one I found on line and shows vintage cars driving down the main street of Arrowtown in autumn.
Have a great week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron
Your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

03/06/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
I have just returned to Auckland after 4 fabulous nights in Sydney. VIVID Sydney happens May / June every year. What a stunning spectacle - especially the lighting up of the Sydney Opera House.
Some of my highlights were:
Dinner and watching the sun set over Sydney at the Sydney Sky Tower Restaurant.
Enjoying a dinner cruise with great views of the lit up Sydney Opera House.
Went to Annie (the musical). What an enchanting and heartwarming tale of an optimistic orphan!
Visited Taronga Zoo and experienced a guided tour of the Australian wildlife section. Such a clean, tidy and well maintained zoo with well cared for animals and great tour guides.
Have a fabulous week.
Kind regards
Sharron
Your tour guide friend in New Zealand!

25/05/2025

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
Last Thursday a friend and I went walking at Hamilton's Gap beach which is about a 1 hour and 20 minute drive from downtown Auckland and located on the Awhitu Peninsula. I had never been to Hamilton's Gap before. One word sums up the Hamilton's Gap beach and that is "Wow!!" Extraordinary landscapes - such as towering huge sand dunes & cliffs and the vast flat black sand beach is a must for any beach-goers looking for very scenic experience. Located at the end of West Coast Road, Hamilton's Gap is home to some of Auckland's highest sand dunes and offers an amazing view when looking over from the top. Below are some photographs of Hamilton's Gap beach. 1st and 2nd photographs I found on line. 3rd photograph taken by me. 4th photograph taken by my friend. If you ever visit New Zealand I would highly recommend that you visit this remote beach. Oh by the way, 20 minutes drive from Hamilton's Gap is Awhitu Wines - one of New Zealand's best kept secret vineyards and wineries. They produce three superior flavoured, elegant, hand-crafted fine boutique wines - Harbour Rose, Greenock Syrah and Peninsula Chardonnay. And you can indulge in wine tasting at the winery. www.awhituwines.co.nz
Have a fabulous week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron
Your tour guide friend in New Zealand.