travel souvenirs — part 13

pendant with Maori design from New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the most gorgeous places on earth, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my two trips there. Like many of you, I'm always looking for something special to bring back when I travel. I remember looking for a gift for Claire all during my first trip but never found the perfect gift ... until my very last day. At the Queenstown airport, waiting for our flight to Auckland, I came across this pendant in the airport's gift shop.

Made of mother of pearl, this pendant is in the form of a koru. One of the basic symbols in Maori art, the koru is based on the shape of an unfurling silver fern frond. It symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. It's also a beautiful piece of jewelry!

Known for its incredible scenery — from the southern alps of the Queenstown area to the northern beaches of the bay of islands — New Zealand offers its visitors fabulous food and wine, adventure sports from sailing to skiing to bungee jumping, and some of the most wonderful luxury lodges in the world.

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copyright (c) 2020 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Eichardt's | lakeside luxury in Queenstown

couple by the lake (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Queenstown, a beautiful small town with less than 16,000 full-time residents, belongs on every itinerary to New Zealand. Its downtown wraps around the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu, and former visitors will recognize this weeping willow tree — a favorite spot for couples to frame photos of their visit.

Queenstown abounds in possibilities for retail therapy (whether you want hand carved Maori jewelry or possum fur sweaters) and thrilling opportunities to engage in bungee-jumping, jet boat rides, or downhill skiing in the winter. It's also an ideal base for helicopter tours of majestic fjords (Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound) and glaciers.

If you want to stay downtown, Eichardt's Private Hotel is my first choice for five-star luxury accommodations. Located right on the lake, I was fortunate enough to have been blocked in one of Eichardt's apartments. Designed by Virginia Fischer, my second-floor living room area had a comfortable seating area with gas-burning fireplace and an unobstructed lake view.

my living room at Eichardt's Private Hotel (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

A welcome and totally unexpected bonus was the apartment's washer dryer. I was able to leave Queenstown with enough clean laundry to finish out the trip. (Pro tip: if you wash out clothes in hotel sinks, keep a small plastic 8 oz. container of powdered laundry soap and a rubber sink stopper in your suitcase).

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

visit Wellington, stay at Wharekauhau

Wharekauhau Country Estate (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. Located at the southern end of the North Island, this small city (just over 400,000 residents) has a lot going for it. Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand,

offers an opportunity to view exhibits about the country's natural features, its history, and the culture of the original Maori people. Wellington is the nation's capital, and it's well worth taking a drive through the downtown and stopping at the Beehive (the Parliament building) to take selfies.

Where to stay? You can reach Wharekauhau Country Estate (pronounced far-he-ko-ho), very quickly by helicopter; it's just 15 miles from Wellington. Or you can make the drive and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We stopped for lunch at the Everest Bistro in Featherston and enjoyed a delicious and informal meal at a very local restaurant.

You'll definitely be wowed by Wharekauhau. Another luxury lodge designed by Virginia Fischer, it sits on a 50,000 acre working farm with a view of the sea. Its rooms were spacious, comfortable, and informally elegant (see below), and the food and wine were wonderful.

bedroom at Wharekauhau (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

exploring Lake Taupo

view of the Kinloch golf course and Lake Taupo (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Continuing my travelogue through New Zealand... following our lunch at Huka Lodge, we drove north to the Lake Taupo region of the north island. New Zealand's largest lake (238 square miles in area and up to 600 feet deep), Lake Taupo is within the caldera of an ancient volcano.

Maori carvings on Lake Taupo (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

We enjoyed a cruise on the lake, took a look at the Maori carvings shown above, but the highlight of the cruise was the opportunity to fish for trout. They were certainly biting! We let most go but brought two freshly caught trout with us to Kinloch Manor where the chef prepared them for our dinner.

Kinloch Manor has an ideal setting overlooking the lake. Like all the New Zealand luxury lodges, breakfast and dinner are included. An especially good option for families, my "suite" was huge and could comfortably accommodate a family of at least four guests. With its own kitchen and (very pleasant surprise!) washing machine and dryer, I was able to wash and dry all of my dirty laundry from the first few days of the trip.

And if you love a challenging golf course, Jack Nicklaus designed the links style course pictured above. One of the Kinloch managers, an avid golfer himself, shared that Jack must have been in a bad mood the day he designed the course.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.