Travel deals of the week
3:00 PM Friday May 17, 2013
Head to the capital for the Handmade festival. / Thinkstock
Made with love
If you love creating beautiful, handcrafted things, Wellington's Handmade festival is the place to explore and extend your talents. It runs June 1-2, and features an inspiring range of activities over many categories, including cooking, jewellery-making, up-cycling clothing and fashion. Expert teachers will help you craft beautiful finished products in a workshop environment or you can watch demonstrations in Masterclasses, or absorb it in a lecture. It takes place in venues in the CBD.
Winter blues
The Rotorua Blues Festival returns at Queen's Birthday Weekend, with great entertainment on offer in various bars, hotels and on the streets, May 29-June 3. A highlight of the festival is two cruises on Lake Rotorua aboard the paddleboat Lakeland Queen, where you can take in the passing scenery while partying to live music provided by maestros of the blues. Tickets on the blues cruises are $35.
Europe on the cheap
Grab up to 30 per cent off selected Europe tours at STA Travel. See the best sights of Europe, while making new mates, learning lots of history and enjoying a few brews. Join the thousands of Kiwis who have ticked off this rite of passage. Book by 29 May.
Go wild in winter
It's not too late to book yourself in for the coolest party of winter, the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival. Ten days of fun and frivolity kick off on June 21, when Dave Dobbyn headlines the opening party and fireworks extravaganza at Earnslaw Park on the Queenstown waterfront. The evening sets the scene for a festival jammed with comedy, concerts, theatre, family events, and crazy antics on and off the slopes.
Quest for the best
Kimberley Quest, the custom-built luxury expedition cruiser that plies Australia's spectacular, remote Kimberley coast, is offering a saving of 15 percent across its eight, 10 and 14-day adventures. Each cruise offers total on-board comfort, and gourmet cuisine prepared by the winner of Australia's Masterchef Professional series, who'll give impromptu demonstrations and cook up any fish you catch. An on-board naturalist provides information on the region's flora, fauna and ancient geology. Excursions include helicopter flights, fishing and walking.