Flying Kiwi gets hot hot hot!

Kia Ora and welcome. Well spring is in the air and things are warming up on this side of the World. As the UK recovers from its hottest September in history we are expecting a scorcher on this side of the World too - perfect conditions for outdoor adventures, cooling rapid runs, soothing dolphin swims and serene sailing trips!

Spring means the arrival of more white, woolly friends on the kiwi landscape but we like to stay in touch with celebrations from around the globe and one of our favourites is Fountain Hopping in Stanford, USA. As temperatures start to rise countless students (in between intense periods of study!!) take time to dive, splash, run and frolic in the cities 18+ fountains. Whilst we are not sure if this tradition will take off or be particularly popular through Europe it seems a logical and entertaining exercise for everyone on a hot day!

Diving into this months newsletter you will find some treats. We have got results from the latest polls which make it official...New Zealand is superb, the low down on the glow worm and the chance to win a free Flying Kiwi trip.

In this Issue

New Zealand voted no. 1 tourist destination
New Zealand's great for - Glow-worms
Win a FREE Flying Kiwi Trip
Hot Links - You Tube classic videos (very funny!!!)

 

 

 

New Zealand has been on a Titanic style sweep of the tourist oscars recently. A UK poll has revealed that New Zealand has been awarded the number one spot for the world's coolest destination.

The CoolBrands project was developed by UK based consultancy firm Superbrands, and defines brands that have become extremely desirable amongst style leaders and influencers. Mr George Hickton, Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand commented on the recent award stating: “This win is a vindication of the recent work we've put in to the US market, with the Chelsea Flower show and our ‘Come Now. If Not Sooner' advertising campaign ensuring New Zealand stays top of mind with potential travellers.”

Established in 2001 CoolBrands is regarded as an influential barometer of a brand's ‘cool' factor. The latest accolade is the second that New Zealand has received in the UK this September. Conde Nast Traveller magazine also voted New Zealand best destination this month.

Top Ten Destinations as voted by CoolBrands

1.New Zealand
2. Morocco
3. Fiji
4. Prague
5.Australia
6. Maldives
7. Amsterdam
8. Brighton
9. Bahamas  

This article and more like it can be found at travel blackboard

......and also the no. 2 place in the World to do business

For those who are thinking of working in New Zealand or even setting up your own business here you will be very encouraged by the World Banks recent survey. The survey is based on a number of indicators and provides a well balanced view on the countries where is it "easiest" to do business. New Zealand just missed out on gold glory but a very respectable on the World scale. In a country where you still know your bank manager, queues are a surprise and shop assistants genuinely want to chat it was no surprise to many of us. The top of the table read:

Economies ranked on their ease of doing business:

1. Singapore
2. New Zealand
3. United States
4. Canada
5. Hong Kong, China
6. United Kingdom
7. Denmark
8. Australia
9. Norway
10. Ireland

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Thought about: Glow-worms

Its not just the scenery in new Zealand that's spectacular ... there's enough wildlife to fill the fantasies of any budding Attenboroughs!

One of our favourites is the Glow-worm. These night glow guys can be found throughout many parts of New Zealand and are particularly common on the West Coast of the South Island. One of the best parts is you can see them for free .....we've found plenty of glow worm grottos that we incorporate into our trips but ask around and locals should be able to point you in the right direction.

What is a glow-worm?

Glow-worms are the larvae (immature stage) of a small fly. The larval stage is the only stage in their life cycle that can glow. The adults are delicate flies that do not have working mouthparts, and as such, only live for a small number of days (females two days, males six days). As the adults are unable to feed, glow-worms must gain enough sustenance during the larval stage to get them through the rest of their lifecycle. The larvae are believed to live for approximately one year, although this is heavily dependant on environmental conditions and prey abundance.

Why do glow-worms glow?

Glow-worms glow to attract small insects that emerge from the leaf litter and water the glow-worms reside. The glow-worms construct "snares" (like a spider's web) made from silk threads and sticky droplets to capture and eat the insects attracted to their glow, which they then feed on.

There are a couple of operators who also organise glow worm trips in cave like grottos in both the South (Te Anau Glow-worm caves) and North Islands (Waitomo Caves).

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It doesn't get much better than this. All bookings made and paid for in October will go in the draw to win their entire trip for free. That's the trip fee, food fund, camp fees and bike hire and should be enough of a refund to pay for another round the world trip!!!

Check out the site for more details.

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• You Tube!!! We are loving the new breed of internet celebrity courtesy of our Youtube. Here are a few of our favourites with a kiwi flavor:
  • How do you Haka again - the boys weren't always as coordinated as our current All-Black crop
  • New haka - how it should be done, the girls might like this one
  • Funky dancer - whilst we wouldn't want to condone the smoking...some very smooth moves (note the guy stopping the tape)!!

• For web marketing and design check out About Web Site Marketing

That's it for this month. Are first few buses are on the road and loving the good weather and few new surprises we have added to the trips! Hope you can join us on some of them!

Safe Travels,

The Flying Kiwi Team

Flying Kiwi Adventure Tours

( +64 3 547 0171 (International)

( 0800 693 296 (NZ Free Phone)

( 1800 143 515 (AUS Free Phone)

PO Box 680. Nelson, New Zealand

info@flyingkiwi.com

www.flyingkiwi.com