Letters to the Travel Editor
Wait your turn
Whenever we are ready to board a flight, the ground staff invite passengers in the rear rows to board first, but for some reason this announcement causes almost everyone in the departure lounge to rush forward and form a long queue. They are then allowed to board in any order so that the forward passengers block the aisle while they load their hand luggage into the lockers, while the rear passengers wait to get past. If the ground staff stuck to the boarding plan and sent those trying to board out of turn back to sit down, the whole boarding process would be so much easier, and probably ensure those people would wait the next time they flew.
Kind regards,
Robin Groombridge,
Warkworth
Royal watch
Re: p3, Travel, October 30. I was shocked to read the level of rude comments regarding the royal visit. I am not a royalist but I always thought that New Zealand was welcoming to all visitors to this country. Our reputation worldwide is built on this concept, and increasing tourism income from visitors proves this. I do not believe that a “journalist” should have been given leave to print such rudeness.
This reflects badly on the Herald and New Zealand.
Carol Anderson
Hotel tip
Some time back [”Letters to the Travel Editor”, August 9, 2016] I brought to your attention just how good some of the small hotels in some of the more isolated New Zealand towns are and can now heartily add another to the representative list of four I sent then. [Those four: Waihau Bay Lodge on the East Cape; Whangamomona Hotel on The Forgotten Highway; Moutere Inn, Upper Moutere; and Danseys Pass Hotel, near Naseby]
Recently we had an exceptionally pleasant overnight stay in The Stony River Hotel in Okato, about 26km out of New Plymouth on the road around the coast through Opunake to Hawera.
We understand this old pub has had a chequered past but right now it is absolutely delightful. The Austrian hosts provided great food and hospitality to go with our well-appointed room. (There are seven, all en-suite and of a standard that more than matches many of the smaller country hotels in the UK we have stayed in.)
For anybody taking in the “must-sees” in and around New Plymouth, this would be a great base.
Sincerely,
Graeme Leary,
Clevedon
The Travel Editor replies: Thanks for the tip, Graeme! The place looks terrific. I see from their website (stonyriverhotel.co.nz) they have regular Austrian Schnitzel Nights. Keen!