Adventure, Australasia & Pacific

“Ice capades” on the Franz Josef glacier

One of the most exciting experiences I had whilst travelling around New Zealand was exploring the majestic Franz Josef glacier. Named by the eminent German Geologist Julius von Haast in honour of the Emperor of Austria Franz Josef I of Austria.

The Franz Josef glacier (Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere) is on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand. The glacier descends deep into the lush rainforest of Westland’s National Park, from a height of 2,700m above sea level to only 240m in less than 7 miles, making it the worlds steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier.

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Adventure, Organised tours, South America

Discovering Angel Falls, Venezuela

Angel Falls is the World’s highest waterfall, dropping a total of 978m from the summit of the Auyan Tepuy, and with an 807m uninterrupted drop. There are no overland routes to Canaima National Park, the gateway to Angel Falls, and access is only by air. The area is filled with grassland and dense jungle along the course of the rivers and at the base of the tepuis – plateaus that are millions of years old with vertical walls and flat tops.

We flew from London to Caracas where we stayed in a hotel for the night. The following day, we took a plane from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz followed by a Cessna to Canaima. The best way to see Angel Falls is through an organised tour of 2-3 days which is what we’d opted for.

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Europe, Family, France

Exploring Côte d’Opale in Northern France

The Côte d’Opale is just a 15 minute drive away when you emerge from Eurotunnel onto the continent. Named after the beautiful sea colour the area now offers visitors wonderful views back to Blighty, beautiful French seaside towns to explore and fantastic seafood sample. It was once famed as Germany’s starting point for the invasion of England, ‘Operation Sea Lion’ in World War II. Thankfully Hitler changed his mind about invading and postponed the operation indefinitely in September 1940.

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Adventure, Australasia & Pacific

Trekking The Tongario Crossing, New Zealand

The World-renowned Tongariro Alpine Crossing is heralded as one of the top ten single day treks in the World. The 19.4 km trail spans the length of Mount Tongariro from alpine meadows to a mountain summit with stunning volcanic features along the way. It’s a landscape of craters, scattered pumice, active volcanoes, mountain springs, old lava flows, emerald lakes, piles of scoria and statue-like mounds of volcanic desert. On a clear day you can see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ngauruhoe, the Kaimanawa Ranges, Lake Taupo and beyond.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing starts in the Mangatepopo Valley and finishes at Ketatahi Road. We were located a short bus ride away from the start of the trail thanks to a friend whose parents kindly let us borrow their holiday home. We were dropped off at the Mangatepopo car park early morning. It was a gloriously sunny day and we found ourselves de-layering fairly swiftly en route to Soda Springs. The track was pretty flat for the most part and it was board walked in the damper areas with poles marking the route.

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Adventure, Europe, Self catering, Skiing, Switzerland

Is Zermatt the best ski resort in Europe?

Zermatt is nestled in the shadow of the Matterhorn and the perfect destination for a fantastic ski holiday, on and off Piste. The town is 1,620 m (5,310 ft), and lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 10,800 ft (3,291.84 m) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy.  With no cars allowed you can explore the snow covered streets with ease and drink in the atmosphere of this quintessentially Swiss resort.

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Europe, Family, France, Off the beaten track

The beautifully unspoilt Cervione

The historic Cervione is a little known village in Corsica, located just half an hour from Bastia. From the magnificent bell tower to the stone houses with wooden shutters, cobbled streets and quirky cafes, it’s an enchanting place to visit. The views are so astonishing, they almost take your breath away. It’s no wonder this hidden gem was nicknamed the balcony by the sea.

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Africa, City breaks

A weekend in Marrakech, Morroco

Sun, souk and snakes, three things you’re guaranteed from a trip to Marrakech. We travelled at the beginning of April on the search for pre-summer sun and discovered so much more. The average temperature at that time of year hovers around 18 degrees Celsius and rises steadily as summer approaches.

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Australasia & Pacific, Beach, Honeymoons, Luxury

A Tahitian honeymoon

The idyllic paradise of Tahiti covers more than 2 million square miles of the South Pacific Ocean with over a hundred islands and atolls spread over five archipelagos. With turquoise blue lagoons, palm trees and white sandy beaches, it’s located halfway between California and Australia providing the perfect honeymoon destination.

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Activity holidays, Europe, Family, France

Watersports at the San Lucianu Beach Resort

Mark Warner makes everything so easy. From checking in, the BA chartered flight and the transfer the other end to the array of activities available on resort and of course the childcare. Earlier this year, we had our first family holiday with Mark Warner at the Levante Beach Resort in Rhodes, Greece. We’d never put POD in childcare on holiday before but a few hours each morning meant we could finally dust down the rackets. The POD Father even dilly dallied with sailing although it was short-lived – simply because we ran out of time.

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