DESTINATIONS — AUSTRALASIA
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Whirlwind Tours, with a heavy architecture focus, for £36.
1stclassholidays.com
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Te Papa museum If you spend time in just one city, Wellington is the most appealing. Small
scale, and with a spectacular natural setting, it’s New Zealand’s liveliest cultural hub. The best introduction to the country is Te Papa, the spectacular waterfront national museum. It could easily suck up a couple of days. The most gripping section focuses on the country’s tumultuous geology, delving into the earthquakes, volcanoes and crunching tectonic plates that make for such a startling landscape. But the sections tracing the origins of the Maori, through oral history, traditional legend and scientific research on their ancestral journey through the Pacific Islands, are hugely enlightening too. Book it: No need – entry is free.
tepapa.govt.nz
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travelweekly.co.uk — 17 July 2014
Work in progress Christchurch Serious earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 ravaged
Christchurch, which had always been the most English of New Zealand’s cities. The rebuilding process has seen the city take on
a cooler, more creative edge, with temporary venues and cultural spaces popping up – sometimes in shipping containers. Christchurch is also the leaping-off point for many Antarctic expeditions, and among the crowd-pleasing penguins and ice storm simulations, the International Antarctic Centre does a cracking job
of explaining what life is like in the Antarctic stations. Book it: 1st Class Holidays sells a three-in-one package including the International Antarctic Centre, Air Force Museum and Willowbank Nature Reserve for £93, plus a Christchurch Rebuild tour for £26.
1stclassholidays.com
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Larnach Castle The southeastern corner of New Zealand has a distinctly Scottish taste to it – especially in Dunedin and the nearby Otago Peninsula. Nowhere is this more apparent than at Larnach Castle, where a 19th- century businessman decided to build a home in keeping with his ancestry. It’s now preserved
as a period piece – with antique furniture and decoration – and the sort of pristine gardens usually associated with British stately homes. The tours of the castle are great for tales of scandal and tragedy – founder William Larnach committed suicide inside the New Zealand parliament
building. It’s also possible to stay
overnight or have afternoon tea.
Book it: Accommodation at Larnach Castle starts from £76 a night, and tours cost £14.
larnachcastle.co.nz
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Hillary’s training ground
The appeal of Mount Cook/Aoraki – New
Zealand’s highest mountain – is largely natural. But among the photogenic peaks, glaciers and shimmering blue Alpine lakes is one of New Zealand’s most entrancing museums. As part of the Hermitage hotel complex, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre delves into the life and exploits of the first man to climb Everest. Among the heroic tales of Antarctic expeditions and
FAST FACT Kirra Tours’
seven-day Cultural Snapshots escorted tour visits many of North Island’s highlights
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PICTURES: TOURISM NZ; ROB SUISTED; CHRIS SISARICH; TE PAPA MUSEUM; HAWKE’S BAY TOURISM; AORAKI MOUNT COOK ALPINE VILLAGE
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