Travel Wires

A Titanic task

Titanic II seems an unsinkable idea for Aussie mining magnate Clive Palmer. He declared six years ago he would build a replica of the doomed ship, but had to suspend work three years ago because of money troubles. Now Palmer has announced work will start again on a ship with the same interiors and cabin layout as the original vessel, ballroom and Turkish baths. The replica will follow the planned route of the first Titanic from Southampton to New York. Palmer faces competition: a second, moored Titanic II is being built in a theme park in China.

Back on track

Trainspotters, ya gotta love them. Fifteen years ago Stephen Middleton noticed an abandoned train in a bush in photographs taken in 1970s Yorkshire. He tracked it down, bought it for $1975 and set about restoring it with a dozen volunteers. A decade and $1.975 million later, the world’s oldest electric train is on the rails once more. Built in 1903, the autocar and its siblings laid the foundation for most trains running today, using a petrol engine to create electricity when locomotives were steam-powered. The train, which can reach 40km/h, will carry tourists on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway next year.

Year of Tourism

Expect to hear a lot more about China in the coming year. The 2019 China-NZ Year of Tourism is an initiative for both countries to achieve tourism objectives and foster relationships. Events on our side of the world include last weekend’s Xiyangyang Lifestyle & Tourism Expo in Auckland and City of 1000 Lovers, a high-tech theatre production showcasing Ta¯ maki Makaurau that will run for nine months at SkyCity Theatre, Auckland. September 10, 2019 has been declared New Zealand Day in China; the national tourism administration will host diplomats from both nations and up to 1000 New Zealanders visiting China at that time. China is our second-biggest visitor market.

Ethical elephant experience

Yok Don national park in southern Vietnam has ended elephant riding and replaced it with the country’s first ethical elephant experience. Previously, its four elephants were chained up for extended periods, often without water. They were harnessed with heavy riding baskets, sometimes carrying tourists around the park for nine hours a day. Now visitors can watch the animals roaming their natural habitat. The largest of Vietnam’s nature reserves, Yok Don is home to leopards, red wolves, muntjac deer, monkeys and snakes. Vietnam is estimated to have only 65-95 elephants in the wild.