About Briar
Briar Jensen is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer. Her blog covers travel tips, reviews, insights and inspiration, travel accessories and gadgets.
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Love this sculpture called Waitukei, by Lyonel Grant in the Government Gardens @rotoruanz depicting the melding of Maori and European cultures. The male and female figures took over two years to craft from bronze. @purenewzealand @escapesnaps #rotoruanzMud volcanoes, sulphur pools, boiling water, bubbling mud and spitting lakes @hellsgatenz in @rotoruanz has it all. It’s not surprising it is named #hellsgate and it’s important to stay on the path. However, you can experience the ‘health-giving’ mud and healing waters at their Mud Spa. #rotoruanz #geothermal #astw_inc @escapesnapsWhen you fly to White Island, New Zealand with @volcanicairnz for an extra $100 you can include a stop on Mt Tarawera too. This mountain was split open in the 1886 eruption, leaving gaping wounds in the harsh, dry mountain top. Barren and beautiful, it is pretty windy up there! @rotoruanz #rotoruanz #mttaraweraWhite Island, off shore from New Zealand’s North Island, is an active volcano (apparently there were 183 earthquakes recorded in a 24 hour period last week) that you can visit by air or sea. Today I flew out to #whiteislandnz from #rotoruanz with @volcanicairnz in a helicopter. We landed on the island and spent about an hour wandering around the stark sulphur encrusted landscape and steaming crater lake. What an incredible trip, and remarkable topography. #activevolcano @rotoruanz @purenewzealand @escapesnaps #astw_incZip lining guides have a knack of pushing your boundaries. Here I am before the gorgeous girls at @rotoruacanopytours had me plunging backwards off this platform to zip backwards through the forest! (I look way calmer than I felt.) What I love about this tour is the conservation aspect. Between zipping through the trees they teach you about the forest and the native birds, along with their pest eradication program. An exhilarating and educational few hours. @escapesnaps @rotoruanz @purenewzealandWhat is this? Looks a bit like a flying saucer from a Sci-fi movie. But it is one of many art installations st @treewalknz in #rotoruanz Nightlights light up the redwoods for a magical experience in the forest after dark. If you don’t like heights, it’s a good time to visit, as you can’t see how high the suspended walkways are above the ground! @rotoruanz @escapesnaps #treewalknz- My Tweets
Category Archives: Adventure
Postcard of the week – Outback recycling
I love this shot of a battered XXXX Gold beer can attached to a fence in the middle of the Australian outback. I hope someone enjoyed consuming its icy-cold contents before it was re-purposed to dangle like an earring on … Continue reading
Posted in Accommodation, Adventure, Australia, Northern Territory, Outback, Postcards, Road Trips, Travel
Tagged accommodation, Kings Creek Station, outback, Quad biking, XXXX Gold
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The Big Lap – Pictorial guide to driving around Australia
Planning on driving around Australia? Want to hit the open road or the road less travelled? Or perhaps you just enjoy looking at stunning images of Australia’s diverse landscape, from the burnt orange outback to the pounding aquamarine surf? Then … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Australia, Road Trips, Travel, Travel News, Travel News & Events
Tagged Australia, Big Lap, driving guide, driving holidays, Lee Atkinson, photographic book, road trip, the big lap
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Gift an experience: 10 Sydney experiences to inspire, excite and thrill
Can’t think of a gift for that special someone? Then give them an experience they will remember long after the Christmas tree has dropped its needles. Here are ten Sydney experiences for the grandkids to the grandparents, the adventure-lovers to … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Animals, Australia, Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Segway, Sydney, Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged animal parks, family fun, Hawkesbury, jet boating, sailing, Segway, sydney, travel
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Online resource for Aussie road trippers
Ever arrived in a regional town the day after the quirky local race meeting, antique fair or agricultural show and thought, If only I’d arrived yesterday? That’s where TruBlu Travelling can help. I came across TruBlu Travelling while I was … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Australia, Outback, Road Trips, Travel, Travel News & Events
Tagged accommodation, camping, camping sites, caravans, farmers' markets, festivals, Local events, markets, regional events
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Buttocks on the futtocks
Yes! I’ve got my buttocks on the futtocks*. Literally. I’m standing in the crow’s nest, or in this case, on a small metal plate, 15 metres up the mizzen (aft) mast of the timber sailing ship the Southern Swan. … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Australia, Sydney, Travel
Tagged family fun, sailing, sydney, travel
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Ballooning in the mist
It might be the middle of winter, but getting up early and rugging up for a hot air balloon flight has its rewards as my son and I found out this morning on a flight over the Hawkesbury Valley with … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Hawkesbury, Sydney, Travel
Tagged family fun, Hawkesbury, sydney, travel
4 Comments
