Travel Journals


A Week in Japan at Christmas by Ian Collier

Japan is certainly a ‘hot’ destination for Discover Travel presently, with unprecedented levels of interest in this most fascinating of countries since they dropped all restrictions in April 2023. My last trip there was in April 2019 when I walked the Nakasendo Trail, so I jumped at the chance to… Learn more


A family holiday in Samoa by Juliet Davis

With a 3 hour direct daily flight from Auckland and their time zone just 1 hour ahead, Samoa has proven to be a fantastic holiday destination for our family (with children aged 8 and 10). Our 12 days away was a mixture of time in Apia, Lalomanu Beach on the… Learn more


Oslo to Longyearbyen by Ian Collier

Oslo is often overlooked by travellers keen to explore Europe’s great cities, probably because it doesn’t have any obvious iconic landmarks and is perceived as being very expensive, so I was completely unprepared for how impressive it is for the first time visitor. This is a city with vast green… Learn more


Whirlwind 50 hours in Barcelona! by Ian Collier

We really packed it in, on Sunday afternoon we wandered the Gothic Quarter, jumped on the hop on / hop off bus ‘red’ route and strolled along the beach. On Monday we did the bus ‘blue’ route, went to Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, the Camp Nou stadium and explored… Learn more


5 days in Sydney by Peter Dunne

I had lived in Sydney in the late 80’s and been back a few time over the followings years, but never as a tourist so this year when I visited for 5 days it was an interesting mix of reminiscence and new experiences. Easter is a good time to visit… Learn more


Walking Japan’s Nakasendo Trail by Ian Collier

Japan is very popular for Kiwi visitors; with the Rugby World Cup last year and the Olympics upcoming in 2020, the country’s profile has never been higher. So many visitors to Japan use the impressive Japan Rail network to hop at Shinkansen (bullet) speed from one big city to another… Learn more