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: Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Airpocket for plane seat pocket
Ever left something behind in an airline seat pocket? Thankfully, I’ve only ever forgotten a newly-purchased magazine and a packet of tissues (except when I was travelling as an unaccompanied 8 year-old and left my new long-legged rag doll behind, … Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged Airpocket, flight accessories, luggage, packing, packing aids, travel accessories
5 Comments
10 Inexpensive Travel Gifts
Travel accessories make excellent gifts, whether for a work colleague, family member or friend (even yourself!) and sometimes it’s the small, inexpensive items that make a huge difference to life on the road. Here are 10 of my favourites, some … Continue reading
Stay Charged – Powerful portable charger for travelling
I’m terrified my phone will run out of battery power at a crucial moment, like checking onto a flight with an electronic boarding pass, sending an essential email or capturing that all-important photograph. We are so reliant on our mobile … Continue reading
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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Five (more) inexpensive travel gifts
Sometimes it’s the little things that can make our lives easier, especially when on the road travelling, so here are a few more ideas for inexpensive travel items that make great gifts. (You can see my first five ideas here Five … Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged Phone accessories, travel, Travel gadgets
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Five travel gifts for under A$40
Here are five gifts for the travellers in your life – from the corporate traveller to the happy camper. Or indulge yourself and make your travelling life a little easier! Portable power board (power strip) Laptops, mobile phones, tablets, Kindles … Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged boating, camping, caravans, travel accessories, Travel gadgets
6 Comments
Aussie tavelling gadgets
I love a travel gadget and I found two great ones at the NSW Caravan, Camping, RV and Holiday Supershow on at Rosehill Racecourse, Sydney (on until 28 April). The first one suits all travellers. Called Hipsta, it’s a nifty … Continue reading
