Brand USA 2016

ULTIMATE U.S. ROAD TRIPS GO WHERE THE ROAD TAKES YOU, IT’S ALL WITHIN YOUR REACH

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Gasbuddy.com lets you know the cheapest petrol closest to your current location throughout the U.S.

HISTORIC ROUTE 66

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Most gasoline stations require you to pre-pay before filling up.

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At a crossroads where all directions have a stop sign, drivers proceed in the order in which they arrived.

Utah is a state, all right – a state of mind. Sculpted by wind, water and time, Utah’s landscape is the perfect setting for your next adventure. From the Mighty 5® national parks – Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion – to the Wasatch Mountain’s Greatest Snow on Earth® and all points in-between, Utah is where memories are made and experiences forged.

Glittering Las Vegas has its own unique man-made character – then drive through natural landscapes including Zion’s massive sandstone cliffs, the rich colours of Bryce Canyon’s famous spires, the red rock wonderland of Arches National Park and the Grand Canyon.

It’s a route so legendary celebrated author John Steinbeck named it The Mother Road in The Grapes of Wrath.

Built in the 1920s, it served as a main thoroughfare from east to west and still beckons travellers seeking a classic piece of Americana. Route 66 runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and crosses Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. This crosssection of the USA lets you see the country’s heart and soul.

Traverse the urban streets of Chicago and St. Louis, take in the expansive Grand Canyon, experience the Southwest’s Native American communities and hit the beach in Santa Monica – all on the same route.

Discover the best of the South – take a tour of one of Vicksburg’s many antebellum homes, enjoy the ultimate po-boy eating experience in Houma and immerse yourself in all things Cajun and Creole in Lafayette.

New Orleans, a culturally diverse Louisiana city of French, Spanish, Cuban and Creole influences is ideal for hopping on a streetcar to shop on Magazine Street or to visit the famed, ornate Garden District.

The streets are covered with stately mansions and lush oak trees. The action takes place in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a cultural mainstay that has long inspired musicians, writers and artists.

HIGHLIGHTS Grand Canyon Las Vegas Hoover Dam Monument Valley 5 National Parks

HIGHLIGHTS The Mississippi River Petrified Forest National Park The Grand Canyon Santa Monica pier

HIGHLIGHTS Grand Old Opry New Orleans Stax Museum of American Soul Montgomery Mobile

TURN THE PAGE FOR AMAZING ROAD TRIP DEALS!

CALIFORNIA

Photo credit: Howard Frisk

ARTISAN ADVENTURES

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The rules of the road can vary from state to state so check before you leave.

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CALI FOR SPORTS LOVERS

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Combining unique food expllorations with explorations h nature and d scenic sights, sigh hts, th this his Northwest North hwestt adventure is perfect for those who delight in artisan experiences. Connect with interesting people and emb brace the th he great outdoors outd doorss embrace for adventure, fun fun and d ready for relaxation. The lush Pacific North hwest is home home to vol lcan nic Northwest volcanic vistas, an abundance of orchards and vibrant urban areas. A road d trip is an id deall way to catch all off the amazing sights this region is famous for. In the span of a few days, you can experience everything from wine tasting to whale watching — while enjoying the freedom of the road.

HIGHLIGHTS San Francisco Redwood National Park Oregon Sand Dunes Mount Raine National Park Columbia River Gorge

Travel the awesome Pacific Coast Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles with some sporting action along the way. Take in the Oakland Raiders, Golden State Warriors, LA Lakers and the LA Kings. If you’ve never crossed the iconic Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, you’re in for an unforgettable experience. Traveling south, you’ll drive the spectacular Monterey Peninsula, Big Sur and Santa Barbara before hitting the bright lights of LA.

HIGHLIGHTS LA Lakers and Hollywood sign Santa Barbara Breakers and Stearns Wharf Surfing at Big Sur Monterey Beach SportsFest San Francisco Giants and the Golden Gate Bridge

You can not overtake a school bus if red lights are flashing.

ROAD TO HANA HIGHWAY ROADIE TIP

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Making right turns on red signals after stopping is allowed in most states.

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Less is more on Hawaii’s Hana Highway or Road to Hana, a celebrated 83km road running along the northeastern coast of Maui, part of Hawaii State Routes 36 and 360. The road begins in the central town of Kahului and ends at the charmingly remote, rustic town of Hana, once the site of a flourishing sugar cane plantation and mill. With over 600 sharp curves and bends along with 59 bridges (46 just one lane), the road is an awe-inspiring drive of cliffs, beaches and waterfalls, plus a lush, panoramic view of tropical jungles and the Pacific Ocean.

HIGHLIGHTS Twin Falls waterfalls and farm stand Wai’anapanapa State Park Hamoa Beach Ohe o Gulch – Seven Sacred Pools Wailua Falls and plunge pool

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0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N AT I O N W I D E I H O T. C O. N Z CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only to 16 Dec 16 • Prices are correct as at 12 Oct 16 • Costs may vary due to subsequent, tax and surcharge increases and exchange rates • Full payment is required no later than 5pm 16 Dec 16 • All travel must be commenced and completed as specified • Some surcharges, closeouts, and accommodation restrictions apply. Price may vary depending on availability. Bedding configurations may vary on twin share option • Airfares are not included and are an additional cost • Advertised prices are per person share twin based on payment by cash or cheque. Credit card fees will apply • Amendment and cancellation fees apply • Subject to availability • Hertz rental car is inclusive of Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), Liability Insurance Supplement (LIS), taxes, local surcharges, airport fees, unlimited mileage and Vehicle Licence fee (VLF). Further terms and conditions apply. For more information, inclusions and applicable travel dates see instore or visit http://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/holidays/usa

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The road to

Nirvana A rock ’n’ roll roadtrip from Seattle to San Francisco » p12-p13

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travel

12 | Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Discover America

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Every state in the US has a strong claim to being the ‘Home of American Music’. This road trip from Seattle to Chiacgo connects grunge to the Blues.

SEATTLE

COEUR D’ALENE

YELLOWSTONE

Take a few days to drive through this famous n ational park to ensure you take in all the scenery.

1190km from Seattle

Make your first stop this beautiful lakeside city in Northern Idaho.

501km from Seattle

WALL

This very American town is famous for its large drugstore offering free iced water to thirsty trave 1909km from Seattle

JACKSON HOLE

The gateway to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, you can see why this town is so popular with tourists.

1387km from Seattle

Rock ’n’ roll rite Russell Baillie follows the path of Kurt Cobain’s career on a road trip from Seattle, the home of grunge, to San Francisco Pacific Ocean Portland Oregon

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USA’S PACIFIC NORTH WEST DETAILS House of Travel’s nine-day ‘Pacific Coast Explorer Road Trip’ package starts from $1445pp, twin share. hot.co.nz ONLINE visittheusa.com

Seattle claims Jimi Hendrix as its own; Amoeba Music in San Francisco; find vintage tie-dyes in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco. Pictures / 123RF; Mack Male

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ou could spend days delving into Seattle rock history. After all, it is the birthplace of James Marshall Hendrix. Though he didn’t spend much of his career there. Still, the city claims him as its own.

It is the city of grunge and where Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix’s fellow member of rock’s gonebefore-their-time “27 Club”, ended his days in 1994.

The grunge era is still in evidence. Sub Pop, the scene’s defining label, has a store at Sea-Tac Airport. Near the runway is a warehouse which is Pearl Jam’s headquarters, the veteran band having lost their downtown digs a few years back.

Some of the grunge era venues still exist, such as The Crocodile, previously co-owned by Peter Buck of R.E.M. and where a left-field who’s who — even Chris Knox — has played over the years.

So too is vintage tavern The Central Saloon, the venue for Nirvana’s first Seattle show.

For a lateral-minded grunge pilgrimage, there is The Sound Garden, a public art installation of metal pipes – yeah, wind chimes, only big – in Warren G. Magnuson Park after which Chris Cornell named his band.

If feeling morbid, you can join the thousands visiting Hendrix’s resting place at Greenwood Memorial Park or the Hendrix stone memorial at Woodland Park Zoo. There’s a statue of him in full about-to-commit-guitar-arson pose on the footpath of Broadway. If you pucker up with him for a selfie and caption it “Scuse me while I kiss this guy” you won’t be the first.

The nearest you’ll get to a Nirvana Graceland is Viretta Park, near the house where Cobain killed himself. Many fans leave graffiti tributes on park benches.

Many hotels in Seattle had Cobain and wife Courtney Love as guests before they bought their lavish home. Not many advertise the fact, though the boutique Hotel Max has a floor of rooms featuring turntables and Sub Pop records.

Talking of needles, there’s cheaper, less salubrious accommodation options at the Marco Polo motel, a spot Cobain reportedly used to score during his final days of heroin addiction.

But Hendrix and Cobain’s legacies are celebrated best at EMP (Experience Music Project) museum at the Seattle Center.

Opened by Microsoft bigwig and Hendrix fanatic and collector Paul Allen, the Frank O. Gehry building features evolving exhibits on Hendrix and Nirvana among its collection of music, scifi, fantasy and pop culture.

The Hendrix exhibit Wild Blue Angel: Hendrix Abroad looks at the guitarist’s itinerant life and career while Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses examines the short spectacular history of the band and the scene it sprang from.

travel

Tuesday, October 18, 2016 | 13

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

large avellers.

SIOUX FALLS

This national park is abundant with wildlife and also contains one of the world’s richest fossil beds.

1920km from Seattle

MT RUSHMORE

Need we say more? This is an American landmark you’ve got to see.

1863km from Seattle

Once you’ve purchased your Jimi bobblehead from the museum shop it’s off to Olympia and Aberdeen. It’s a two-hour drive from Washington State’s biggest city to its capital, Olympia, then another hour west to Aberdeen. The route reverses the path of Cobain’s career.

Olympia was immortalised by Courtney Love on the Hole song of the same name. Before that it was ground zero for the Riot grrrl movement of the early 90s, a wave of feminist punk bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Bratmobile.

These days the bohemian university town – many of the Riot grrrl bands sprang from Evergreen State College – still boasts a vibrant bar, live music, record store and zine scene.

It’s where Nirvana’s Cobain and Krist Novoselic shifted from their hometown, Aberdeen, and where Cobain wrote most of the breakthrough Nevermind album, including the Smells Like Teen Spirit title, which was inspired by friend Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill.

Aberdeen, which has “Come as You Are” on its welcome sign, is Cobain’s birthplace. He’s celebrated at the Aberdeen Museum of History with an unfortunate statue (the Cobain action figures are a better likeness). There’s a walking tour of Kurt Cobain’s Aberdeen — the houses he grew up in, the schools he attended, the walls he graffitied and the places he and Novoselic practised in the band’s early days.

Aberdeen’s biggest memorial to its favourite son is Kurt Cobain Landing, a small park, complete with guitar sculpture and a headstone.

It’s next to the Young Street Bridge, a one-time hangout for the sometimes homeless teenager which inspired his song Something in the Way. eading back inland will get you over the Washington-Oregon border and on to Portland in two to three hours. Or you can take the scenic route via the coastal town, Astoria – the setting for 80s kids classic The Goonies – then hug the Columbia River inland.

Hipster capital Portland continues to attract musicians from all over the US and – in the case of former Mint Chick Ruban Nielson now of Unknown Mortal Orchestra – all over the world.

It has more live music venues than you can point an organically brewed American pale ale at. But so far as rock history goes, Portland’s most significant location is 411 SW 13th Avenue.

There, on what was the site of Northwestern Studios, you will you find a plaque commemorating the 1963 recording of Louie Louie by local band the Kingsmen.

The song is one of the strangest,

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MILWAUKEE

Stop and stretch your legs with a walk around the beautiful Falls Park.

2379km from Seattle

MITCHELL

Home to the “World’s Only Corn Palace” and other interesting attractions.

2265km from seattle

Known for its many breweries, this is the place to stop for a drink.

3172km from Seattle

CHICAGO

MADISON

Wisconsin’s capital is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Taliesin East and other important cultural sites.

3097km from Seattle

running venue from which spring many of the bands of the late 1980s and 1990s Californian punk revival, including punk-pop veterans Green Day. Or if you’re a fan of Creedence Clearwater Revival – and even Cobain started out playing the songs of John Fogerty and co – you could head into El Cerrito.

Yes, the band which sang about being born on the bayou sprang from the suburbs of the East Bay Area. If you head to El Cerrito High School you’ll see the place where the group started out and where, in 1983, the three original members played a final show at the Class of 1963’s 20th reunion. ou could spend a lot of time in San Francisco on a rock ’n’ roll pilgrimage to the Summer of Love.

Especially as Haight-Ashbury has long catered to a tourist market after some vintage tiedye, patchouli oil and a Grateful Dead iPhone case.

Or you could go see where the Beatles played their final public show. Or where punk era Sex Pistols played their final one.

But both venues – Candlestick Park and the Winterland – are gone now.

So to avoid the hippie hordes, drive or ferry across to gentile Sausalito. Otis Redding started whistling his famous Dock of the Bay at Waldo Point Harbour in Sausalito where he stayed on a houseboat while playing shows across the other side of Golden Gate Bridge in 1967. Or you could head to The Record Plant, a legendary resort studio which delivered albums

by Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder and littleknown local band Metallica before it went under in the late noughties.

The building is still there. But now, where Sly and the Family Stone once recorded in a specially-sunken room called The Pit, you can do yoga and Pilates. It’s a wellness centre and social club called Harmonia. As Johnny Rotten told his San Francisco audience in his famous last-gig kiss off: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”

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most enduring, lyrically indecipherable garage rock hits to ever become a number one record.

Lots of other covers, originally a regional hit for its writer, Richard Berry, in 1957, would follow. Even Motorhead did it.

After the Kingsmen, Portland migrants Paul Revere and the Raiders recorded the song at the same studio a few weeks later and the two versions competed for airplay.

But it was one-hit wonders the Kingsmen which put Portland, rock city, on the map. here’s not much on the map in the 10-hour drive to the Californian state capital of Sacramento. There’s not much rock history when you get there either. But 20 minutes east is Folsom State Prison, the place which inspired Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues of 1955 and where he recorded his classic live album At Folsom Prison in 1968. There is a prison museum with Cash memorabilia including some very cool pictures of the Man in Black at the jail.

Heading towards San Francisco, the potential for rock history hotspots rises exponentially.

Need more Cash? Head northwest across the Richmond San Rafael Bridge to San Quentin Prison where Cash recorded his second live album At San Quentin in 1969 and famously gave the warden the finger.

Head to West Berkeley where at 924 Gilman St you’ll find the Alternative Music Foundation, the long-

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California’s The Record Plant delivered albums by Fleetwood Mac (top); Nirvana with the late Kurt Cobain (right). Pictures / File

travel

6 | Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Discover America: Road Trips

LOS ANGELES

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On the 600km road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco, you’ll pass through some of California’s most stunning regions.

MALIBU

More than 50km of palm trees and sandy beaches LA 58km / SF 644km

SANTA BARBARA

Between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the beach, it’s California at its best LA 153km / SF 542km

VENTURA

If you surf, this is the spot for you LA 109km / SF 566km

To live

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drive in LA

Los Angeles is a great place to begin a California road trip. Chris Schulz has done the reconnaissance and has a few suggestions for what you should tick off before you hit the road

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Ribs There’s only one way to kick off a visit in the muggy peak of Los Angeles’ summer weather, and that’s by heading straight to the nearest diner for all-you-can-eat ribs. There are two main styles: slow-cooked and sticky, the meat falling off the bone; or seared over charcoal fires and slathered in fabulous, sticky barbecue sauce.

Fries and slaw are compulsory sides, as are napkins. And if you’re ever deciding whether or not to get a half or full serve, choose the full.

You’re in America, you’re going to eat a lot. Go easy on the bread, and go hard with the ribs. You flew 12 hours in cattle class to one of the dustiest cities on the planet, so you deserve to kick off your road trip adventures in classic American style.

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Celebrity spotting It’s often said that there are celebrities on every corner in Los Angeles — and it feels true: if the people you see on the corner aren’t actual celebrities, you can be sure they’re working on it.

If you’re trying to spot stars while wandering around Los Angeles, all you have to do is keep your eyes open. I’ve had Jane Lynch smash into me outside a furniture shop. I’ve dined next to Iggy Azalea in a restaurant that used to be a hardware store. I’ve watched rapper The Game cruise through Beverly Hills blasting booming hip-hop from his jet black SUV. But watching bratty rap crew Odd Future, including front man Tyler, the Creator, skate down Beverly Blvd, blow past me then kick-flip off the kerb remains a highlight.

USA San Francisco Pacific California Ocean Los Angeles

Checklist

LOS ANGELES GETTING THERE House of Travel has oneway Economy Class fares to Los Angeles on sale from $599, including all taxes with Air New Zealand. houseoftravel.co.nz

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The Grove/Farmer’s Market It’s a foodie’s dream. And a shopper’s. Plan to spend a full day on this massive site, because there’s just so much to do. Firstly, head there for the shopping — pick up your shoes at Nordstrom’s, stock up on gym gear at the Nike store that takes up three levels, grab your kitchen supplies at Crate + Barrel (leave anything wooden on the shelf) and grab candy for your kids at the giant confectionary shack on the corner. Then get lunch at the Farmer’s Market, which, handily, is right next door. Everything you could ask for is there, including fresh smoothies, huge slices of pizza, slow braised cuts

ONLINE visittheusa.com

of meat and corned beef sandwiches. But be warned, the longest queue is for the Brazilian barbecue team. You’ll be back shopping in no time — and planning to stick around for dinner.

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The great coffee hunt You will not find good coffee in Los Angeles. I repeat. You. Will. Not. Find.

Good. Coffee. In. Los. Angeles. So don’t even bother trying. They do awful, horrible coffee in two ways: filtered dregs that sits around for hours and is served with glugs of gluey cream, or sickly sweet milky coffees served in buckets from chains like Starbucks. Amazingly, many of them have started serving flat whites but be warned, these are not the flat whites you’ll find in New Zealand, just more overly sugared milkshake-sized coffees. My suggestion is to grab a cold brew instead — there’s a great range at Whole Foods, and it’s the perfect way to beat the Los Angeles heat.

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Random hotels You could stay at a gigantic hotel chain, but where’s the fun in that? Find yourself a random boutique instead, like Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, a former hostel for aspiring actors that’s within walking distance of the main stretches of Beverly Hills. It’s decidedly oldschool, with a lift that fits three at a pinch and feels like it’s being handwinched up levels, and rooms decked out with giant pink quilted headboards, wall-sized mirrors and giant lampshades. Historic? Yep. Vintage. For sure.

Ghosts? Apparently there’s at least one lurking in these hallowed halls so you would be advised to always watch your step.

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Right in Coas LA 304

travel

Tuesday, September 13, 2016 | 7

SAN SIMEON

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

Stop by and see the historic Hearst Castle LA 372km / SF 386km

N LUIS OBISPO

in the middle of Central Coast Wine Country 304km / SF 373km

SANTA CRUZ

A serene spot to spend the night LA 521km / SF 187km

BIG SUR

Described in 1912 as the “greatest meeting of land and water in the world,” LA 497km / SF 227km

Hit the boardwalk for some old school Americana LA 557km / SF 117km

MONTEREY

Chow down at one of the many seafood restaurants LA 515km / SF 190km

SAN JOSE

SAN FRANCISCO

Visit America’s largest open air market LA 549km / SF 77km

All you need to know for driving in the US House of Travel’s top tips for Kiwis heading off on a US road trip.

You must have a valid New Zealand driver’s licence to drive in the United States.

If you’re hiring a rental car, it’s recommended you take out the maximum insurance cover on offer. Hertz has a great offering of maximum cover without the pesky “per day” charge.

Petrol is cheap! It does vary but over the past few months the cost of petrol in the US has ranged from US63c-US68c a litre. At many petrol stations you need to pay first before you pump gas.

From left: Downtown LA; the historic Farmer’s Market; watch your turn on the 710 Long Beach and 105 Century freeway interchange. Pictures / 123RF

Most rental car companies have a minimum rental age of 20, but renters aged between 20 and 24 are often required to pay a daily surcharge.

Drink-driving rules in the US are very strict. All states define driving with a blood alcohol concentration at or above 0.08 per cent as a crime, but specific laws and penalties vary substantially from state to state.

The LA freeway is big and can be intimidating for travellers from little old New Zealand. When you pick up your rental, tune the radio to one of the traffic stations (KABC 790AM, KFWB 980AM, KFI 640AM and KNX 1070AM).

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No one walks Everyone drives in Los Angeles. No distance is too short to call a cab, or app for an Uber. If you enjoy walking, or jogging, you’ll find you have the footpaths to yourself. And you’ll see more of the city too. On a mission to exercise one day, I randomly stumbled into a park and watched the most committed dad I’d ever seen smash his two sons at basketball, then happened across two soccer teams playing in a dust bowl without one blade of grass visible.

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Terrifying taxi rides Everyone has a horror story, and mine was being crammed into a Beverly Hills Cab ride featuring the Angriest Man I’ve Ever Met. He drove too fast, he swerved in and out

of traffic, he sped up to go over judder bars, and sped down to shake his fist at those who enraged him. It was easy to do — you’d probably just have to smile at him. Getting to our destination, I’d never been so happy to get out of a taxi. It was proof that not everyone deserves a tip in LA.

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Amazing sandwiches After that taxi ride, I consoled myself with the greatest thing I have ever eaten. It was a sandwich, but it wasn’t a simple combination of bread and fillings. This was a masterpiece, the kind of thing that deserved an entire episode of Netflix show Chef’s Table devoted to it, something that should be on display in a dedicated art gallery. Firstly,

it was huge, easily the equivalent of two trifling sandwiches you’d find back home. Crammed between a split sourdough roll were deep-fried chicken pieces, pickles and coleslaw oozing mayonnaise, thick slabs of cheese, and a delicious spicy barbecue dressing. But here’s the thing that made it next level: on top of all of that lay slices of pork crackling. That will keep you going until you find someone serving your next meal of ribs.

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

12

NEW ORLEANS

A road trip in Louisiana means only one thing — travelling the legendary Blues Highway. Follow the Blues Trail Markers along Route 61, taking in the birthplaces of celebrated artists, famous recording studios and iconic live music venues.

WOODVILLE

ROLLING FORK

One of the oldest European/ American towns in Mississippi.

NOLA 213km / NASH 789km

The birthplace of McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield.

NOLA 421km / NASH 691km

VICKSBURG Great views of the Mississippi River, and a drug store with an impressive collection of Civil War artefacts OLA 345km / NASH 662km

MARDI GRAS WITH CAJUN Stacey Plaisance heads into the Louisiana back country for pre-Lenten hijinks.

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n New Orleans, revellers ride fancy floats, wear elaborate costumes and toss trinkets and beads by the tonnes to eager and often inebriated crowds.

But far from New Orleans, in the region of Louisiana known as Cajun country, Mardi Gras is celebrated a little differently, in a more family-oriented atmosphere. There, boats are gaily decorated, revellers two-step to traditional Cajun music like zydeco, and many partake in communal meals of a flavourful stew called gumbo.

“It’s Mardi Gras in the country, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Celeste Gomez, a Cajun country native who also serves as director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission.

The Mardi Gras custom, brought to Louisiana by its French colonists, evolved a bit differently in melting-pot New Orleans than in the fishing communities of coastal parishes, where the French language sometimes still can be heard.

Louisiana suffered loss of life and mass devastation in the catastrophic floods in August, and the recovery effort has far to go. As residents and businesses look to rebuild and move on, the hope is that come mardi gras season, there will again be a reason to party.

The common thread of Mardi Gras is simple: Raise a helluva party before the solemn season of Lent puts the kibosh on the revelry.

In rural communities, revellers take to the water,

“One year there was an old paddle-wheel boat and everybody on it was dressed up in Southern belle dresses and costumes,” Mullins said. “Every year there’s something different.”

Just a few hours by car on Interstate 10 from the raunchiness of New Orleans, visitors will find the Cajun customs of the Acadiana region. (The term Cajun is derived from the word Acadian, which refers to those of French descent.)

In Lafayette, the heart of Cajun country a little more than 90km west of New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a days-long festival of music and revelry that culminates with a street parade through downtown. The parade ends at Cajun Field with rides, music and food stalls.

Just beyond Lafayette, in the town of Eunice, Mardi Gras includes days of live music, costumemaking and an old-fashioned boucherie — a celebration in which Cajuns butcher a pig to Lafayette Mardi Gras. Picture / Stephanie Abdul make pork dishes such as backbone stew, hog head cheese, barbecue pork sandwiches, boudin parading decorated boats that on other days (a sausage made with rice) and cracklin, fried might hunt alligators in swamps or ply the Gulf of pork rind. The boucherie in Eunice is held the Mexico for seafood. And if it’s warm enough Sunday before Mardi Gras.

(Mardi Gras season weather can be fickle Down the road, the Courir de Mardi in Louisiana), they may don bathing suits Gras starts at sunrise on Fat Tuesday MISSOURI instead of costumes. (which next year, falls on February 28). It VIRGINIA “Some boats are decorated in pirate originated as a way to collect ingredients Nashville NORTH themes, some with Mardi Gras colours for a communal gumbo, with horseback CAROLINA ARKANSAS TENNESEE and purple, green and gold balloons,” riders stopping at farms for rice, chicken, SOUTH U N I T E D S TAT E S CAROLINA said Leah Mullins, manager at Tin onions and andouille sausage. Today, MISS. Lizzy’s restaurant and bar in Springfield, the courir is mostly ceremonial fun, with ALABAMA GEORGIA Louisiana, a popular spot for watching 1000 participants on foot, horseback and ATLANTIC OCEAN LOUISIANA the Tickfaw boat parade, which is held in trailers travelling from farm to farm every Saturday before Mardi Gras about over 6km of countryside. Some chase New Orleans 37km northwest of New Orleans. Tin Lizzy’s a chicken or two for laughs while making Gulf of Mexico 200km has a large dock and patio area fronting the merry along the way, but the communal gumbo Tickfaw River. gets cooking long before riders return to town.

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

| 25.09.16 |

CLEVELAND

TUNICA

JACKSON

Home to the Dockery Plantation, often called the Birthplace of the Blues.

NOLA 500km / NASH 520km

The birthplace of Charlaine Harris — whose books inspired True Blood.

NOLA 674km / NASH 419km

Home to The International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame Museum.

NOLA 742km / NASH 219km

INDIANOLA

CLARKSDALE

MEMPHIS

BB King was born here and many streets are named after him and his music.

NOLA 477km / NASH 609km

Famous residents have included Charlie Patton and John Lee Hooker.

NOLA 616km / NASH 477km

Visit Elvis’ old haunts Graceland and Sun Studios.

NOLA 680km / NASH 355km

13

NASHVILLE

Bayou and cypress trees, Louisiana. Picture / 123RF

FACT FILE

● House of Travel has one-way Economy Class fares to New Orleans, via Houston, starting from $729 with Air New Zealand. houseoftravel.co.nz ● Tickfaw Boat Parade: Tin Lizzy’s, 29592 Louisiana Hwy 22, Springfield, Louisiana. tickfawriver.com; facebook.com/ TinLizzysLandin ● Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade: Downtown to Cajun Field, 444 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, Louisiana, lafayettetravel.com ● L’acadie Inn: 259 Tasso Loop, Eunice, Louisiana, hotboudin.com ● Le Village Guesthouse: 121 Seale Lane, Eunice, Louisiana, levillagehouse.com

MOVES “You’re overindulging and having a good time before Lent,” said Gomez, a native of Eunice who promotes Courir de Mardi Gras through her work with the tourist commission. “It’s my favourite time of year. Visitors always come in thinking they’ll just be spectators but end up being a part of it.”

Presentations about the courir and other Cajun country Mardi Gras traditions are offered at the Jean Lafitte National Park & Preserve-Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice.

Unlike the glitzy, beaded costumes seen in New Orleans, Courir de Mardi Gras costumes are much simpler, often made of scrap fabric

ONLINE visittheusa.com

Cajun Courir de Mardi Gras. Picture / Getty Images

and ribbon, Gomez said. Generations ago, costumes were made from repurposed cloth sacks from goods such as flour, SPACE sugar and coffee, and face masks were made from old window screens.

“It’s nothing fancy,” she said. “People out here didn’t have a lot of money to splurge for a costume, so they made their own with whatever they had around. Many still do.”

The costumes include tall cone-shaped hats and bells “so people on the farms can hear you coming,” Gomez said.

There are chain hotels in the area but Gomez says locally-owned establishments like

L’acadie Inn or Le Village Guesthouse, a bed and breakfast, offer a more immersive experience.

“When you stay with locals, you get to hear their stories and hear about the history of our culture here,” she said. “It’s a much more authentic experience, and they can help you get a costume put together on short notice.”

– AP

SPACE

The best holidays are created together.

travel

8 | Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Discover America: Road Trips

» MENDOCINO

Highway 101’s coastal route through California, Oregon and Washington has scenic views and open road for most of its 2500km, with plenty of great stops along the way.

SAN FRANCISCO

All aboard the Skunk Train for a trip through redwood trees, over trestle bridges and through historic stone tunnels.

SF 290km / SE 1254km

POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE

FERNDALE

One of America’s National Parks, this reserve spans 71,028 acres (288ha) of beautiful California coastline.

SF 64km / SE 1480km

A preserved Victorian village, Forbes magazine called Ferndale one of America’s prettiest towns.

SF 504km / SE 1040km

Napa v

The West Coast of the US is home to some of the country’s best plonk, finds Leila George

I

f California is the rock star of the American wine industry, the Sonoma and Napa valley regions are the A-list celebrities.

Home to more than 4600 wineries, the West Coast state makes 85 per cent of the wine produced in the US, but it’s at the two parallel valleys just north of San Francisco where you’ll find the top-quality plonk.

First up, you have to be careful not to get your counties and your valleys confused — Sonoma County is a huge area encompassing Sonoma Valley and multiple other AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), while Napa Valley is just one of the AVAs in Napa County. Both make up part of San Fran’s “Wine Country” region, and one AVA, Los Carneros, straddles the two.

In terms of looks, as a newcomer you’d be hardpressed to tell the difference between each region’s picturesque rolling hills, but there are differences in attitude.

Attention-seeking Napa is flashier and more touristy, while Sonoma is more relaxed and less commercial.

The best times to visit are spring and autumn — in particular, the “fall” combines fine weather with the grape harvest and the start of the winemaking season.

The good news is that both are an easy day trip from San Francisco, but if you’re short on time, which one do you point the car towards?

Here’s a quick run-down. (Note that many of the wineries have tasting fees and some are by appointment only.)

NAPA VALLEY How to get there: Travel northeast either via I-80 or US-101. It will take you around 90 minutes.

If you’re staying: Skip Napa, the main town in the valley, and head north to the charming

Sonoma Nevada

Napa San Francisco

California

USA Pacific Ocean

Los Angeles

Checklist

CALIFORNIA GETTING THERE House of Travel has one way Economy Class fares from Auckland to San Francisco with Air New Zealand, starting from $885, including taxes.

Air New Zealand flies 5 times a week from Auckland direct to San Francisco. houseoftravel. co.nz ONLINE visittheusa.com

Feel better about quaffing wine with a spot of wellness therapy, such as yoga, at one of the luxurious facilities around the region. Pictures / Bob McLenahan; Megan Reeves

settlements of St Helena or Calistoga, which offer more attractive accommodation options and a wider variety of eateries.

Calistoga is also known for its hot springs, mineral water and

mud baths.

Don’t miss: Robert Mondavi Winery, Clos Du Val Winery, Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars, Castello di Amorosa.

Best known for: Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

What else is there to do? There are other ways to relax than quaffing wine you know.

Feel better about indulging with a spot of wellness therapy, whether it’s a yoga workout or a massage or spa treatment at one of the

luxurious facilities dotted around the region.

More info: napavalley.com Napa Valley is the most famous wine region in the US, shooting to glory when one of its wines beat a French vintage at a blind-tasting competition in Paris in 1976. The history goes way back beyond that, however, to 1838 when George Calvert Yount, founder of the town of Yountville, planted the first commercial vineyards in the valley.

The 8km-wide region is further inland than Sonoma and slightly longer, at 48km. It became California’s first AVA in 1981 and these days, despite its massive reputation and 400-plus wineries, is responsible for less than 5 per cent of the state’s wine output.

Napa’s dry, Mediterranean-style climate produces great pinot noir, merlot, sauvignon blanc and zinfandel over its 17,500ha of grapes, but its standout drops are its cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

Your best bet is to head for Highway 29, the

travel

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 | 9

REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK

OLYMPIA

NEWPORT

Home to the tallest trees on Earth, plus wild rivers and rugged coastline.

SF 629km / SE 915km

The capital of Washington State. Highlights include the Capitol building and the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, home to 275 bird species.

SF 1447km / SE 97km

This Oregon town has two historic lighthouses, at Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head.

SF 1044km / SE 500km

COOS BAY

Great for outdoor activities like fishing, whale watching, cycling and dune safaris.

SF 886km / SE 658km

ASTORIA

SEATTLE

Founded 200 years ago, Astoria is now a haven for hipsters and often referred to as “Little San Francisco”.

SF 1258km / SE 286km

Sonoma main road through the valley, and see which of the many wineries take your fancy.

SONOMA VALLEY How to get there: Travel northwest either via I-80 or US-101. It will take you around an hour.

If you’re staying: You’ll probably want to stick around Sonoma township, somewhere close to its historic plaza, which is a National Historic Landmark.

One of the most historic settlements in California, Sonoma was the site of the 21st and final Spanish mission, Mission San Francisco Solano, settled in 1823. It was also the site of the shortlived 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, when a small group of US settlers rebelled against the Mexican government and proclaimed California an independent republic. Many of the buildings of the time — look for examples of the adobe style — still stand on the plaza and surrounding streets.

You’ll also find great restaurants, artisan boutiques, galleries, farmers’ markets and plenty of charming accommodation.

Don’t miss: Buena Vista Winery, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Roche Winery and Vineyards.

Known for: Cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, merlot and chardonnay.

What else is there to do? Head up the road to the Jack London State Historic Park at Glen Ellen, formerly a ranch owned by the famous author and adventurer in the early 1900s.

More info: sonomavalley.com; sonomavalleywine.com Sonoma Valley is more low-key than Napa and half its length, with fewer wineries (about 100) and tourists. It dates back even further than its co-valley, with the first vineyards planted by Franciscan mission fathers in 1824. The closest wine region to San Francisco, Sonoma Valley is

SPACE

very dry, has cool nights and is isolated either side by the Mayacamas and Sonoma mountain ranges.

Reds rule here, especially zinfandels and big cabernet sauvignons, but its chardonnay and pinot noir are also well-regarded.

Buena Vista Winery, founded in 1857 by Agoston Haraszthy, is the state’s oldest commercial winery, and still operates from its original site east of Sonoma. Now a California Historic Landmark, the winery’s history — surviving bankruptcy, Prohibition, the Depression and a phylloxera infestation — is as interesting as the wines that it produces.

Travel

NAPA VS SONOMA

“fall” combines fine weather with The West Coast the grape harvest and the start of wine-making season. of the US is home theThe good news is that both are an easy day trip from San to some of the Francisco, but if you’re short on time, which one do you point the car country’s best towards? plonk, finds Leila NAPA VALLEY George How to get there: Travel northeast

I

F CALIFORNIA IS THE ROCK STAR of the American wine industry, the Sonoma and Napa valley regions are the A-list celebrities.

Home to more than 4600 wineries, the West Coast state makes 85 per cent of the wine produced in the US, but it’s at the two parallel valleys just north of San Francisco where you’ll find the top-quality plonk.

Sonoma County is a huge area encompassing Sonoma Valley and multiple other AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), while Napa Valley is just one of the AVAs in Napa County. Both make up part of San Fran’s “Wine Country” region, and one AVA, Los Carneros, straddles the two.

Attention-seeking Napa is flashier and more touristy, while Sonoma is more relaxed and less commercial.

The best times to visit are spring and autumn — in particular, the

either via I-80 or US-101. It will take you around 90 minutes.

If you’re staying: Skip Napa, the main town in the valley, and head north to the charming settlements of St Helena or Calistoga, which offer more attractive accommodation options and a wider variety of eateries. Calistoga is also known for its hot springs, mineral water and mud baths.

Don’t miss: Robert Mondavi Winery, Clos Du Val Winery, Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars, Castello di Amorosa.

More info: napavalley.com Napa Valley is the most famous wine region in the US, shooting to glory when one of its wines beat a French vintage at a blind-tasting competition in Paris in 1976. The history goes way back beyond that, however, to 1838 when George Calvert Yount, founder of the town of Yountville, planted the first commercial vineyards in the valley.

The 8km-wide region is further

inland than Sonoma and slightly longer, at 48km. It became California’s first AVA in 1981 and these days, despite its massive reputation and 400-plus wineries, is responsible for less than 5 per cent of the state’s wine output.

Napa’s dry, Mediterranean-style climate produces great pinot noir, merlot, sauvignon blanc and zinfandel over its 17,500ha of grapes, but its standout drops are its cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

Your best bet is to head for Highway 29, the main road through the valley, and see which of the many wineries take your fancy.

SONOMA VALLEY How to get there: Travel northwest either via I-80 or US-101. It will take you around an hour.

If you’re staying: You’ll probably want to stick around Sonoma township, somewhere close to its historic plaza, which is a National Historic Landmark.

One of the most historic settlements in California, Sonoma was the site of the 21st and final Spanish mission, Mission San Francisco Solano, settled in 1823. It was also the site of the short-

CALIFORNIA GETTING THERE : House of Travel has one way Economy Class fares from Auckland to San Francisco with Air New Zealand, starting from $885, including taxes. houseoftravel.co.nz ONLINE visittheusa.com

lived 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, when a small group of US settlers rebelled against the Mexican government and proclaimed California an independent republic. Many of the buildings of the time — look for examples of the adobe style — still stand on the plaza and surrounding streets.

You’ll also find great restaurants, artisan boutiques, galleries, farmers’ markets and plenty of charming accommodation.

Don’t miss: Buena Vista Winery, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Roche Winery and Vineyards.

More info: sonomavalley.com; sonomavalleywine.com Sonoma Valley is more low-key than Napa and half its length, with fewer wineries (about 100) and tourists. It dates back even further than its co-valley, with the first vineyards planted by Franciscan mission fathers in 1824. The closest wine region to San Francisco, Sonoma Valley is very dry, has cool nights and is isolated either side by the Mayacamas and Sonoma mountain ranges.

Reds rule here, especially zinfandels and big cabernet sauvignons, but its chardonnay and pinot noir are also well-regarded.

California Wine Country $1195 Road Trip 5 days/4 nights from

pp

Share twin including 4 nights accommodation, 5 day mid-size Hertz rental car & breakfast daily in Sonoma. Flights are additional.

SAN FRANCISCO • SONOMA COUNTY • NAPA VALLEY • SAN FRANCISCO

Book now 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N AT I O N W I D E I H O T. C O. N Z CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only until 16 Dec 16 or until sold out. Prices valid at 16 Sept 16. Wine County road trip is based on travel 18 Nov-18 Dec 16 & 01 Jan-29 Mar 17. Amendment, cancellation and credit card fees apply. Further terms and conditions apply. For more information see instore or visit www.hot.co.nz/conditions.

The best holidays are created together.

The best holidays are created together.

SUNDAY

OCTOBER 2, 2016

TOM HANKS’ Adventures on Instagram

CAPITAL GAINS Why a trip to Washington DC

deserves your vote INSIDE

Gossip and parties

Food

Fashion

Entertainment

TV listings

Puzzles

OUR ASIA CRUISE GETAWAY WITH SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE ROUND-TRIP

MONDAY - FRIDAY: 8:30am - 5:30pm

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$

from

13 night package Inside Stateroom

0800400498 www.ourcruise.co.nz

Based on: 16 March 2017 sailing date

YOUR PACKAGE: • Return airfare to Singapore • 2 nights Singapore • 11 night cruise onboard Diamond Princess YOUR BONUS: • US$50 Shipboard Credit per stateroom • Enjoy a delivery of chocolate strawberries & canapes to your stateroom

FLIGHTS + CRUISE + HOTELS + BONUS OFFERS - WWW.OURCRUISE.CO.NZ FOR MORE DETAILS & DEALS TERMS & CONDITIONS:YOUR PAYMENTS TO OUR WORLD ARE PROTECTED BY THE TAANZ BONDING. Unless otherwise stated, prices include return Economy Class airfares flying Singapore Airlines ex Auckland including prepayable airline surcharges, levies and airport taxes, share twin/double accommodation, and inclusions as specified. Cruise Gratuities are additional. Valid for travel commenced and completed as specified although prices for travel outside these dates may be available through Our Cruise. Must be booked by 31 October 2016 with airfares fully paid within 72 hours of confirmation. Prices are in NZ dollars and subject to currency fluctuations and are for payment by cash, eftpos or cheque only – credit card prices on application. Airfares and accommodation may not be available on all services and room categories, and capacity restrictions may apply. Airline and accommodation amendment and cancellation fees do apply and airfares are non refundable, non-transferable, and name changes are not permitted – please contact Our Cruise for details. Prices were correct as of 26 September 2016 and are subject to change without notification and other conditions may apply.

info@ourcruise.co.nz OUR INCLUSIONS Return Economy Class airfares Auckland to Singapore flying Singapore Airlines Cruise, Accommodation & Bonus Offers as indicated All meals & entertainment onboard Air taxes & port taxes

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

4

WASHINGTON DC

From Washington DC, drive America’s East Coast for history, nature and good food.

BALTIMORE

PHILADELPHIA

Get close to nature at the National Aquarium at the historic Inner Harbor DC 59km / MA 809km

If you’ve worked up an appetite on the road, try a classic Philly cheesesteak.

DC 223km / MA 655km

GETTYSBURG Steeped in the history of the Civil War, this is a must-visit for history buffs.

DC 137km / MA 838km

CAPITAL IS SMALL BUT Washington DC has more to offer than just politics, writes Leila George.

I

t’s not an exaggeration to say that Washington, DC will probably be one part of America that really surprises you.

Rather than being a beige city stuffed with government workers and politicos, DC is a vibrant, exciting place to visit, brimming with history, interesting things to do and plenty of great places to eat and drink.

There’s a real buzz in the tiny federal district — be careful not to refer to it as a state — which was created out of land donated from Virginia and Maryland in 1791 to make an independent, planned city from which to run the country.

If this sounds a little dry, trust me — you’ll find plenty to see and do. Here are a few things not to miss.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Unlike many of the must-see museums across the States, the majority in DC are free to visit thanks to the legacy left by James Smithson, an English chemist who bequeathed his estate towards the founding of an educational institution in the city despite having never visited the US. Seventeen of the Smithsonian Institute’s 19 museums and galleries are in Washington, and 11 of those are on the National Mall. They are all incredible and you could easily spend a day in each.

The one everybody is talking about at the moment is the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which has finally opened its doors after years of planning and construction. The design of the stunning threetiered building is loaded with symbolism — for example the bronze mesh panels that cover much of it are a nod to the intricate ironwork skills of freed slaves — and the prized collection inside its walls features more than 3000 artefacts, from pieces of a slave ship and Ku Klux Klan hoods, to Carl Lewis’ Olympic medals and a vest once worn by Jimi Hendrix. This is a must-see. nmaahc.si.edu Over at the excellent National Museum of American History, upcoming exhibition Advertising War piqued our interest. Opening in April, it will display the propaganda poster imagery used before and during American involvement in World War I. americanhistory.si.edu DC HOTSPOTS The US capital has a young population — the average age is early 30s — and they like to go out and have fun. They’re in a good place for it — Bon Appetit magazine recently named it “restaurant city of the year” and it just joined New York City, San Francisco and Chicago in the Michelin Guide. The hottest new foodie and shopping neighbourhood is Shaw, just north of the National Mall, an area that grew out of freed slave encampments. It had a vibrant alleyway culture behind blocks of rowhouses in the 19th and early 20th centuries that has been revived on historic Blagden Alley and Naylor Court. Once home to stables and workshops, these days they’re drinking, dining and shopping destinations clad with colourful mural art. A local recommended The Dabney (thedabney.com) — which serves up mid-Atlantic cuisine using recipes inspired

CA NA DA USA

Portland Kent Falls Salem Hudson Valley Boston New Hope New Port Gettysburg Philadelphia Baltimore Washington DC 500km

Summer night in the city, Washington DC. Picture / washington.org

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

| 02.10.16 |

HUDSON VALLEY

NEWPORT

SALEM

Stop at Kykuit, a grand former-Rockefeller estate.

DC 507km / MA492km

The Great Gatsby was filmed here and you can visit the featured Rosecliff mansion.

DC 648km / MA 287km

Visit the Witch House to learn more about the famous 1692 witch trials.

DC 733km / MA 157km

5

MAINE

NEW HOPE

KENT FALLS

BOSTON

PORTLAND, MAINE

An historic town on the Delaware River, with lots of antique stores and art galleries.

DC 288km / MA 622km

A state park located in Kent, Connecticut, featuring beautiful cascading waterfalls.

DC 503km / MA 399km

Massachusetts’ capital is also one of the oldest cities in the US. DC 703km / MA 172km

You’ve arrived! Head to the seaside and munch down a lobster roll or two.

DC 863km

BEAUTIFULLY FORMED

Lincoln Memorial. Picture / washington.org

by 19th-century cookbooks — and the elegant Columbia Room cocktail bar.

TALKING POLITICS The city is busy getting ready for the inauguration of the next US president, which will take place on January 20. The traditional inauguration ceremony takes place at the Capitol building, where the president and vicepresident are sworn into office, and is followed by a parade along Pennsylvania Ave to the White House. Inauguration Day is disruptive for the city, not only because of the events that take place on the day but also due to the protests and demonstrations that precede and follow it, so if that sounds like too much hard work watch it on the telly and plan your visit around it.

If Donald Trump is not successful in his run

for the White House, he’ll still be able to claim Pennsylvania Ave as an address — the Republican candidate has just opened a 263-room luxury hotel at No 1100 at a cost of nearly $291 million (trumphotels.com).

PAY YOUR RESPECTS America sure does memorials and monuments well, and DC has dozens of powerful, dignified and thought-provoking tributes to past heroes and fallen

FDR Memorial. Picture / washington.org

FACTBOX

House of Travel has return economy-class American Airlines fares from Auckland to Washington DC, via LA, from $2465. houseoftravel.co.nz visittheusa.com

soldiers. It’s not that hard to get around them all but a fun way to do it is on a Bike and Roll tour (bikeandrolldc.com), which offers numerous cycling or Segway tours around the city. Its threehour Monuments tour over a flat 6.5km covers off the main sites, including the Washington Monument and Vietnam Veterans, World War II, Lincoln, Korean, Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr memorials, with plenty of time to get off the bikes and have a good look around.

Its night tour offers an entirely different experience — the memorials look beautiful illuminated at night, there are fewer crowds, and in the summertime it’s much cooler. The Korean War Memorial, featuring 19 statues of terrified US soldiers creeping through undergrowth designed to represent Korean terrain, is particularly haunting.

Eastern Values Road Trip 9 days/8 nights

Includes 8 nights accommodation, 7 day mid-size Hertz rental car.

Flights are additional NEW YORK • NIAGARA FALLS • AMISH COUNTRY • WASHINGTON DC • PHILADELPHIA • NEW YORK

Book now 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N A T I O N W I D E I H O T. C O . N Z CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only until 30 Nov 16 or until sold out. Prices valid at 23 Sept 16. Eastern Values Road Trip is based on travel 17 Apr-30 Jun, 16-31 Aug 17.

Amendment, cancellation and credit card fees apply. Further terms and conditions apply. For more information see instore or visit www.hot.co.nz/conditions.

The best holidays are created together.

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

10

SAN FRANCISCO

Combine an exploration of some of America’s majestic national parks with big-city culture and casinos.

YOSEMITE

LAS VEGAS

As well as the natural beauty, check out the Ansel Adams photographic gallery.

SF 264km / LA 451km

Take a break from nature’s vastness with the bright lights of Sin City.

SF 900km / LA 433km

DEATH VALLEY This extreme environment is the largest national park in the US. SF 736km / LA 430km

MAJESTIC NATURE INSPIRES A loop through natural and man-made marvels has Mark Meredith wanting more.

F

or months, advertisements for the USA had been urging me to “Discover this land, like never before”. Giant redwoods, New Orleans, Antelope Canyon . . . the call was haunting me.

Natural wonders and culture are the perfect mix but I wondered how to accomplish this in a matter of weeks at reasonable cost? My daughters wanted culture, which meant shopping and Disneyland. I wanted to photograph America’s national parks, and my wife was happy to be anywhere but Auckland in winter.

The answer was a road trip, because you can’t get more flexible or American than that.

We flew to San Francisco in early July, high summer, hottest temperatures, not especially sensible. Given I had left it until May to book, it was an ambitious ask but it succeeded brilliantly.

We decided on a loop that would encompass the culture of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas and take in the wilderness of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park and Yosemite.

The way to properly experience the national parks is to ensure you find accommodation inside them. Although you may pay more for doing so, location really is everything. In summer, long queues of traffic form at the park entrances — more than 5 million people visit both Yosemite and Grand Canyon each year. By staying in the park you avoid frustrating delays and can get to the best spots at sunrise or stay until dusk.

At Grand Canyon’s South Rim, where more than 90 per cent of all canyon visitors stay, Xanterra Parks & Resorts manages all the accommodation. People book more than a year ahead, but with seven choices of lodging it was still possible to find a couple of nights in high summer. We stayed in the very comfortable Yavapai Lodge for two nights, then drove four hours to the quieter, cooler, more beautiful North Rim and stayed at the spectacular Grand Canyon

FACTBOX

Getting there Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to San Francisco, with Economy Class oneway fares from $889. airnewzealand.co.nz Car hire A brand new Chevvy Captiva SUV for 24 days cost approx $1400 including insurances, taxes etc. Our travel insurance bought in NZ included Liability Insurance so we did not need to take it out locally.

ONLINE visittheusa.com Above: Lord of the valley, a stag surveys his domain in Yosemite National Park in California.

Far left: Sunset at Lipan Point Left: Guests enjoy a sunset from the incomparable location of Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. Pictures / Mark Meredith

Lodge for two nights, the only accommodation on that side of the canyon. It’s only open May to October because, at 2400m, the lodge is cut off by snow in winter. It sits right on the canyon rim and is an incredible place to enjoy a sundowner.

I had never heard of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, but one look at photos of the extraordinary geological freak show three hours’

north of Grand Canyon and I knew we had to go.

The park sits at an altitude of 2700m and, like the Grand Canyon, it was very hot. Walking anywhere was exhausting, especially down into the canyon and back up. We stayed at the historic Bryce Canyon Lodge, a few minutes walk from the rim and the only accommodation inside the park.

Our route from Bryce to Las Vegas took us

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

| 16.10.16 |

ZION

JOSHUA TREE

ANAHEIM

Forest trails, canyons, waterfalls ... Zion is one of the most scenic parks in the US. SF 1170km / LA 687km

Straddling two desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, it offers top rock climbing.

SF 806km / LA 211km

The home of Disneyland, but also a cultural, craft brewing and specialty shopping scene.

SF 655km/ LA 50km

BRYCE CANYON

GRAND CANYON

PALM SPRINGS

The hoodoos — spire-shaped rock formations — look most impressive at sunrise and sunset.

SF 1187km / LA 849km

Keep an eye out for the 287 bird, 88 mammal, 58 reptile, 1500 plant and 26 fish species.

SF 1270km / LA 789km

Hot springs, golf courses, spas and retro cool hotels make up this glamorous town.

SF 784km / LA 171km

11

LOS ANGELES

On the road approaching Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, en route from the Grand Canyon South Rim to the North Rim. Picture / Mark Meredith

AND TURNS UP THE HEAT

you may as well feel it when it’s at its hottest. At in Yosemite in summer, given its sheer size, it Furnace Creek the mercury read 49C. Stepping heaves with humanity and their vehicles, out of the car was like climbing into your especially in the valley. Get up at dawn oven while roasting a chicken. to experience it alone.

USA Yosemite National Park was the only place Our short-notice road trip was the Yosemite UTAH I have ever been that gives Milford Sound holiday of a lifetime but if we were to National Zion National a run for its money in the beauty stakes. do it again we would avoid the middle San Francisco Park Park NEVADA No wonder photographer Ansel Adams of summer. Too many others are doing Grand set up shop there. It was outstanding. We Canyon the same thing and the heat (average Las Vegas stayed two nights west of Yosemite Valley 33C-41C) made any serious physical Los Angeles ARIZONA in self-catering accommodation and one activity difficult.

Joshua Tree night at Yosemite Falls Lodge in the heart of We’ll do autumn next time, when I’m Palm Springs National Yosemite Village. sure we’ll once again discover that land, Park SPACEpeople Although it is relatively easy to escape like never before.

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through eye-popping Zion National Park, monumental canyons, mighty cliffs and jagged peaks in sandstone and granite, in colours of orange, red and ochre.

Then it was on to the very different Las Vegas, which proved a fantastic interlude to canyons and desert scenery. It was like Disneyland for adults, but with families everywhere enjoying the resort atmosphere. Our hotel, the luxurious Hilton Grand Vacation Suites, was outstanding value at only $215 for two nights.

Getting back to nature, Yosemite was next up, via Death Valley in high summer — well,

500km

SPACE

travel

10 | Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Discover America

»

Make your way down the East Coast for history, beaches, seafood and Mickey Mouse.

NEW YORK

PHILADELPHIA

Stop to re-enact that scene from Rocky on the famous stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. NYC 157km / MIA 1917km

Bronwyn Sell discovers 10 of New York city’s most underrated gems

I

f you’re visiting New York for the first (second, third . . .) time, the Met, the Guggenheim, the Museum of Natural History and MoMA will keep you gainfully employed for a week or three.

But beyond their imposing facades you’ll find dozens of museums and galleries that are lesser known, less crowded, often less expensive, and just as intriguing.

1

The Frick Collection The perfect place to channel Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. As fascinating for its glimpse of how the other half used to live as for its art, this neoclassical museum is a serene spot to spend a few hours.

It’s said to be one of New York’s few remaining mansions from the Gilded Age, though it was completed a little later, in 1914, for Henry Clay Frick, who is kindly remembered as an industrialist, and much less kindly as a robber baron.

It houses an impressive collection of antique furniture and European old masters, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough and Goya, as well as grand gardens and courtyards. Entry costs US$22 ($30.50), with paywhat-you-wish on Sundays, 11am-1pm. frick.org

BALTIMORE

RICHMOND

There’s plenty to take in around this historic seaport city.

NYC 302km / MIA 1767km

Virginia’s capital is one of America’s oldest major cities.

NYC 551km / MIA 1520km

WASHINGTON DC

There’s always time to stop by the most famous house on Pennsylvania Ave. NYC 364km / MIA 1694km

JAMESTOWN

This historic site was the first permanent English colony in the Americas.

NYC 630km / MIA 1551km

Beyond the Met

The best under-the-radar galleries and museums

2

The Met Cloisters A lesser-known outpost of the Met, the Cloisters is a medieval art museum housed in a baffling folly of a building designed to recreate a medieval European monastery. It was built in the late 1930s from columns and arches with frescoes and other artistic and architectural features salvaged stone by stone from dilapidated European abbeys, monasteries and the like. With medieval-style gardens, Hudson River views and set in a peaceful location within the lush uptown Fort Tryon park, it’s an oxygenating escape from 21st century craziness of the city.

The suggested entrance fee is $25 (which includes same-day entry to the regular Met in Fifth Ave and the shiny new Met Breuer museum of contemporary and modern art). metmuseum.org

3

The Morgan Library and Museum A sanctuary off Madison Ave in Midtown, this treasure trove began life in the early 20th century as the neoclassical library and museum of financier and banker JP Morgan.

It has been expanded since into an elegant patchwork of architectural styles, and houses a mind-blowing collection of art, rare books and manuscripts, and ancient, mostly bookish, artefacts. The centrepiece is a sumptuous vaulted Italian Renaissance-style library, still called “Mr Morgan’s Library”. A bibliophile’s dream. Entry is $20, but free on Fridays from 7-9 pm. themorgan.org

4

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum If all that extravagance and folly has left you feeling a little nauseous, head to the Lower East Side to experience what the Gilded Age (and beyond) was like without the gilt. The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard St recreates the life and work of New York’s working-class immigrants from the 1860s to the 1930s.

The museum is a five-storey tenement building

Canada Maine

New York

U S A

New York City

Checklist NEW YORK

GETTING THERE American Airlines flies from Auckland to New York via LAX, with return Economy Class fares starting at $2506. aa.com DETAILS For details and tickets on events in New York, go to nycgo.com.

that housed about 7000 people over those decades.

By 1935 it’d fallen into such disrepair that the tenants were evicted and much of the building was sealed, effectively creating a time capsule that remained undisturbed until 1988, when the idea for the museum was born.

Today, its rooms are staged to tell the stories and struggles of some of the people who lived there. Entry is by a $25 tour. tenement.org

5

The Museum at FIT From 18th century corsetry to Tom Ford for Gucci, from fifth century textiles to Vivienne Westwood, this is a museum for fashion fans to drool over.

(But mind you don’t drip on the Manolos!)

The Museum at FIT is the showpiece of the Fashion Institute of Technology in Chelsea, and displays a regularly refreshed selection of clothing and accessories, with a focus on contemporary fashion.

Free entry. fitnyc.edu

6

MOMA PS-1 Earn your avant-garde credentials (or just scratch your head) at the hippest of hip exhibition spaces, in a converted centuryold schoolhouse in Queens. For those who think a bare lightbulb in an empty room at the Guggenheim is just tres obvious, MoMA PS-1 prides itself in displaying the world’s most experimental art. In a boiler room in the basement, for instance, you can muse over a square drawn in crayon on a cinderblock wall. It’s called Crayola Square. Entry is by a suggested donation of $10. In summer, check out their Saturday courtyard concerts, featuring experimental music to lose your mind to. (And because I know you’re about to Google it, the PS-1 in the name means “public school number one”, a reference to its building’s origin. And MoMA, of course, stands for Museum of Modern Art, with which it’s affiliated.) momaps1.org

7

The Museum of the Moving Image An homage to screen time, this is one of New

travel

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 | 11

WILMINGTON, NC

Dawson’s Creek was filmed here NYC 969km / MIA 1254km

HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK This semi-tropical island is a great place to set up camp.

NYC 1297km / MIA 870km

CHARLESTON

Balmy weather, great beaches and delicious seafood make this city a charmer.

NYC 1231km / MIA 939km

SAVANNAH

JACKSONVILLE

You’re in Florida! There’s only one thing to do — hit the beach.

NYC 1512km / MIA 559km

Stop for a stroll among the ornate antebellum architecture and cobblestones.

NYC 1300km / MIA 779km

PALM BEACH

Make like it’s Spring Break (or not) and chill by the pool at one of the town’s legendary resorts.

NYC 1969km / MIA 116km

ORLANDO

MIAMI

It’d be a crime not to stop at Disney World, so put aside some time for Orlando.

NYC 1738km / MIA 378km

Asteroids, Space Invaders . . . An extra 10,000-point jackpot for anyone who remembers Magnavox Odyssey. As you’d expect, they host regular film screenings. It’s in Astoria, Queens, and entry is $15 (but free on Fridays, 4-8pm). movingimage.us

8

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Like the Cloisters and the Frick Collection, this museum is worth visiting for its architecture and garden alone.

It is accommodated in a princely Georgian mansion in the Upper East Side, which was built in 1903 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. These days, it’s an ode to a quarter of a millennium of creative design — architecture, decorative arts, jewellery, marketing, industry, wallpaper, furniture, ceramics, digital Entry is $16, with pay-what-you-wish on Saturdays from 6pm. cooperhewitt.org

9

Chelsea’s galleries Though soaring rents are said to be threatening Chelsea’s gallery scene — as happened in SoHo in the 1990s — it’s still one of America’s most thriving art neighbourhoods.

Switch on Google Maps, start at the new riverside Whitney Museum of American Art (technically in the Meatpacking District) and head north, climbing on and off the High Line raised walkway to explore the many small (and free) galleries, from the David Zwirner on West 19th Street up to the SVA Chelsea on West 26th.

Tickets for the Whitney are $22 (bought in advance) or pay-what-you-wish Fridays. chelseagallerymap.com

Clockwise from far left: New York is home to many impressive museums and galleries; the Cooper Hewitt museum; the lobby of MOMA PS-1 gallery; the Morgan Library.

Pictures / Alejandro; Rob Shenk; Martin Seck

York’s most cerebrally accessible museums. It’s no self-important ode to silent movies and dusty Kinetoscopes, though it does cover the history of screen entertainment. At the moment, for instance, it has an installation of GIFs, and an exhibition of video arcade games from the ’70s to the ’90s — and you get to play them! Frogger,

10

Brooklyn MuseumIn any other city, this art museum would be a blockbuster. In New York, it’s overshadowed by its Manhattan sister, the Met. Yet it has an international collection of 1.5 million works, and one of the world’s best displays of Egyptian antiquities and American art. It’s housed in a grand late-19th century neoclassical building and has a kooky sculpture garden filled with architectural features salvaged from old New York buildings. Entry by donation of $16. If the garden doesn’t provide enough respite to let the cultural overload settle, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens are next door. brooklynmuseum.org

TRAVEL TIPS

12 DENVER

SALT LAKE CITY

Head east on an epic adventure through America’s heartland all the way to Richmond, Virginia, for a diverse taste of national parks, music, sport and history.

At the base of the Rocky Mountains, Denver dates back to the Old West.

SLC 838km / RIC 2689km

TALLGRASS PRAIRIE

This national preserve offers hiking, fishing and historical tours.

SLC 1667km / RIC 1926km

COLORADO SPRINGS

Nearby Pikes Peak is the second most-visited mountain in the world (after Mt Fuji) and home to the world’s highest cog train at 4300m.

SLC 947km / RIC 2660km

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Lower Calf Creek Falls, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Picture / 123RF

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS ST LOUIS

On the Mississippi River, St Louis has a diverse music scene and is home to the National Blues Museum.

SLC 2124km / RIC 1400 km

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Not to be confused with Kansas City, Kansas, KC MO is famous for barbecues, jazz and fountains.

SLC 1727km / RIC 1717km

GAULEY RIVER NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

RICHMOND LOUISVILLE

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Home of the Kentucky Derby and the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory where Major League bats are produced.

SLC 2500km / RIC 905km

L

Hike in Coyote Gulch. Picture / 123RF

Adventurers have long explored the Canyons of the Escalante, but it was not made a national monument until 1996, when then-President Bill Clinton praised the “high, rugged and remote region”.

The monument covers 800,000ha and has three parts — the Kaiparowits Plateau, which includes the distinct Straight Cliffs, a sandstone shelf that runs parallel to the Hole in the Rock Road; the Grand Staircase, where cliff lines and benches form the “steps” near the Arizona-Utah border; and the Canyons of the Escalante, the area I visited, largely north of Hole in the Rock Road.

In addition to endless opportunities for hiking and backpacking, the monument has many campsites, a river for fishing and rafting, trails for mountain biking, and much more.

The Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for the monument, does not provide many of the features designed to make a park user-friendly: signs, built trails and the like. This does give the area a more wild and natural feel but it can also make travel more difficult.

Guide services in the town of Escalante do

Former home of Thomas Jefferson with two Unesco World Heritage Sites dedicated to his legacy.

SLC 3334km / RIC 114km

provide tours. If you go without a guide, however make sure you know a few things about desert hiking. Take plenty of water, of course. Also take detailed maps or a GPS unit. Desert trails are typically harder to follow than trails in other places because the ground does not retain footprints and the sparse landscape provides fewer natural cues to follow.

I used a GPS unit to find two slot canyons, West Fork and Big Horn; without the unit, I would have been lost in a maze of desert canyons.

Once I found them, I was transfixed. Bright orange and red walls look freshly painted with swirls. As those walls press closer and closer, small shafts of light seem to set them on fire, until canyons get so tight you cannot move.

The highlight of my excursion was hiking the Charlottesville USA St Louis serpentine canyons of Coyote Gauley River Denver Kansas Gulch, named a top hiking Nat Rec City destination by many outdoor Colorado Richmond writers, including Peter Springs Tallgrass Louisville Prarie Potterfield in his Classic Hikes Nat Res of North America.

Coyote Gulch is probably the monument’s most crowded attraction. In three days I saw about 1000km 40 people, most of them travelling in large groups. Most of the time, I trekked in secluded bliss, as hours would pass without seeing anyone.

FACT The gulch leads across 23km of land and ankleBOX deep water. The canyon walls get bigger and the views get more dramatic as the gulch makes its way towards the Escalante River, under the Jacob Hamblin Arch and the Coyote Natural Bridge and past Cliff Arch. The topography gets Getting there trickier with a succession of waterfalls requiring American Airlines flies the traveller to scramble on rocks at the edge of from Auckland to Salt the water.

Lake City, Utah, via Los On one of those scrambles, I had to ease across Angeles. Economy class a strip of smooth, wind-polished rock known as return fares start from $1454. slickrock about 30cm wide. On another, I was ● aa.com traversing steep slickrock that led to a 9m drop-off Grand Staircase-Escalante into a rocky waterfall. At such moments as these, National Monument is a I was most aware of my solitude. If I broke a bone, four-hour drive from Salt I would have to wait for rescue, which may not Lake City. come. ● visittheusa.com When I finished my first trip through Coyote Gulch, I went out to the Escalante River and saw yet another natural arch. Then I immediately made my return trip, to be just as stunned by the beauty as on the initial view.

My legs felt like burning stumps from a week’s hiking, but like Ruess, I had not tired of the wilderness. The beauty propelled me forward.

– AAP

Unreal Utah Road Trip 7 days/6 nights from

775

$

13

Another National Park, with class V+ white water rapids passing through scenic gorges and valleys.

SLC 3031km / RIC 432km

Solo hiking in remote Utah is mind-blowing and exhausting, writes Brad Branan. ying on the ground in Coyote Gulch, the night sky framed by openings in a natural arch and a curved canyon wall, I peer at the cosmos.

My legs and shoulders ache near the end of a 110km-kilometre backpacking hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. This is the reward for exploring remote places: a long and challenging trek culminating in an other-worldly vista.

A short distance from Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks, the national monument shares some of the red-rock wonders of its better-known neighbours. I saw natural arches and bridges, Indian ruins and drawings, slot canyons and more, all contained in deep-red, sculpted ravines that run through the Escalante River basin like roads in a city.

What the Escalante does not share with the national parks is well-marked trails or paved roads — or the crowds that come with those “amenities”. This rugged region was the last part of the continental United States to be mapped, and it requires work for those wanting to see its treasures.

Everett Ruess shared my love of remote places.

A teenager from Los Angeles, Ruess travelled the south-west and the sierra with two burros before disappearing in the Escalante in 1934.

Ruess’ body was never found, only adding to the mystery. In 1996, Jon Krakauer revived the Ruess story in his book Into the Wild, about Christopher McCandless, another youthful wilderness traveller who died.

The teen’s last-known location was about 16km from where I scanned the heavens from Coyote Gulch. His legacies coloured much of my trip, making me better realise the risks and rewards of travel in isolated places like the Escalante.

The rigours of such travelling telegraphed through my body on the drive there, as soon as I left Utah 12 for the unpaved, 89km Hole in the Rock Road.

My teeth were on edge as my car rattled past the monument’s most popular attractions and made its way to near the road’s end at the “Hole in the Rock”, an opening in a canyon wall next to Lake Powell.

In 1880, Mormon pioneers made their way through the hole to begin settling the area.

John Wesley Powell’s expedition of the American West did initial mapping at this time.

| 30.10.16 |

Las Vegas

Return flights from

pp

Share twin including: 6 nights accommodation 7 day mid-size Hertz rental car hire

1199

$

pp

Flying Qantas and American Airlines

SALT LAKE CITY • ARCHES NATIONAL PARK • CANYONLANDS • MONUMENT VALLEY • CAPITOL REEF • BRYCE CANYON • ZION NATIONAL PARK • LAS VEGAS

Book now 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N A T I O N W I D E I H O T. C O . N Z CONDITIONS: Airfare is valid for new bookings only until 31 Oct 16 or until sold out and based on return economy airfares from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Prices valid at 20 Oct 16. Las Vegas airfare is valid for travel 20 Jan-19 Jun 19. Road trip is valid for new bookings only until 16 Dec 16 or until sold out. Prices valid at 18 Oct 16. Road trip is based on travel 27 Nov-18 Dec 16, 01 Jan-28 Feb 17. Amendment, cancellation and credit card fees apply. Further terms and conditions apply. For more information see instore or visit http://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/holidays/usa

The best holidays are created together.

travel

12 | Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Discover America

»

Fly into Portland to start your road trip, but be sure to spend a day exploring the city. Try a couple of microbrews and stop in at Powell’s Books.

OSWALD WEST STATE PARK 143km from Portland Walk through the old growth rainforest to Short Sands Beach, where surfers congregate – be sure to pack a picnic.

EUGENE 180km from Portland A great city for lovers of the arts and the outdoors – with a thriving culinary scene, craft breweries and artisan wineries.

PORTLAND

ASTORIA 154km from Portland At the start of Oregon’s North Coast, this historic town includes a replica of Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark spent winter.

ASHLAND 461km from Portland Home to the famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this town is a cultural hot spot with plenty of galleries, theatres and restaurants to check out.

Beautiful

by any name Dana Johannsen finds this beautiful state has more going for it than just craft beer

Portland Oregon

Idaho

USA

Nevada Utah

Pacific Ocean

a ni or lif Ca

N

ew Zealand has often received a bit of flak for the comically unimaginative names we give our regions and landmarks (think North Island, South Island, Bridge No. 1 etc). It is possible some of Oregon’s geographical gems could yet rival New Zealand for its simplistic place names.

Among the state’s most popular attractions are Crater Lake, an azure-blue lake formed in an er, crater. Or there’s Natural Bridge, a 76m lava tube that forms a, well, natural bridge over the Rogue River. Not to mention the also rather selfexplanatory Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

With the names often offering little clue of the grandeur that lay in wait at the next destination, it made road-tripping through Oregon all the more enchanting.

Self-drive has become an increasingly popular way to see Oregon, with tourism officials there noting a major spike in international travellers taking the “fly-drive” option. That’s because Oregon has more byways and scenic routes than any other state.

In the space of just a two-hour drive you can see the landscape change from rugged coastline to deep forests and cascading waterfalls to mountain ranges to desert — all from behind the wheel of the car. Within each of these unique landscapes lie what Oregonians refer to as their own seven wonders.

Over the course of a five-day adventure around the state, we managed to tick off four of the seven (along with a few other treasures) and were left slightly regretful we didn’t get to see the other three.

Starting in Oregon’s main hub, Portland, we headed west to the coastline, and took Highway 101, which forms part of the Pacific Coast Highway, south. The locals reckon the best way to see the coastline is driving north to south as

Los Angeles

Checklist OREGON

GETTING THERE United Airlines flies from Auckland to Portland via San Francisco. Economy Class return fares start from around $1590 for travel early next year. united.com DETAILS For information on House of Travel’s $775 Taste of Oregon Road Trip, go to houseoftravel.co.nz.

ONLINE VisitTheUSA.com

that way the ocean is always on your right — something us righthand drivers in New Zealand don’t often consider.

Also being Kiwis, we’re pretty taken by our own stretches of coastline, but the Oregon coast more than compares.

The day we passed through was an unusually wild day on the coast, with clouds low on the horizon and the wind whipping up the sea into a frenzy.

A planned whale-watching adventure in Depoe Bay had to be canned as the sea state was such that it made crossing the bar too dangerous, so we had to make do trying to spot whales from the numerous lookout points along the coast.

As thousands of whales pass this stretch of coast each year, it’s not unusual to be able to spot them from the shoreline. We struck gold at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, where we found two grey whales frolicking in the choppy seas just off the point.

There was further wildlife spotting along the rocky coastline, a short walk down from the historic lighthouse, where a large gathering of seals bobbed in the water staring back at the

tourists lining the shore gawking at them — like a cross-species Mexican stand-off.

I’m ashamed to say I blinked first. As much as I would have liked to have stayed all day and take in the incredible scene, further adventures beckoned.

As we continued south, rugged coastline quickly turned to pristine golden sand beaches, broken up by quaint historic bayfront towns such as Newport and Florence.

Florence is the gateway to the Oregon Dunes, a 20ha expanse of ocean-front sand dunes. The southern half of the dunes is open to off-highway vehicles, including dune buggies and quad bikes (see facing page), whereas the northern dunes are reserved for wildlife.

From there we made our trek inland towards Eugene — a vibrant college town that is home to the University of Oregon, oh and breweries.

Lots of them.

But for the purposes of this article, I’ve been told not to get distracted by the bevy of micro breweries, vineyards and ridiculously good food on offer around Oregon and focus on the road-

travel

Tuesday, November 8, 2016 | 13

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK

464km from Portland Nestled in the Cascade Mountains, this park’s awe-inspiring namesake lake is the deepest in America.

MAUPIN

199km from Portland Stop here for a spot of fishing, or take a guided float down the beautiful Deschutes River.

BEND

285km from Portland Stop by the Lava Lands Visitor Centre and the High Desert Museum, or take a run on the Bend’s Urban Trail System.

TROUTDALE 32km from Oregon Take a break from the road and spend a night at McManamins Edgefield – this historic spot was built as the county poor farm in 1911.

MOUNT HOOD

157km from Portland Be sure to take a drive up this spectacular peak, then spend some time skiing or hike along the Timberline Trail.

Clockwise from left: Taking a break at Crater Lake National Park; the writer at Smith Rock; the Moon sheds light on Smith rock; stunning views of Crater Lake. Pictures / Mark Goebel; 123RF; Getty Images

tripping. So, back to the scenery.

As far as views go, they don’t come more impressive than the vista awaiting you when you reach the top of Crater

Lake National Park in southern Oregon.

Fed by rain and snow, the lake is considered to be the world’s cleanest large body of water.

The water is so blue we spent about 10 minutes rooted to the same spot, oohing and aahing over the view and trying to decide what hue of blue it is. We settle on sapphire.

For geography buffs, the lake rests inside a caldera formed approximately 7700 years ago, when a volcano erupted and subsequently collapsed. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island, a cinder cone near the south-west shore of the lake.

The lake is easily accessible by a well-sealed road leading to the summit of the caldera, from where you can drive around the rim to the various lookout spots, or, if you’re feeling a bit more sprightly, hike one of the many trails around the national park. The Crater Lake Lodge is also worth a visit — on a cold day you can sit and drink hot chocolate by the roaring fire, on a hot day you can sit outside on the deck and admire the view with a cold cider in hand.

On changeable days, the day we visit, you can do both. So we do.

Situated in the high desert, Smith Rock, one of Oregon’s other must-see wonders, offers a complete contrast to the lush foliage and deep blue water of Crater Lake.

Smith Rock lies in the heart of ranch country, where pick-up trucks proudly carry Trump bumper stickers and fences lining the highway are emblazoned with placards saying all sorts of terrible things about Hillary Clinton. The Trump mania seems at odds with an otherwise liberal state — but then they do tell you Oregon offers you a taste of everything.

Smith Rock State Park is a playground for hikers, bikers and rock climbers ready to conquer the 240m cliffs rising above the lazy crooked river.

Or you can just opt for a gentle stroll along the river bed, but the park goers will all tell you the climb to the top is well worth the effort.

The sheer scale of the rocky cliff makes the climb look intimidating, but one hiker approaching their twilight years assured me it was perfectly manageable. The track to the top is a series of switchbacks, making the gradient a lot more forgiving.

The only creature I saw struggling was a French bulldog, who had to be piggy-backed so he could get up the final climb back to the carpark.

That was my cue to head for the carpark and drive to Portland.

PORTLAND

PORTLAND

Head back to Portland and spend your last day exploring Washington and Forest Parks.

Dune credit

It’s often referred to as Oregon’s answer to the Sahara Desert.

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is an expanse of undulating wind-sculpted sand dunes. The preferred mode of transportation around here: 1360kg solid steel dune buggies.

The Sand Dune Frontiers buggies seat seven passengers (though sounds like more when you’re all screaming), along with a driver.

The crisp golden sand against the blue cloudless sky drew gasps from our group, but the serenity was quickly drowned out by the roar of the engine as the driver immediately powered up a sand bank at a gradient of — seemingly — 75 degrees.

My immediate thought was “there’s no way we’re getting up there”. But there was no time to voice my doubts as we roared up the dune.

As unnerving as the experience was, the top was the perfect vantage point to see the sheer

expanse of the sand dunes. The dunes stretch 65km down the coastline, in some places as deep as 6km back from the sea.

As we caught our breath and took in the astonishing view, our driver Dave filled us in on the geographical quirks of the region. As other passengers asked questions about the incredible stretch of coastline, I zeroed in on Dave’s safety record. Have you ever flipped one of these buggies? (No.) How long have you been driving these things? (About five years.) Do you know every ridgeline of these dunes? (No. They are constantly changing due to weather.)

Over the next half an hour we charged across a small portion of the 16,000 hectare playground, climbing and descending the dunes at precarious angles like a sandy roller coaster ride. sanddunesfrontier.com

Travel Utah’s

STAIRCASE to heaven CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Slot Canyon, Lower Calf Creek Falls, and Coyote Gulch in the Grand Staircase Escalante National park; the extraordinary landscape of Bryce Canyon.

By Brad Branan

L

YING ON the ground in Coyote Gulch, the night sky framed by openings in a natural arch and a curved canyon wall, I peer at the cosmos.

My legs and shoulders ache near the end of a 110km backpacking hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.

This is the reward for exploring remote places: a long and challenging trek culminating in an otherworldly vista.

A short distance from Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks, the national monument shares some of the red-rock wonders of its better-known neighbours. I saw natural arches and bridges, Indian ruins and drawings, slot canyons and more, all contained in deep-red, sculpted ravines that run through the Escalante River basin like roads in a city.

What the Escalante does not share with the national parks is well-marked trails or paved roads — or the crowds that come with those “amenities”. This rugged region was the last part of the continental United States to be mapped, and it requires work for those wanting to see its treasures.

Everett Ruess shared my love of remote places. A teenager from Los Angeles, Ruess travelled the Southwest and the Sierra with two burros before disappearing in the Escalante in 1934.

Ruess’ body has never been recovered, only adding to the mystery. In 1996, Jon Krakauer revived the Ruess story in his book Into the Wild, about Christopher McCandless, another youthful wilderness traveller who died.

The teen’s last known

location was about 16km from where I scanned the heavens from Coyote Gulch.

The rigours of travelling in the Escalante telegraphed through my body on the drive there, as soon as I left Utah 12 for the unpaved, 89km Hole in the Rock Rd. My teeth were on edge as my car rattled past the monument’s most popular attractions and made its way to near the road’s end at the Hole in the Rock, an opening in a canyon wall next to Lake Powell.

In 1880, Mormon pioneers made their way through the hole to begin settling the area.

John Wesley Powell’s expedition of the American West did initial mapping of the area during this period.

Adventurers have long explored the Canyons of the

Escalante, but it was not made a national monument until 1996.

The monument covers 800,000 hectares and has three parts — the Kaiparowits Plateau, which includes the distinct Straight Cliffs, a sandstone shelf that runs parallel to the Hole in the Rock Rd; the Grand Staircase, where cliff lines and benches form the “steps” near the Arizona-Utah border; and the Canyons of the Escalante, the area I visited, largely north of Hole in the Rock Rd. In addition to endless opportunities for hiking and backpacking, the monument has many campsites, a river for fishing and rafting, trails for mountain biking, and much more.

The Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for the monument, does not provide many of the features designed to make a park user-friendly: signs, built trails and the like. While this gives the area a more wild and natural feel, it can also make the area more difficult to travel.

If you go without a guide, make sure you know a few things about desert hiking. Take plenty of water, of course. Also take detailed maps or a GPS unit. Desert trails are typically harder to follow than trails in other places.

I used a GPS unit to find two slot canyons, West Fork and Big Horn; without the unit, I would have been lost in a maze of desert canyons.

Once I found them, I was transfixed. Bright orange and red walls look freshly painted with swirls. As those walls press closer and closer, small shafts of light seem to set them on fire, until canyons get so tight you cannot move.

Coyote Gulch is probably the monument’s most crowded attraction. In three days I saw about 40 people, most of them travelling in large groups. Most of the time, I trekked in secluded bliss, as hours would pass without seeing anyone.

The Gulch leads across 23km of land and ankle-deep water.

The topography gets trickier with a succession of waterfalls requiring the traveller to scramble on rocks at the edge of the water. At such moments as these, I was most aware of my solitude. If I broke a bone, I would have to wait for rescue, which may not come.

When I finished my first trip through Coyote Gulch, I went out to the Escalante River and saw yet another natural arch.

Then I immediately made my return trip, to be just as stunned by the beauty as on the initial view.

My legs felt like burning stumps from a week’s hiking, but like Ruess, I had not tired of the wilderness.

The beauty propelled me — AAP forward.

Unreal Utah Road Trip 7 days/6 nights from

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Book now w 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N A T I O N W I D E I H O T. C O . N Z CONDITIONS: Road trip is valid for new bookings only until 16 Dec 16 or until sold out. Prices valid at 25 Oct 16. Road trip is based on travel 27 Nov-18 Dec 16, 01 Jan-28 Feb 17. Amendment, cancellation and credit card fees apply. Further terms and conditions apply. For more information see instore or visit http://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/holidays/usa

SUNDAY

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

PETA MATHIAS’ PE TR TRAVEL TIPS

TAMI NEILSON’S GUIDE TO

NASHVILLE INSIDE

Gossip and parties

Food

Fashion

Entertainment

TV listings

5 DAY/ 4 NIGHT PACKAGE 16-20 MARCH INCLUDES:

World of Music, Arts and Dance the World's festival is happening right here in Aotearoa 17-19 March 2017.

Where: TSB Bowl of Brooklands, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth

Puzzles

Lonely Planet has named Taranaki the 2nd best region in the World to visit in 2017

• Return flights Auckland to New Plymouth • Return Airport transfers in New Plymouth • Accommodation for 4 nights at Novotel Hotel New Plymouth 16-20 March • 3 day Pass to WOMAD 2017 ( 17-19 March ) • Transport and Admission to Tawhiti Museum Hawera Friday 17 March Marc Ma rc • All transfers from Novotel Hotel to WOMAD and return each day.

• Package price per person on twin share basis is $1395 per person

For full details contact Linnea Phone 0800 447 474 or email linnea@elthamtravel.co.nz ELTHAM TRAVEL CENTRE LIMITED 66 Bridge Street, P O Box 83 Eltham 4353 Taranaki Terms and conditions: The package price is for twin share accommodation in double or twin beds. A non-refundable deposit of $500 per person is due within 7 days of booking with the balance due no later than 31 January 2017.

The price is for cheque or Internet banking. A fee will be charged for payment by credit card.

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS

6

Spend a few days exploring Houston’s great cultural and culinary scene, before hitting the road for a roundtrip road trip.

DALLAS

With nine distinct neighbourhoods, 12,000 places to eat and a great sports scene, you could easily stretch your Dallas pitstop over a few days.

HOUSTON 385km

HOUSTON OKLAHOMA CITY

Hop over the border and see if you can catch our homegrown sports star ga ity Thunder.

Steven Adams playing a home game for the Oklahoma City HOUSTON 717km

Houston’s Art Car Pictures / Visit Parade.

Houston.

Houstonians love their city and love to share it, writes Leena Tailor.

I

La Carafe bar, Houston.

l Science eum of Natura Houston Mus

ology.

Hall of Paleont

HOUSTON’S ALL HOSPITALITY

t’s day three when I’m asked, “What’s your favourite thing about Houston?”

Images of jewel-encrusted gowns, touching the moon and hanging in Rihanna’s old penthouse flash through my mind, yet it’s good old southern hospitality that leaves a striking impression.

It may be the fourth largest city in the US, but there’s a small-town charm when it comes to Houston’s welcoming locals.

“The thing about Houstonians is they love Houston,” says one Texan. “They want to share every bit of it with you.”

It starts on Friday afternoon, when over coffeeinfused Rocket Fuel beer at 8th Wonder Brewery, staff eagerly compile a list of hotspots I’ll need weeks to get through.

Like many of the places on their hit-list, 8th Wonder is the product of young entrepreneurs, helping revitalise the inner city ahead of the 2017 Super Bowl, which is expected to bring a party of 200,000 to town.

“Entrebrewneur” Ryan Soroka started the craft brewery with his mates in 2013, naming and modelling the dome-shaped warehouse after Houston’s Astrodome baseball park, the first dome-shaped stadium in the world and known locally as “the eighth wonder”.

The tap room has become so popular it’s being expanded into a beer garden with batting cages and live music, and the entrance hosts the brewery’s own food truck, Eatsie Boys (NZ’s Yeastie Boys Brewery politely turned down a collaboration based on their similar names).

List in hand, I swap beers for blancs, heading to European wine bar 13 Celsius. It’s a simple concept — chill bottles at what wino aficionados consider the ideal temperature of 13C, which is said to aid balanced ageing and enhance the USA aromatic aspect of drinking wine, since vapours form as the glass warms with COLORADO room temperature.

Owner Ian Rosenberg studied NEW OKLAHOMA architecture in Bordeaux, before heading Oklahoma City MEXICO to Houston and discovering the 1920s, Witchita Falls mid-town property.

Rosenberg insists I check out his other Fort Worth Dallas “I wanted to create something that neighbourhood spots, driving me down T E X A S was inspired by the building,” he says. the road to bakery/restaurant Weights Austin and Measures and industrial, ivy-covered “I walked in and it felt European with its Houston San Antonio Mediterranean tiles and French-style Mongoose versus Cobra, the result of courtyard.” “two drunk guys talking about opening a The corner spot stocks about 2500 wines, bar”.

500km No one looks twice as he parks half on the including rare, hard-to-find varieties.

Houston, Texas. Picture / Visit Houston

footpath and encourages me inside, my 13 Celsius wine still in hand, slightly warmer now in the 32C autumn heat.

It may be inspired by The Jungle Book, but it’s Downton Abbey I flash to as I’m served an elegant miniature bottle of house-made tonic to “pour to taste” into my gin.

A 10-minute car ride brings me back to Hotel

DISCOVER AMERICA: ROAD TRIPS WICHITA FALLS

Back in Texas, make a detour to the Castaway Cove Water Park to cool off, then shop for antiques in Depot Square, Wichita’s historic district.

HOUSTON 942km

| 13.11.16 | AUSTIN

Texas’ capital city, and otherwise known as the Live Music Capital of the World.

HOUSTON 1433km

HOUSTON

FORT WORTH

Check out the Kimbell Art Museum, the Stockyards Historical District and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

HOUSTON 1127km HOU

Contemporary Arts

Museum, Hous to

Icon, a bank-turned-hotel formerly co-owned by Magic Johnson.

With rainfall showers and a grand circular lobby bar, the property also houses a lavish 12th floor, three-storey penthouse, which has hosted Rihanna, Bianca Jagger and epic parties.

From the patio, sweeping city views are soundtracked from below by the bustling nightlife, like local favourite Okra Charity Saloon. Another work of young Houston, Bobby Heugel co-founded the concept, where each drink purchase earns a vote for which charity should receive the bar’s profits that month. Three years since opening, donations have totalled almost $620,000.

Further demonstrating local hospitality, Heugel walks me to La Carafe, a dim, cosy bar in the oldest building in Houston, where the “Lady in White” is believed to haunt the stairway.

Many of these downtown hotspots are in original buildings from the city’s founding days, I’m informed during a city tour with Richard Cook, of Texana Tours the next morning. True to the welcoming vibe of all the locals I’ve encountered, Cook’s company slogan reads, “We will treat you like a long-lost cousin from out-of-town.” And he does, whizzing me around the city, which started as a cotton hub, before oil was discovered.

Oil brought money and that brought the arts.

Grand Texas Trails Road Trip 10 days/9 nights from

1585

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7

SAN ANTONIO

Visit the historic Alamo and its sister Spanish colonial missions, Texas’ first Unesco World Heritage Site.

HOUSTON 1561km

op River Oaks Sh

Buffalo Bayou Pedestrian Bridge, Houston.

uston. ping Centre, Ho

n.

Arts and culture isn’t what most associate with Houston, yet the scene is staggering — a theatre district only second in size to New York’s, one of America’s biggest ballet companies and 19 museums, ranging from health to the Holocaust.

I wander from the jewel-adorned royal gowns at the Contemporary Arts Museum to the Louis XIV-style chair carved from Brazilian agate at the Museum of Natural Science — also home to a palaeontology exhibit, which will make you feel as if you’re walking through the remains of Jurassic Park.

There are also street works one has to be inthe-know to find, such as the Big Bubble (a 9m bubble emerging from the Buffalo Bayou once a secret red button is pressed on the Preston St Bridge) or the “art cars” still bedazzled from the annual Art Car Parade.

But the works of art that truly drop my jaw lie in the fancy River Oaks district, an opulent neighbourhood, where Terms of Endearment was filmed. More eye-opening than the fanciest streets of Bel Air or Beverly Hills, here palace-like mansions dominate multiple blocks, front-yards the size of public parks house animal topiary gardens and trees drip in chandelier-style fairylights.

Nearby is The Galleria, another fancy spot where tourists flock to shop. Traffic lights hang on spotless silver posts, chrome archways frame the road and shiny,

FACT BOX

Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Houston five times a week, with one-way Economy Class fares starting from $549. airnewzealand.com ● visittheusa.com

ring-shaped street signs float above traffic.

It all feels very spacey, however a true venture into the cosmos lies 40 minutes south at the Nasa Johnson Space Centre.

Activities range from lunching with an astronaut, perusing 400 space artifacts and sampling space food (which has been “spiced up” by celebrity chefs like Rachael Ray) to touching a 3.8 billion-year-old moon rock brought back to Earth by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.

A tram tour also swings by Rocket Park for an up-close look at Saturn V, which at 32-storeys high was one of the largest rockets built during the Apollo era, the sheer, up-close size hard to fathom shooting into space.

Visitors can also step inside the former VIP viewing area for the room that served as Mission Control when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and stated “the most famous words ever spoken,” in 1969.

What’s more mind-blowing is reflecting on the technology. In pre-PC times, consoles were wired by hand to five giant computers a floor below, each the size of a small room, requiring six people to operate and typically holding a mere 2mb of memory.

“We were dealing with less than 10mb of memory to fly astronauts to the moon,” says our guide. “Open an app on your smart-phone and you have more computing power in your hand than we had in this entire building back then.”

Houston

One way from

549

$

pp

Flying Air New Zealand from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch

Share twin including: 9 nights accommodation, 7 day mid-size Hertz rental car & detailed itinerary HOUSTON • DALLAS • FORT WORTH • AUSTIN • SAN ANTONIO • HOUSTON

Book now 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N A T I O N W I D E I H O T. C O. N Z Airfare is valid for new bookings only until 14 Nov 16 or until sold out and based on one way economy airfares from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch to Houston. Prices valid at 31 Oct 16. Houston airfare is valid for travel 08–15 Mar, 02 May–28 Jun, 17 Jul–24 Sep 17. Road trip is valid for new bookings only until 16 Dec 16 or until sold out. Prices valid at 31 Oct 16. Road trip is based on travel 01-30 Jun, 16-31 Aug 17. Amendment, cancellation and credit card fees apply. Further terms and conditions apply. For more information see instore or visit http://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/holidays/usa

The best holidays are created together.

travel Inside: Short haul tips » p10-p11 Hawke’s Bay luxury » p20-p21

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Follow the

LIGHT

A road trip through New England » p16-p19

Valentines’ Day Weekend Rail Tour to Chateau Tongariro Treat your own Valentine to a weekend at the Chateau Tongariro on our escorted NZ Z Rail tour. Relax in the comfort on the ‘Northern Explorer’ through the Waikato & King Country hinterland to National Park, featuring the famous Raurimu Spiral en-routee. Enjoy a speecial night at the Chateau with a sumptuous Valentines Dinner and music.

After a relaxing morning return home to arrive in Auckland early evening.

18-19 Feb 2017

Includes: Return rail travel • morning tea and lunch on the train on Saturday • coach transfers • one night’s accommodation • Valentines’ Dinner • Sunday morning breakfast • Ex Auckland and designated stations along the way

Suitable for couples of all ages

P: 09 237 0013 | Toll Free: 0800 785 386 | E: tours@pukekohe-travel.co.nz | www.pukekohetravel.co.nz

P U K E K O H E T R AV E L

Road tripping in the U.S.A.

It’s iconic. When all you want is an open road, an adventure and a one way ticket to freedom, there’s TO nothing better than the great USA road trip.

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CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only to 16 Dec 16 • Prices are correct as at 08 Nov 16 • Costs may vary due to subsequent, tax and surcharge increases and exchange rates • Full payment is required no later than 5pm 16 Dec 16 • All travel must be commenced and completed as specified • Some surcharges, closeouts, and accommodation restrictions apply. Price may vary depending on availability. Bedding configurations may vary on twin share option • Airfares are not included and are an additional cost • Advertised prices are per person share twin based on payment by cash or cheque. Credit card fees will apply • Amendment and cancellation fees apply • Subject to availability • Hertz rental car is inclusive of Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), Liability Insurance Supplement (LIS), taxes, local surcharges, airport fees, unlimited mileage and Vehicle Licence fee (VLF). Further terms and conditions apply. For more information, inclusions and applicable travel dates see instore or visit http://www.houseoftravel.co.nz/holidays/usa

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travel

18 | Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Discover America

» PORTLAND, MAINE

Explore the many historic landmarks in New England’s unofficial capital, one of the oldest cities in the United States.

Try the famous Maine lobster in one of this thriving city’s renowned eateries.

172km from Boston

ARCADIA NATIONAL PARK

Be sure to take in the sites of one of the country’s greatest and most-visited wildlife areas.

444km from Boston

BOSTON BURLINGTON

Situated on the shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont’s largest city is often referred to as one of the most liveable in the US. Take advantage of its delicious local cheeses while you’re there. 26km from Boston

RANGELY LAKES SCENIC BYWAY

Keep your eyes peeled for moose, bobcats and bears on this stunning stretch of road traversing the pristine lakes and mountains of Maine.

344km from Boston

Continued from p17

maple syrup and now its newest icon, Bernie Sanders.

And what a drive. You could fly into Maine but to miss the drive through New Hampshire would be to miss one of the area’s highlights, long stretches of road surrounded by beautiful unspoiled forest.

Vermont, something of a verdant eco-state, also has a sense of being the great outdoors because it has the second smallest population of any US state (after Wyoming,) with about 627,000 people.

Being small and rural doesn’t mean being conservative.

This was the first US state to begin the abolition of slavery, in 1777, and the first US state to legalise civil unions in 2000. Its biggest city, the lakeside city of Burlington, has only 42,000 people, which makes it very easy to navigate.

It is also the home of Senator Sanders, the firebrand who fought Hillary Clinton for the Democrat nomination.

There are no Bernie souvenir shops but you get the feeling that it is the sort of city where, if you were to sit in the shopping mall for a week or two, he would probably walk by.

Failing that, Bernie — who started out as the mayor of Burlington — makes a permanent appearance on a mural of local luminaries in the middle of the mall.

One of the people who helped turn him into a hardened operator is Rick Sharp, himself a battle-hardened activist who now runs Burlington Segways.

A guided tour with Sharp is a human history tour through Burlington’s local body battles of the 70s and 80s when he fought Bernie’s plans to build a high-rise apartment on the edge of Lake Champlain.

“There was a time when he would see me and cross the road,” says Sharp.

Sharp and allies won the battle and helped to pave the way for the waterfront park and bike trail which are key tourist attractions.

Bernie announced his bid for the presidency at a rally held in the same spot that the condominium would have stood.

“Everyone thinks Bernie saved the waterfront,” says Sharp ruefully.

Would someone please just say thank you to him?

Lake Champlain — named after a French explorer who claimed the area for France in 1601 — is a staggering 200km long and stretches into Canada.

Montreal is only a 90-minute drive away.

The lakefront freezes over in winter but inbetween times ferries operate across to New York state and the belle, or beau, of the dock is the Spirit of Ethan Allan, a 42m passenger cruise ship, which does a buffet dinner cruise with an old-style pianist.

Fed and watered by the warm and friendly Davis family at the Willard St Inn, a B&B mansion, I drove not far out of Burlington for a look at the weirdly wonderful Shelburne Museum complex.

It is the result of the magnificent obsession of Electra Havemeyer Webb, who loved collecting American things and had the wealth to do so on an unparalleled scale.

The Shelburne Museum is a campus of 39 structures within which are collections of quilts, dolls, duck decoys, hat boxes, glass canes and horse-drawn carriages, plus historic buildings themselves that have been transported to the site — a schoolhouse, a merry-go-round (for adults

Clockwise from left: A mural of Bernie Sanders in Burlington’s mall; Nubble Lighthouse, one of many along the Maine coast; Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park; the Vanderbilt’s Breakers Mansion; Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail (inset).

Pictures / denisbin; Eric Nilby; Robert Linsdell; Audrey Young; AP

too), a round barn, a covered bridge, a lighthouse and a 200ft steamboat among them.

But wait, there’s more. Her children recreated parts of their parents’ Park Ave New York apartment on the site which contained one small clue as to the proclivity for collecting — Monet, Manet and Degas works abound.

The museum also has a couple of conventional art galleries and changing exhibitions. You need a full day to absorb the extent of the eccentric Mrs Webb’s “collection of collections”.

She came from money herself, but it helped that she married James Webb II, whose mother was a Vanderbilt.

I

made a fleeting stopover in Newfane, southern Vermont, and my next proper stop was Newport, Rhode Island, another place not unfamiliar to the Vanderbilt family.

You don’t need to be wealthy to go there, but legends of fortune are inextricably linked to its fame. Some of the mansions along Bellevue Ave would be called palaces in other cultures. They are manifestations of extreme wealth, or obscene wealth if you like, that was curbed in 1913 with the permanent introduction of that revolutionary concept, income tax.

Some are still in private hands — Larry Ellison of Oracle fame is doing one up. But several are owned and preserved as museums by the Preservation Society, for public jaw-dropping.

The most famous one, the Breakers Mansion, was commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt II,

the great-grandfather of the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper — Cooper is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, who is the granddaughter of Cornelius II. (Cooper and his mother this year released an HBO documentary on their lives, Nothing Left Unsaid.)

Built in the ostentatious manner of an Italian Renaissance-style palace with crystal chandeliers and gold gilt, it has 70 rooms, and 20 bathrooms. Cornelius’ marble bath has four taps, for hot and cold running saltwater as well as plain water.

But the audio tour suggests that the thrills came cheaper than that: the favourite sport of the children of the household and party revellers was sliding down the stairs on silver trays — a feat apparently accomplished by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 when he was guest of honour at an America’s Cup party at Breakers.

JFK and Jackie Bouvier were married in Newport and the reception held at her family’s summer seaside home, a more modest affair than Breakers.

One of the most elite clubs in Newport is the Spouting Rock Beach Association, membership of which gains one access to the private Bailey’s Beach, its deck chairs, towels, drinks and waiters. Newport local Andrea McHugh tells me over lunch there is a strong rumour that Donald Trump applied to be a member 20 years ago but was declined. Not “old money”. It sounds like the sort of place that would still decline him today, despite his new status.

There are cheaper ways of getting to experience the good life of Newport without having to

travel

Tuesday, November 22, 2016 | 19

KENT

Regarded as the best spot for viewing New England’s signature autumn (“fall”) foliage, Kent and the surrounding woods offer stunning hikes and drives. 246km from Boston

MT WASHINGTON

Photo opportunities abound as you ascend the highest peak in the northeastern US, but be careful of the notoriously changeable weather. 267km from Boston

NEWPORT

Home to the richest of the rich, this historic seaside town on Rhode Island offers a chance to see how the likes of Vanderbilts and Rockefellers live. 114km from Boston

MARTHA’S VINEYARD

Hop on a ferry and meander along Edgartown’s picturesque streets past Victorian-era manors, or just enjoy a day or two at the beach. 156km from Boston

BOSTON

After all that scenery you’re probably in the mood for a hot dog and some serious sport. You can’t miss a chance to watch the New England Patriots or Boston Red Sox in action.

CAPE COD

BOSTON

A popular holiday destination known for its beautiful beaches and world-class seafood.

112km from Boston

century seafaring village. Visitors can take to the water on all manner of vessels but the stars of the show are the historic sailing ships on display, which are there to explore.

(Actually the balladeer who roamed the village belting out out old sea shanties was a star, too.)

The 105ft whaling ship the Charles W. Morgan is the last wooden whaling ship in the world. It was commissioned the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, 1840. In its 80 years of action and 37 voyages, it was a frequent visitor to the Pacific including to New Zealand, Chris, the volunteer guide tells me. Voyages could take three years and the hold could store barrels of oil from about 60 whales. The ship was last sailed in 2014 when it had a three-month outing along the New England coast. It was a case of being appalled and impressed at the same time.

M

marry a Vanderbilt or join the Newport polo club.

A sunset harbour sail on the Madeleine is one way; lunch and a drink at the Castle Hill Inn another. Not far from Bailey’s Beach and poised on a hill, it arranges deck chairs on its grass slopes to give a dress-circle view of the harbour traffic.

The last day of my New England tour began

in a place that didn’t exist. Not Brigadoon, but Mystic, Connecticut.

Before even arriving I thought it had to be a darling of a place, with a name like that.

Much to my disappointment, the place some call Mystic is officially part of Groton (west of the Mystic River) and Stonington (east of the Mystic river). What does exist, indisputably, is Mystic Seaport, a stunning recreation of a 19th-

y last stop in New England was New London. It was a short drive from “Mystic” across a river called the Thames, not to be confused with the one in old London. In New England the locals adopted a new pronunciation; here the river rhymes with “James” and the “Th” is sounded, as in “think”.

I finished almost as I started my New England road trip, with a lighthouse visit — not just one lighthouse but eight of them, on the Lighthouse Cruise from New London.

I shared the voyage with a couple from Virginia, Rusty and Roland, who grew up not far from New London, and had returned for a 75th birthday party.

They pointed out the half-submarine construction company on the Th-ames (the other half is made in Virginia and transported north to be welded to the New London half) and the home of Pfizer pharmaceutical company (it must be rich because it makes Viagra, one elderly passenger declared).

Each lighthouse has its own story but perhaps the most iconic is the Ledge Light, near the mouth of the Thames. It is reportedly haunted by an old keeper, Ernie, who threw himself off it when his wife ran off with a ferry captain.

Another, the North Dumpling Light, is now owned by the inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen, who, the tour guide said, had declared it the Republic of North Dumpling and produced a flag and national anthem.

A lovely boat trip to be sure but like Nubble Lighthouse, the real pleasures are encounters with the people — past and present — along the way.

travel Cruising in Norway’s fjords » p16-p17 Family fun in Vanuatu » p22-p23

NOVEMBER 29, 2016

PLUS Sha

re classic your photo Kiwi $2895 to win a Fujifilm came ra. » p31

The road to Sin City Shandelle Battersby’s epic voyage to Las Vegas » p10-p11

ES

CORT TOUR

ED

CCape Horn too Cape Hope

Early bookings essential for maximum discounts

A journey of rare opportunity for the adventurous seeking to further understand our planet • A 21--day adventure sailing across the Southern Atlantic Ocean • Board ‘Le Lyrrial’ in Ushuaia – a 240 passenger luxury cruise ship • Visit isolated islandss by Zodiac • three islands of the Falklands • Islands of South Georgia • Trista an da Cunha (the remotest island in the world) – Gough Island with its six me eteorologists • Six nights in Patagonia pre-cruise • Disembark at the ‘Fairesst Cape’ – Cape Town • Three nights Cape Town

25 FEBRUARY – 29 MARCH 2018

Escorted by Jim and Eve Murphy

Optiion: Visit Victoria Falls plus stay in a luxury-tented camp in a game park with the opportunity to experience African wildlife

P: 09 237 0013 | Toll Free: 0800 785 386 | E: tours@pukekohe-travel.co.nz | www.pukekohetravel.co.nz

P U K E K O H E T R AV E L

Travel

BEAUTIFUL by any name Dana Johannsen finds this beautiful state has more going for it than just craft beer

N

EW ZEALAND HAS OFTEN received a bit of flak for the comically unimaginative names we give our regions and landmarks (think North Island, South Island, Bridge No 1, etc). It is possible some of Oregon’s geographical gems could yet rival New Zealand for its simplistic place names.

Among the state’s most popular attractions are Crater Lake, an azure-blue lake formed in an er, crater. Or there’s Natural Bridge, a 76m lava tube that forms a, well, natural bridge over the Rogue River. Not to mention the also rather self-explanatory Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

With the names often offering little clue of the grandeur that lay in wait at the next destination, it made roadtripping through Oregon all the more enchanting.

Self-drive has become an increasingly popular way to see Oregon, with tourism officials there noting a major spike in international travellers taking the “flydrive” option. That’s because Oregon has more byways and scenic routes than any other state. In the

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Smith Rock State Park (Getty Image); Dana Johannsen at Smith Rock in Oregon (photo supplied); a lookout above Crater Lake (Getty Image).

space of just a two-hour drive you can see the landscape change from rugged coastline to deep forests and cascading waterfalls to mountain ranges to desert — all from behind the wheel of the car. Within each of these unique landscapes lie what Oregonians refer to as their own seven wonders.

Over the course of a fiveday adventure around the state, we managed to tick off four of the seven and were left slightly regretful we didn’t get to see the other three.

Starting in Oregon’s main hub, Portland, we headed west

to the coastline, and took Highway 101, which forms part of the Pacific Coast Highway, south.

The day we passed through was an unusually wild day on the coast, with clouds low on the horizon and the wind whipping up the sea into a frenzy. A planned whalewatching adventure in Depoe Bay had to be canned as the sea state was such that it made crossing the bar too dangerous, so we had to make do trying to spot whales from the numerous lookout points.

As thousands of whales pass this stretch

of coast each year, it’s not unusual to be able to spot them from the shoreline. We struck gold at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, where we found two grey whales frolicking in the choppy seas just off the point.

There was further wildlife spotting along the rocky coastline, a short walk down from the historic lighthouse, where a large gathering of seals bobbed in the water staring back at the tourists lining the shore gawking at them.

As we continued south, rugged coastline quickly turned to pristine golden sand beaches, broken up by quaint historic bayfront towns such as Newport and Florence.

As far as views go, they don’t come more impressive than the vista awaiting you when you reach the top of Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. Fed by rain and snow, the lake is considered to be the world’s cleanest large body of water.

The lake is easily accessible by a well-sealed road leading to the summit of the caldera, from where you can drive around the rim to the various lookout spots, or, if you’re feeling a bit more sprightly, hike one of the many trails around the national park. The Crater Lake Lodge is also worth a visit — on a cold day you can sit and drink hot chocolate by the roaring fire, on a hot day you can sit outside on the deck and admire the view with a cold cider in hand.

On changeable days, the day we visit, you can do both. So we do.

Situated in the high desert, Smith Rock, one of Oregon’s other must-see wonders, offers a complete contrast to the lush foliage and deep blue water of Crater Lake.

Smith Rock State Park is a playground for hikers, bikers and rock climbers ready to conquer the 240m cliffs rising above the lazy crooked river.

Or you can just opt for a gentle stroll along the river bed, but the park goers will all tell you the climb to the top is well worth the effort.

CHECKLIST OREGON Getting there: United Airlines flies from Auckland to Portland via San Francisco. Economy Class return fares start from around $1590 for travel early next year. united.com Details: For information on House of Travel’s $775 Taste of Oregon Road Trip, go to houseoftravel.co.nz.

Online: VisitTheUSA.com

travel

10 | Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Discover America

»

See all the beautiful people of Venice Beach and Sunset Boulevard, or try your luck on the Strip on this round-about roadtrip from LA to Vegas

LOS ANGELES

BARSTOW, BAKER AND PRIMM

Names you’ll recognise from songs and movies, these little desert towns are full of Americana and worth a visit.

185km, 285km and 365km from LA

OLD ROUTE 66

Pay tribute to the Mother Road by stopping at the California Route 66 Museum.

135km from LA

ZZYZX

Zzyzx was founded by a preacher who named the town with the last three letters of the alphabet.

282km from LA

BIG BEAR

Big Bear offers cool green forests and a shimmering lake. You can even ski there in the winter.

156km from LA

What happens on the way to Vegas Along with half of California, Shandelle Battersby hits the road for Sin City

T

he problem with booking a trip ages in advance is that sometimes you don’t realise what day of the week you’ll be somewhere. Sometimes this can work in your favour; other times it can be a pain in the butt. And so it was we found ourselves in Friday afternoon traffic crawling along the freeway from Los Angeles to Las Vegas along with half of California heading to Sin City for the weekend. On the plus side, we were going to Las Vegas with half of California for the weekend. Let the good times roll!

We were super-excited. We’d picked up our home for the next 10 days at Jucy HQ in South LA: a custom-built, brand-new bright green and purple Dodge Chrysler mini RV called a Jucy Champ. She came with two double beds — one a converted sofa inside, the other in a nifty poptop “penthouse” roof attachment — and a full kitchen in the boot. I mean, the trunk. We got a quick run-down and a few simple road rules and we were off.

The van proved incredibly easy to drive and everything was shiny and high-tech — the side sliding doors and the trunk were buttonactivated, charging stations were all over the place, and we even had a small fridge. Roof solar panels help keep the DC battery going when the van is parked, but it charges when you’re driving too, so there’s little chance you’ll run out of juice.

There’s a bunch of stuff you can rent for your trip, from camping chairs and tables, to bedding kits, cooking equipment and even a solar shower, so there was no need for us to stop in at Walmart to stock up on gear.

The Champ attracted a lot of attention from the moment we pulled out into the LA traffic — with those colours, Jucy vehicles are hard to miss, especially against the endless browns of the American desert.

This was something that was to come in handy finding her in parking lots down the track. And more than once we opened her up for curious people to have a look inside.

I

t’s surprising how quickly the desert is upon you as you leave the sprawling outskirts of Los Angeles; after a couple of hours even the huge roadside billboards on giant poles and dodgy motels stop and the city finally gives way

Nevada

U S A Utah

Las Vegas California

Los Angeles

Arizona

Phoenix

Checklist LAS VEGAS

GETTING THERE American Airlines flies daily between Auckland and Los Angeles with return Economy Class fares starting from $1759. aa.com DETAILS House of Travel’s Jucy Road Trip package starts from $325pp, including five nights’ Jucy campervan hire. houseoftravel.co.nz ONLINE VisitTheUSA.com neonmuseum.org

to an endless expanse of brown dirt, scrubby bush, the odd cactus, and long straight roads.

We chugged slowly on down the freeway, stopping and starting as we battled the traffic, passing enormous RVs — glad for our nimble size — and huge rigs. Corpses of hundreds of tyres littered the roadside. What was supposed to take four hours ended up being more than six.

There were no real towns for miles and miles, only the odd collection of derelict abandoned buildings.

Finally, not far from a sign pointing to a place called ZZyzx (pronounced “Ziziks”) we took an exit ramp to Baker, VEGAS TIPS 90 minutes out of Vegas ● If you want to eat real food, go to the on the edge of the Downtown area around Fremont St. Here Mojave Desert. Stepyou’ll find smaller, independent restaurants, such ping out of the airas great Mexican spot El Sombrero. conditioning for our ● Buy water in bulk from Walmart or a supermarket first taste of the heat named streets: Frank — in Vegas a small bottle will cost you at least US$3 nearly knocked us Sinatra Drive, Elvis ($4.20) from a shop or cafe and you’ll be so flat. A super-sized Presley St, Jimmy desperate you’ll buy 30 of them. thermometer read Durante Blvd. For a ● If you go to the Neon Museum — and you 113F, about 45C. It was first-timer, the Las really should — go as early or as late as like standing in a fullVegas Strip, only about possible to escape the worst heat of the body blast of air from a 6.5km long, is like being day, and take plenty of water. Sun hairdryer. in a movie set. Everything shade umbrellas are provided.

Back on the road, signs is so familiar but still so warned motorists about strange, and all the landmarks overheating their cars; at least a — the “Eiffel Tower”, “New York”, dozen were pulled off to the side with “Caesars Palace” — are much larger the lids up. How I pitied those poor devils in that than you’d think. It wasn’t as hot as Baker but baking heat. the heat was more oppressive. Drinking anything We crossed the border into Nevada at a town but gallons of water was immediately called Primm, which straddles the two states and unappealing; not so for the hundreds of people which is nothing like its namesake. A sort of wandering around toting the huge souvenir cups mini-Vegas, people stop here for a gambling fix filled with the sugary cocktails for which the at one of its three casinos either before they get Strip is famous. to Sin City, or before they return to California.

Parking the Champ at our hotel, Treasure Or both.

Island, proved easy too, with a special floor of We rolled into Vegas at about 7pm through a its self-parking garage set aside for taller mass of intersecting roads and past celebrity- vehicles. We’d chosen the hotel for its pirate-ship

travel

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 | 11

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE

This 6475km2 national park includes the Kelso Dunes, the Marl Mountains and the Cima Dome.

311km from LA

DEATH VALLEY

Aptly named, the hottest temperature ever recorded, of 56.7C, was there in 1913.

467km from LA

LAS VEGAS

Embrace the extravagance of the Las Vegas Strip, marvel at the Bellagio Fountains, or try your luck at Caesars Palace.

435km from LA

LAS VEGAS

HOOVER DAM

KELSO

Adds an extra leg to your journey but well worth it to take in this engineering masterpiece holding back the Colorado River.

470km from LA

Kelso provides a glimpse back to a bygone era preserved by the Mojave Desert.

340km from LA

Clockwise, from left: The Neon Museum, where vintage signs live on; the super-sized thermometer at Baker; the Vegas Strip, where there’s never darkness. Pictures / Shandelle Battersby, 123RF

show and general piratey carry-on but were a bit disappointed to find it rebranded as TI, with the pirate theme taking a back seat. There was plenty of other entertainment though — the pool had a Zac Efron-esque kind of Spring Break vibe with lots of loud techno and plenty of posing; and the casino downstairs was pure theatre, in a depressing sort of way.

W

alking around the Strip is hard work.

It’s unbearably hot and the casino hotels and shopping malls suck you in with air-conditioning and endless staircases and entrances. People bellow at you and thrust stacks of business cards in your face

advertising the services of strippers and escorts.

Some of the malls have fake daylight ceilings and there are no clocks. It’s brilliant and makes for great people-watching, but as well as decadence and party time, Vegas reeks of desperation and greed.

In the morning we headed for Old Vegas, the Downtown area where it all began back in the 1930s when Nevada became the first state to legalise gambling. To this day, it is only one of two states in which casino-style gambling is legal throughout — the other is Louisiana.

A must-see in Old Vegas is the outdoor Neon Museum, which has the world’s largest collection of neon signs, all vintage. An hour-long guided tour (US$18) covers the area’s history and tells

the stories of some of the most iconic signs, including the Golden Nugget (the first venue to use them), the Moulin Rouge (the first racially integrated casino), Binion’s Horseshoe and the Stardust. Later, you can do a self-guided walk of the museum-restored signs that have been returned to Downtown, including the Lucky Cuss Motel and the Hacienda Horse and Rider.

What I would not recommend is attending a session of hot yoga outdoors at the museum, one of its attractions, from June to September when the average temperatures sit from 35C-38C. As we headed out of town, I decided two nights in Vegas is the right amount of time to see what the fuss is about, then get out while the going is still good.

JUCY Road Trip 5 nights from

325

$

pp

Share twin including 5 nights Jucy Champ hire

Book now 0 8 0 0 8 3 8 74 7 I 7 6 S T O R E S N AT I O N W I D E I H O T. C O. N Z CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only until 16 Dec 16 or sold out. Prices valid at 23 Nov 16. Price based on travel between 01 Apr-31 Oct 2017. Includes: Basic Vehicle Cover (Bond/Excess US$1500), collision damage waiver & supplementary liability insurance is highly recommended and available at an additional cost (payable direct). Excludes: mileage (pay US 25c per mile) calculated on return and payable direct, one way fees

The best holidays are created together.