TRAVEL TOPIC Dec2009

Single and want a holiday where you’re comfortable and don’t feel out of place? Here’s a tale from Kathy who just returned from a New Zealand coach tour:

The Kirra Tour trip to the South Island of New Zealand was absolutely fantastic!  One of the best holidays I’ve had in ages.
The tour was organised to perfection and the food included was breakfast and dinner and both were to the same standard that you would get if it was separate to the tour.  There were no short cuts or short changing on the food.
As a single traveller I highly recommend it.  I had a female share which was mostly OK once we laid down the ground rules about “lights out time” as my young friend Liezel was a night owl.
The accommodation was good, only basic in the small towns like Franz Josef as there is very little choice for a tour that size but it was only one night anyway.
The whole tour covered about 3,000kms and you got to see most of the South Island.  It’s stunning, therefore I was pleased that we saw so much and didn’t waste time.  The driver of the coach was outstanding to the point where the group praised him to his employers and we had a collection resulting in more than NZ$400 which speaks for itself.
Our keys and rooms were available the minute we arrived at each place and luggage was with us within 5mins, meaning we could get to “Happy Hour” most nights!!
The additional tours that were recommended, (always suspicious of these) were fantastic.
The Trans Alpine trip from Greymouth to Christchurch was exceptional as the views are staggering for at least 3 hours out of the four.  Fourth hour it gets dark and time for the jokes and the beers. The train had a rear viewing platform for photos so it was great.
As a single traveller there were 8 other single travellers out of 38 on the trip.  I made some new friends and have the next years’ holidays booked!!
This is a great choice for anyone who wants to go on their own as out of 38 people there is always someone you connect with.
The coach rotated the seating every day so you all had a chance to sit near the front and connect with new people.
I will definitely do the North Island when it gets warmer and go with Kirra Tours again.
The helicopter trip to Mt Cook was done early morning at first light which was excellent as it was brilliant sunshine.
Travelscene Samford would like to thank Kathy for this lovely travel article (it was a shame to condense it down).  Now fellas, Kathy won’t be single for long so if you’re interested in chatting about her trip then pop in to see us and we may give you her number.  Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.