along with 17 other new zealand travel bloggers, i was invited to contribute my top picks for travel for 2015 – 1 local, 1 international.
international was easy: tokyo.
All the big city excitement of London, Paris or New York with a total cultural difference thrown in for good measure. It’s an extremely safe city and easy to get around on foot, by bicycle or via their incredible transit system.
It’s crowded but in a polite kind of way, the food is world class with everything from cheap eats to michelin starred dining and there’s a great mix of the traditional old Japan and new high-tech metropolis. History, culture, food, shopping – it’s all here.
and national? that was harder.
so many beautiful places i want to go back to now that i wield a camera slightly more creatively. but i finally decided upon taking a self-drive through the catlins.
Attractive for it’s remoteness, worlds away from life in the city, yet only an hour from the nearest airports. Wild coastlines, glorious forests and wildlife in abundance. The kind of place where you can breathe slower and deeper and have your fill of exploring, yet still leave wanting to go back again and again.
» visit the cheapflights website to check out the rest of the suggestions
and tell me – where would you go?
Hmmm, can’t resist.
International: Genoa, Italy. It’s an ancient Italian city that offers so much – grit and beauty. (But I would say that, wouldn’t I.) It’s relatively untouristy because people seem to look at the edges of it and continue on to Cinque Terre. Meanwhile Genoa hides the largest intact medieval centre in Europe. The locals are lovely … northern Italians, I really enjoy how they are. The city is surrounded by hills, with the Ligurian Sea at its feet … it’s stunning! There’s always more to explore.
Local: much harder. I’d love to write ‘The South Island’! But perhaps I’ll narrow that down to Hokitika. It has changed so much since I left and I only had a few hours there when I returned in 2012. I felt it needed further exploration. The beach, the back country, the cafe scene that seems superb. The local crafts people – I bought my beautiful jade necklace there. Hokitika … with the bonus of the drive in, from the north or south, I’m fine with either :-)