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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I love a hotel with character and the eclectic @so_auckland has it in spades. Ritzy communal spaces, comfortably elegant suites, a cheeky sense of style thanks to collaboration with @worldbrandinnz and genuinely cheery and engaging staff. A hip luxury Kiwi hotel. My story in the latest issue of @signatureluxurytravel (swipe left). #soauckland #signatureluxurytravel #hotelreview #nzmustdoHow good is this Cape York sunset? Taken from my accommodation at @capeyorklodge in Bamaga, the best quality accommodation option close to The Tip, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. And the great thing is, it is owned and operated by Bamaga Enterprises, which is a social enterprise that supports the community, so you know your dollars are staying within the community. #capeyork #bamaga #sunset_pics #exploretnqPearl farms always seem to be in picturesque locations, and this one is a stunner. Located on tiny Roko Island in the Torres Strait, they will pick you up from Seisia or Pundsand Bay on the tip of Cape York and transfer you to the island (a 20-minute boat ride) for a lesson on pearl production. The business is family owned and son Jason, a pearl technician, demonstrates how the pearls are cultivated, before giving us a sample of pearl meat (seasoned with salt and pepper). They also offer overnight accommodation in a couple of glamping tents, and who wouldn’t want to stay here with this view? Pity I was only on the day tour. @rokoisland @tropicalnorthqueensland #rokoislandpearlfarm #pearlfarm #capeyork #capeyorkpeninsula #islandvibesThere are always extra special moments in travel, and reaching the Tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of the Australian continent today was one of them. Thanks to @capeyorklodge for the tour from #bamaga to the tip, where you have the Arafura Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other and the Torres Strait in front. #thetip #exploretnq #capeyork #capeyorklodge #hostedHow clear is the water at Fruit Bat Falls in Cape York’s Northern Peninsula Area? I could see little black tadpoles nibbling algae from the rocks and tiny fish swimming by. I swam across to the falls for a back pummelling under the falls and climbed to the top for a lie in a rivulet for a fresh water spa. Simply awesome. To get there you can book a tour with @capeyorklodge in Bamaga or hire one of their 4WDs and drive yourself, but I recommend the former, as the sign to the falls is not easy to spot when you are concentrating on driving through corrugations and sand drifts. #capeyorkpeninsula #thisisqueensland #exploretnq #bamagaWhere the reef meets the rainforest is the catch cry of @tropicalnorthqueensland and what a fantastic perspective on the rainforest from @skyrailcairns a 7.5km Cableway in Cairns that travels above the forest, thereby not disturbing it. The shades of green are too many to count, with old and new growth and different textures catching the light in different ways. There are even palms growing out of the treetops, their seeds dropped up there by birds. #cairns #skyrailcairns #rainforest #exploretnq- My Tweets
Category Archives: New Zealand
Graffiato – Taupo’s Street Art Festival 26-28 Oct 2019
Eleven artists, ten walls, three days. This is the formula for Graffiato, the Taupo Street Art Festival held over New Zealand’s long weekend from 26-28 October 2019. The festival has been running for nine years with 125 murals created … Continue reading
Posted in festivals, New Zealand, Taupo, Tourism, Travel
Tagged family fun, Graffiato, Graffiato festival, Graffiti, graffiti artists, murals, NZ Street Art, street art, street art festival
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New Zealand promotes Cycling Trails with Megan Gale
Two of my most memorable trips to New Zealand included cycling; one on the relaxing Otago Central Rail Trail outside Dunedin, the other on a hair-raising mountain bike trail through the Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest, Rotorua. The Otago Central Rail Trail, … Continue reading
Easter chocolate game for grown ups
Got chocolate on your mind this Easter? Then I’ve got a hilarious game for you to try around the dinner table or campfire, thanks to Murray Langham of Schoc Chocolates, an artisan chocolate company in New Zealand. Langham established the … Continue reading
Posted in Chocolate, Food & Wine, New Zealand, Travel
Tagged Chocolate, Easter, Greytown, New Zealand, travel
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Fashion Forward ‘Dunners’
Attention fashionistas – it’s time to secure tickets to the longest catwalk in the southern hemisphere. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, November 15, for iD Dunedin Fashion Week, being held from 10-17 March 2013 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Now in … Continue reading
Corrugated Iron Capital of the World
Napier might be the Art Deco capital, but the tiny town of Tirau, in New Zealand’s North Island, is the self-proclaimed ‘corrugated iron capital of the world’. It’s a big claim for a little town – population 700 – but … Continue reading
