Author Archives: thecuriouskiwi

Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill

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Walking through Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill I overheard someone say to his mate “You could spend a month in here”, “Yeah, I could”, the mate replied. He obviously really likes trucks, I don’t particularly but I’d been at Transport World for two hours and there was still plenty to see.

Bill Richardson was a Southland businessman with a passion for trucks, he bought his first from his grandfather in 1967 – a 1933 International D1. In 1976 his collection of trucks and transport memorabilia started to grow, and as word spread about the contents of what became known … Read the rest

13 Unusual Toilets in the South Island

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Toilet tourism made headlines this week with the release of Lonely Planet’s ‘Toilets – A Spotter’s Guide’. A few New Zealand toilets made it into the book including four in our 13 Unusual Toilets in the North Island. Today we’re lifting the lid on some of the South Island’s more unusual loos, starting in Southland.

Invercargill
I didn’t expect to find unusually lovely ladies rooms in a truck museum, but that’s what I found at Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill.

Petrolheads will appreciate the men’s room – part of a fuel pump opens the door, Shell oil pumps … Read the rest

Join Accor Plus for cool room upgrades, discounted stays & up to 50% off meals

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Cool upgrades first because I’m sure that’s what readers want to see, then the business end where I list hotel brands part of Accor and link to membership details. The information is based on our experience as Accor Plus members for nearly two years, it’s not written in association with the hotel chain.

Cool upgrade Number 1* – Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa
We booked a superior room for two nights at Sofitel Queenstown but were upgraded to a luxury room. The upgrade included complimentary evening drinks and tapas from 5pm-7pm in the Executive Lounge, and complimentary buffet breakfast. … Read the rest

13 Unusual Toilets in the North Island

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Toilets can be tourist attractions in New Zealand. Every year thousands of vehicles detour to the small Northland town of Kawakawa to see the unusual public toilets designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser  (1928-2000).  Built mostly with recycled materials, the toilets incorporate bricks, bottles, tiles and colourful pottery.

The toilets are built around a living tree and have a roof top garden, reflecting Hundertwasser’s environmentally considerate approach to architecture.

Hundertwasser didn’t like straight lines or flat floors, I suspect the residents in the Waldspirale apartment complex he designed in Germany don’t mind at all. Kawakawa is the only … Read the rest

More Auckland Street Art

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Following on from the Auckland Street Art post, I walked around the K’ Road area with a 2015 All Fresco Public Art Festival* map in hand. I couldn’t find all 10 new works and I think a couple may have been painted over, or I was looking in the wrong place. Here’s five I did find:

The striking portrait by Owen Dippie is on the side of an apartment building on Canada Street (at the top of Upper Queen Street). You can see ‘Hine’ from the motorway, beats looking at the traffic that’s for sure. (Number 6 on the map).… Read the rest

Dome Cinema & Bar, Gisborne

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We went to a movie at Dome Cinema in Gisborne for the first time this year, and what a treat it was. There’s a bar onsite, add a sunny evening and we were happy with a pre movie drink of cold Gisborne Gold.

Dome Cinema & Bar is in the grand old Poverty Bay Club, the cinema is in the billiards room of the former gentleman’s club. The bar still has a gentleman’s club feel with low lighting, old framed photos, an ornate wooden fire surround, and worn  leather couches. The gentleman’s club finally opened its doors to women in … Read the rest

Como Villa Estate Vineyard

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Como Villa Estate on the outskirts of Alexandra is the most interesting place we’ve ever done a wine tasting. The cellar door and museum are in a stone house that was built in the mid 1860’s by Thomas Oliver.

Thomas was one of the first to plant grape vines in the area, but his primary business was building and operating water races for gold miners, some of the races are still used today for irrigation.

Thomas was a successful entrepreneur and he sold Como Villa in 1874 and moved to Dunedin to run a hotel. The property was bought and … Read the rest

Let’s Buy The Beach New Zealand

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Update March 2016: Money received, beach purchased and the process of making it part of Abel Tasman National Park has started. High five Duane and Adam.

Update 24/2/16: Double thumbs up New Zealand – tender offer accepted. Around 10% of pledges in a givealittle campaign aren’t honoured, hopefully this campaign will be different.

Update 12/2/16: The $2,000,000 target was reached on the evening of 12 February, nice one NZ! Pledges can still be made until 3pm Monday 15 February, the total won’t change from two million, so others participating in the tender process won’t know exactly what they’re up … Read the rest

Kaimanawa Wild Horses

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I opened the envelope of one of the best birthday presents ever last year – I was going on a bus trip to see Kaimanawa wild horses roaming on NZ Army land in Waiouru. The Ranges Trips are organised by Kaimanawa Heritage Horses and while waiting for the trip I spent time wondering  …

How far would we travel to see our first horse? Not far at all. How many wild horses would we see? We photographed 57 but I’d estimate we saw around 100. How close could we get to the horses? They kept a safe distance but often … Read the rest

Art Deco Masonic Hotel in Napier

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There’s a rave review ahead for Art Deco Masonic Hotel in Napier. We remember when the hotel had a Breakers Cafe on the ground floor, what a transformation! In 2012 the hotel was renovated significantly and many of its Art Deco features were restored. The work of the owners’ was recognised recently when they picked up two awards at Hospitality NZ Awards for Excellence – Best Accommodation, and the top award – Supreme Award Winner.

We checked in to a Superior Queen Room to find we had French doors opening to the balcony overlooking Marine Parade, it was a lovely … Read the rest