To add your posts to Featured Posts Slider you need to edit your post and set it as featured for slider in Post Settings box.
' ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show Featured Posts Slider on homepage", "id" => "blog_enable_homepage_slider", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "You can mark posts as featured in post edit screen at the bottom settings box to display it in slider in homepage header.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider width", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_fullwidth", "std" => "0", "options" => array( "1" => "Fullwidth", "0" => "Boxed", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider height", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_height", "std" => "530", "field_options" => array( "min" => 250, "max" => 800, "step" => 5, "dimension" => 'px', "animation" => true ), "desc" => "Drag to change value. Default: 530px", "type" => "slider", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider items per row", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_items", "std" => "1", "options" => array( "4" => "4", "3" => "3", "2" => "2", "1" => "1", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider post details layout", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_post_details_layout", "std" => "horizontal", "options" => array( "horizontal" => "Horizontal", "vertical" => "Vertical", ), "desc" => "Select where to show post details (title, description, category, etc) in blog posts inside slider. 'Vertical' value will work only if you set 1 items per row in option above.", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider posts titles style", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_posttitle_font_decoration", "std" => "italic", "options" => array( "none" => "Normal", "italic" => "Italic", "uppercase" => "UPPERCASE", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Merge slider slides", "id" => "blog_enable_homepage_merge_slider", "std" => false, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "Check if you want to see different slides widths in one row.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Center active slide", "id" => "blog_enable_homepage_center_slide", "std" => false, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "Check if you want to see current slide centered and near slides cropped. Work best with slides per row set to 2 or 4.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider autoplay", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_autoplay", "std" => "3000", "options" => array( "10000" => "Enable - 10 seconds", "5000" => "Enable - 5 seconds", "3000" => "Enable - 3 seconds", "2000" => "Enable - 2 seconds", "1000" => "Enable - 1 second", "0" => "Disable", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider navigation arrows", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_navigation", "std" => "1", "options" => array( "1" => "Enable", "0" => "Disable", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Featured Posts Slider pagination buttons", "id" => "blog_homepage_slider_pagination", "std" => "false", "options" => array( "true" => "Enable", "false" => "Disable", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndSection" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Welcome Block settings", "type" => "StartSection", "field_options" => array( "show" => true // Set true to show items by default. ) ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show Welcome Block on homepage", "id" => "blog_enable_homepage_welcome_block", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "You can display any HTML content in this block below your slider or header.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Homepage Welcome Block content", "id" => "blog_homepage_welcome_block_content", "std" => '
To add your posts to Editor's Picks Block you need to edit your post and set it as Editors Pick post in Post Settings box.
" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show Editor's Picks Block on homepage footer", "id" => "blog_enable_homepage_editorspick_posts", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Editor's Picks Block title", "id" => "blog_homepage_editorspick_posts_title", "std" => "Editor's Picks", "desc" => "Change default Editor's Picks Posts block title. Leave empty to hide title.", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Editor's Picks Block subtitle", "id" => "blog_homepage_editorspick_posts_subtitle", "std" => "Featured posts from Camille", "desc" => "Change default Editor's Picks block subtitle. Leave empty to hide title.", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Editorss Picks Block posts limit (rows)", "id" => "blog_homepage_editorspick_posts_limit", "std" => "1", "options" => array( "1" => "One row", "2" => "Two rows", ), "desc" => "", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Editor's Picks Block posts category slug", "id" => "blog_homepage_editorspick_posts_category", "std" => "", "desc" => "If you want to show popular posts only from some category specify it's SLUG here (You can create special category like 'Picks' and assing posts to it if you want to show only selected posts). You can see/set category SLUG when you edit category. Leave empty to show posts from all categories.", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndSection" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Single Post page settings", "type" => "StartSection", "field_options" => array( "show" => true // Set true to show items by default. ) ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Use smaller content width on single posts and pages without sidebar", "id" => "blog_enable_small_page_width", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "This option add left/right margins on all pages and posts without sidebars to make your content width smaller.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show author info and avatar after single blog post", "id" => "blog_enable_author_info", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show comments and share links in Single Post header below post title", "id" => "blog_enable_singlepost_header_info", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Enable Drop Caps (first big letter) in single post pages", "id" => "blog_enable_dropcaps", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show Post Views counters in Single Post", "id" => "blog_enable_post_views_counter_sp", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "This option will enable post views counter display on single blog post page.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show related posts on single post page", "id" => "blog_post_show_related", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Hide post featured image on single post page", "id" => "blog_post_hide_featured_image", "std" => false, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "Enable this if you don't want to see featured post image on single post page.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Show prev/next posts navigation links on single post page", "id" => "blog_post_navigation", "std" => true, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndSection" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndTab" ); /** * FONTS TAB **/ $ipanel_camille_tabs[] = array( 'name' => 'Fonts', 'id' => 'font_settings' ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "StartTab", "id" => "font_settings" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Headers font", "id" => "header_font", "desc" => "Font used in headers. Default: Playfair Display", "options" => array( "font-sizes" => array( " " => "Font Size", '11' => '11px', '12' => '12px', '13' => '13px', '14' => '14px', '15' => '15px', '16' => '16px', '17' => '17px', '18' => '18px', '19' => '19px', '20' => '20px', '21' => '21px', '22' => '22px', '23' => '23px', '24' => '24px', '25' => '25px', '26' => '26px', '27' => '27px', '28' => '28px', '29' => '29px', '30' => '30px', '31' => '31px', '32' => '32px', '33' => '33px', '34' => '34px', '35' => '35px', '36' => '36px', '37' => '37px', '38' => '38px', '39' => '39px', '40' => '40px', '41' => '41px', '42' => '42px', '43' => '43px', '44' => '44px', '45' => '45px', '46' => '46px', '47' => '47px', '48' => '48px', '49' => '49px', '50' => '50px' ), "color" => false, "font-families" => iPanel::getGoogleFonts(), "font-styles" => false ), "std" => array( "font-size" => '26', "font-family" => 'Playfair Display' ), "type" => "typography" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Headers font parameters for Google Font", "id" => "header_font_options", "std" => "400,400italic,700,700italic", "desc" => "You can specify additional Google Fonts paramaters here, for example fonts styles to load. Default: 400,400italic,700,700italic", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Body font", "id" => "body_font", "desc" => "Font used in text elements. Default: Merriweather", "options" => array( "font-sizes" => array( " " => "Font Size", '11' => '11px', '12' => '12px', '13' => '13px', '14' => '14px', '15' => '15px', '16' => '16px', '17' => '17px', '18' => '18px', '19' => '19px', '20' => '20px', '21' => '21px', '22' => '22px', '23' => '23px', '24' => '24px', '25' => '25px', '26' => '26px', '27' => '27px' ), "color" => false, "font-families" => iPanel::getGoogleFonts(), "font-styles" => false ), "std" => array( "font-size" => '14', "font-family" => 'Merriweather' ), "type" => "typography" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Body font parameters for Google Font", "id" => "body_font_options", "std" => "400,400italic,700,700italic", "desc" => "You can specify additional Google Fonts paramaters here, for example fonts styles to load. Default: 400,400italic,700,700italic", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Additional font", "id" => "additional_font", "desc" => "You can select any additional Google font here and use it in Custom CSS in theme. Default: Merriweather", "options" => array( "font-sizes" => array( " " => "Font Size", '11' => '11px', '12' => '12px', '13' => '13px', '14' => '14px', '15' => '15px', '16' => '16px', '17' => '17px', '18' => '18px', '19' => '19px', '20' => '20px', '21' => '21px', '22' => '22px', '23' => '23px', '24' => '24px', '25' => '25px', '26' => '26px', '27' => '27px', '28' => '28px', '29' => '29px', '30' => '30px', '31' => '31px', '32' => '32px', '33' => '33px', '34' => '34px', '35' => '35px', '36' => '36px', '37' => '37px', '38' => '38px', '39' => '39px', '40' => '40px', '41' => '41px', '42' => '42px', '43' => '43px', '44' => '44px', '45' => '45px', '46' => '46px', '47' => '47px', '48' => '48px', '49' => '49px', '50' => '50px' ), "color" => false, "font-families" => iPanel::getGoogleFonts(), "font-styles" => false ), "std" => array( "font-size" => '12', "font-family" => 'Merriweather' ), "type" => "typography" ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Additional font parameters for Google Font", "id" => "additional_font_options", "std" => "400,400italic,700,700italic", "desc" => "You can specify additional Google Fonts paramaters here, for example fonts styles to load. Default: 400,400italic,700,700italic", "type" => "text", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Enable Additional font", "id" => "additional_font_enable", "std" => false, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "Uncheck if you don't want to use Additional font. This will speed up your site.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Disable ALL Google Fonts on site", "id" => "font_google_disable", "std" => false, "field_options" => array( "box_label" => "Check Me!" ), "desc" => "Use this if you want extra site speed or want to have regular fonts. Arial font will be used with this option.", "type" => "checkbox", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Regular font (apply if you disabled Google Fonts below)", "id" => "font_regular", "std" => "Arial", "options" => array( "Arial" => "Arial", "Tahoma" => "Tahoma", "Times New Roman" => "Times New Roman", "Verdana" => "Verdana", "Helvetica" => "Helvetica", "Georgia" => "Georgia", "Courier New" => "Courier New" ), "desc" => "Use this option if you disabled ALL Google Fonts.", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndTab" ); /** * COLORS TAB **/ $ipanel_camille_tabs[] = array( 'name' => 'Colors & Skins', 'id' => 'color_settings' ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "StartTab", "id" => "color_settings", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Predefined color skins", "id" => "color_skin_name", "std" => "none", "options" => array( "none" => "Use colors specified below", "default" => "Camille (Default)", "black" => "Black", "grey" => "Grey", "lightblue" => "Light blue", "blue" => "Blue", "red" => "Red", "green" => "Green", "orange" => "Orange", "redorange" => "RedOrange", "brown" => "Brown", ), "desc" => "Select one of predefined skins or use your own colors. If you selected any predefined styles your specified colors below will NOT be applied.", "type" => "select", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Body background color", "id" => "theme_body_color", "std" => "#FFFFFF", "desc" => "Used in many theme places, default: #FFFFFF", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Body text color", "id" => "theme_text_color", "std" => "#000000", "desc" => "Body text color, default: #000000", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Theme main color", "id" => "theme_main_color", "std" => "#F37879", "desc" => "Used in many theme places, buttons, links, etc. Default: #F37879", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Header background color", "id" => "theme_header_bg_color", "std" => "#FFFFFF", "desc" => "Default: #FFFFFF", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Category menu background color", "id" => "theme_cat_menu_bg_color", "std" => "#FFFFFF", "desc" => "This background will be used for main menu below header. Default: #FFFFFF", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "name" => "Footer background color", "id" => "theme_footer_color", "std" => "#1E1C1C", "desc" => "Default: #1E1C1C", "field_options" => array( //'desc_in_tooltip' => true ), "type" => "color", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "EndTab" ); /** * BANNERS CODE TAB **/ $ipanel_camille_tabs[] = array( 'name' => 'Ads management', 'id' => 'banners_management' ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "StartTab", "id" => "banners_management", ); $ipanel_camille_option[] = array( "type" => "info", "name" => "Click ads position name to open settings box.
We recommend you to read Theme Documentation before you will start using our theme to building your website. It covers all steps for site configuration, demo content import, theme features usage and more.
If you have face any problems with our theme feel free to use our Support System to contact us and get help for free.
Theme Documentation Support SystemThe first thing that comes to mind is the trusty yellow Cortina we had growing up – Spot, our family dog, and I would often be relegated to the back boot when the car was full of whānau and friends. The smell of summer meant road trips. Near or far, it didn’t matter.
Sometimes, our family road trips would take us to places closer to our home in Porirua. Whether it was to the beach for a swim in Plimmerton or sunsets and fish and chips over looking the Kāpiti Coast. Sometimes, they were further, like long drives to the Coromandel or the Far North. I didn’t mind, family holidays made me happy.
When my parents used to live 15 minutes out of Kerikeri, I stumbled upon a secluded lake. It was down the road and further down a few tracks. I would always sneak off there to write music and poetry, to think . . . and do lip-synch shows to the birds. I would pretend that only I knew of this lake. I was so secretive about it, and felt very protective of it. I only ever saw one or two people there. Ever. And even then, I was like, um, how did you get in here? They probably owned the land and I was the one trespassing.
Recently, I spent time in Southland, Central Otago and Bluff – the landscape is breathtaking. It felt fresh and isolated and untouched. There is so much to see down there. Fiordland is next on the list.
Road tripping up north, back home is always special. I grew up in Dargaville, Whāngārei, and Panguru in the Hokianga. Driving through Dargaville, up to my mum’s marae, Taita, through Waipoua Forest. Coming over the hill and seeing the sand dunes of Ōpononi always gives me life. The ferry from Rāwene to Kohukohu then on to Panguru. Perfection!
If you could choose one ultimate, luxury, dream holiday in New Zealand, where would you go?
I’m captivated by water. It calms me, grounds me and inspires me. Anywhere on the Coromandel and anywhere on the east coast from Whāngārei up the coast is a picture of perfection for me.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>Australia has extended the suspension of quarantine-free travel for travellers arriving from New Zealand for at least another 72 hours, in response to new community cases of Covid 19 in Auckland and Northland.
Australia’s acting chief medical officer Michael Kidd delivered the news in a press conference today.
“Based on this updated information from New Zealand, including that [original case] there have been an additional 2 cases of Covid-19 in the community in New Zealand, and all being the [more contagious] variant of concern, the HPPC has recommended that the Commonwealth extend the pause for a further 72 hours,” he said.
This suspension of “Green Zone” travel conditions will continue until 4PM NZDT on Sunday, 31 January.
Anyone arriving in Australia from New Zealand since Monday has been required to quarantine for at least 14 days in an isolation facility.
Kidd said the HPPC were advised by their New Zealand counterparts that the three community cases from the Pullman MIQ facility were genomically linked and were all of the more virulent South African strain.
“This new variant is more transmissible and so presents a heightened level of risk.”
Kidd also extended advice to anyone who arrived in the country from New Zealand since 9 January (but before the quarantine requirements came into place) to isolate and remain in isolation until they get a negative Covid result.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>Location: At the bend of Auckland’s Great North Rd by the spire of St Joseph’s Catholic Church.
Style: A hotel conversion with plenty of history, humour and eclectic art. A convenient convent “pension” for those suffering from European travel withdrawal.
Perfect for: A stylish, city break with a difference and easy access to Kingsland and Eden Park.
First impressions: Even before you enter the building, there are plenty of hangovers from the Convent’s cloistered past. A large stone cruciform and the Sainte Famille still sit over the entrance. However, once inside, the old Grey Lynn mission is far more relaxed. Opposite the reception is the House Bar and a wall full of camp iconographic art.
Rooms: Ranging from Convent Petite to Mother Superior, the 22 studio suites all have names worthy of a Rogers and Hammerstein musical. We stayed in The Sacristy, a two-room studio.
It was distressed by design – high ceilings, exposed brickwork and patchy plasterwork gave it the impression of a crumbling Gothic abbey. In a good way.
The dark-framed windows sell the Italianate convent atmosphere. It’s as close to a Florentine “Room With a View” as you’ll get in Auckland.
Windows open up at eye level with the Mother Mary on St Joseph’s Catholic Church on the one side, and have a view towards Eden Park grounds on the other. Oriented around the hotel’s central piazza-like space, another interior window looks down on the busy tables of diners.
The main bedroom contains large wardrobes, a sofa and a modest kitchenette with kettle, and toaster tucked away for when needed. Like much of the hotel, furniture has been reclaimed from another period. The very comfortable and modern bed is paired with a carved, dark wooden headboard that wouldn’t look out of place in the palazzo of Pope Francis.
The second, single bed in the anteroom is simpler. It can be converted to a cot, used for children or those prone to snoring.
Bathroom: The studio’s stone basin, industrial-looking copper coloured pipes and metal ornamented mirror continued the theme into the bathroom. Ashley & Co toiletries were supplied in generous hand dispensers and in the shower unit.
Food & drink: The Convent shares space with Italian restaurant Ada. You can’t miss the constant stream of diners leading in and out of the doors. Named for the patron saint of nuns, it serves relaxed, Italian-inspired fare. You’ll have to be equally relaxed about what dishes reach you and in what order. Walk-in tables are saved for hotel guests, where possible. But what’s the hurry? Have another Negroni.
Accessibility: The Convent’s Sanctuary Suite on the ground floor is slightly modified to allow for wheelchair access, with additional space and an open shower.
Facilities: Don’t let the crumbling walls fool you. It’s all folly. There are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth speakers and Netflix-enabled smart TVs in each room. Guest parking is also available.
In the neighbourhood: At the quieter end of Great North Rd, the Convent is a short cab ride away from Ponsonby’s restaurants or an appetite-building 15-minute walk to Kingsland and the Eden Park Stadium.
Sustainability: Giving a new lease of life to the old convent, Andy Davies’ refurbishment has done plenty to restore and reuse original materials where possible. However, the use of LED and electricity saving measures have helped restore the old building to a greener and energy-leaner version of the 1922 mission.
Get thee to this nunnery!
Contact: 454 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland
theconventhotel.co.nz
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>Accor and LA Hotel Group have opened the new-build 50-room Mantra Traralgon hotel in the heart of Latrobe Valley’s largest city.
The first hotel to open in Traralgon, Australia, in more than ten years, Mantra Traralgon is set to become a destination of choice for business travellers and leisure guests looking for convenient, contemporary accommodation in Victoria’s spectacular Gippsland region.
The $18 million development, which comprises of five levels and features 50 well-appointed and comfortable guestrooms and suites, is located directly opposite the city’s major retail centre and within an entertainment complex that houses a cinema, ten-pin bowling and bistro.
Onsite amenities at Mantra Traralgon include a ground floor café and bar called Hush Lounge, meeting and conference facilities with modern audio-visual equipment that cater for up to 30 delegates, high-speed internet connection and onsite car parking.
Accor Pacific chief executive, Simon McGrath, said: “We are proud to bring the Mantra brand to the Gippsland region.
“This hotel will play a key role in further elevating Traralgon’s profile and its attractiveness as a leisure and business destination.
“LA Hotel Group should be very proud of the long-term investment they have made into the future of tourism in Traralgon and the greater Latrobe Valley, and we look forward to enjoying a successful partnership together.”
Complementing the central CBD location and contemporary design features of a newly built hotel is Mantra’s renowned professional and attentive service.
Since its inception in 2007, the Mantra brand has become synonymous with providing premium accommodation and a warm welcome.
Key to the brand’s considerable success in the Australian market has been each Mantra property’s ability to capture the natural charm and ambience of its locations.
Source: breakingtravelnews.com
]]>Hotel: Originally opened as the Wains Hotel in the 1860s, the Victorian-era style of Dunedin’s first hotel has been updated as a boutique 50-room accommodation option for the 21st century.
Location: Surrounded by stately buildings reflecting Dunedin’s rich commercial history, it’s an easy stroll of about 500m to the restaurants and bars of The Octagon. Nearby, lower Stuart St offers bohemian cafes and design stores.
Style: Heritage charm, subtle nods to contemporary design, and the convenience of modern technology all combine for the modern traveller.
Perfect for: Urban explorers seeking a convenient and stylish base for discovering Dunedin’s culinary and cultural scenes and business travellers looking for somewhere unique, memorable, and offering more personalised service.
First impressions: Check-in at the interim reception desk near Fable’s bar and restaurant was relaxed but professional. The hotel’s original lobby and reception are being fully reinvigorated in time for the Fable’s official opening. Extra points for the selection of delicious macarons waiting for me in my room.
Rooms: Now reinvented as Fable Dunedin, 50 rooms and suites fill a four-storey landmark building. Our Superior King room was high-ceilinged and spacious and, courtesy of the hotel’s 150 years plus of history, reached by a slightly idiosyncratic combination of elevator and stairs.
In a nod to Dunedin’s Scottish heritage, a specially-commissioned tartan rug enlivened the super king bed, while wall art added colourful accents to a discreet and understated design palette blending black, white and grey. Throughout the hotel, 49-inch smart TVs include the convenient option to Chromecast from other devices, while room design features a selection of USB ports for handy overnight charging. Communication with reception, ordering room service and hotel compendium information is all integrated on to a tablet, and there is a pod coffee machine for the first caffeine hit of the day.
Bathroom: Black and white tiles and two-tone marble vanities combine for classic simplicity with a touch of art deco style, while mirrors framed by slender lights echo the glamour of Hollywood. Bathrobes are provided, a rainforest shower head is a refreshing addition, and Fable’s amber and cedarwood soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner are all from Marihi Aotearoa.
Food & drink: Fable Dunedin’s restaurant and bar is The Press Club, named for the retinue of local journalists who met regularly at the Wains Hotel in the 1870s. Gatherings often included Thomas Bracken, the poet and wordsmith behind God Defend New Zealand.
Shared plates and main dishes harness South Island produce and include miso-glazed lamb shoulder and boudin noir sausage crafted from Otago wild venison, while a savvy drinks list includes Central Otago pinot noir and a punchy pale ale from Dunedin craft brewers New New New Corporation. A post-prandial dram of whisky or The Press Club’s signature dessert of lemon cream with an orange and cardamom shortbread biscuit is also recommended.
In the neighbourhood: The nearby Warehouse Precinct is best explored by downloading a Dunedin Street Art Trail map from dunedinstreetart.co.nz. The area’s spectacular outdoor canvases are by international street artists and recommended stops en route include Vanguard Coffee or Vogel St Kitchen.
Family friendly: The team at Fable Dunedin can recommend local babysitting and childcare services, and portacots and rollaway beds are both available.
Accessibility: All common and public areas can be accessed by wheelchair, and there is a range of rooms with dedicated accessible facilities.
Contact: fablehotelsandresorts.com
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>Kiwi innovators have joined forces with the global company behind airport “eGates” on technology designed to quickly screen future travellers for immunity against the coronavirus.
Dubbed a “lab on a disk”, Orbis Diagnostics’ tech is currently the only one of its kind in the world suitable to be rolled out in airports, and capable of rapidly detecting whether someone was capable of carrying the virus.
Today, the Kiwi company announced it had partnered with multinational company Idemia, which invented biometric passport eGates, and that it wanted to carry out local trials with people in quarantine facilities, subject to Government approval.
Orbis chief executive Brent Ogilvie said the tech had the same level of accuracy as complex quantitative immunity tests carried out in medical labs.
But in this case, the system, presently in final-phase testing, could produce results within 15 minutes, for 15 to 30 people at a time.
“Quantitative immunity testing is key to confidently verifying whether a person has sufficient immunity against Covid-19,” he said.
“It is well understood that high levels of antibodies against certain parts of viruses can rapidly neutralise and prevent infection; such antibodies are known as neutralising antibodies.”
The company, led by renowned University of Auckland scientist Professor David Williams, had specifically targeted its tech at quickly quantifying these fast-acting antibodies.
“In the absence of verifying a person’s immunity, it will be challenging for governments to have the confidence to reduce current border and travel restrictions.”
Originally designed for use in animal health, the system was turned to Covid-19 antibody levels over the past year.
Ogilvie said it was now in its end stages and, while it required final phase studies and manufacture scale-up, the company aimed to roll out the system halfway through the year.
The company has proposed to the Government carrying out a 12-week trial with quarantining travellers to demonstrate its system could work at scale.
“We will also monitor those individuals to confirm that they do not develop the disease,” he said.
In piloting it here, the Government could gain confidence in the tech, he said.
“Unlike other countries who are dealing with the ‘here and now’, New Zealand has the luxury to look into the future and adopt long-term sustainable solutions that will allow us to safely reopen our borders.”
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the tech appeared promising, but added that it had yet to be fully evaluated.
New Zealand currently wasn’t considering point-of-care testing for Covid-19.
Idemia’s Oceania managing director, Xavier Assouad, expected immunity screening to become a “crucial element” of the world resuming travel.
“As part of the innovation process, we are exploring an integration of the Orbis solution with Idemia’s Mobile ID and border control platform – notably for risk assessment purposes.”
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>The route from Dunedin to Ōamaru is a pleasant 90-minute drive if you don’t stop off – but if you have the luxury of time, there are plenty of delicious things to warrant putting the brakes to work a bit.
Coffee is something Ōtepoti Dunedin does extremely well so we’re not going to miss getting a morning fix before we set off. We head to the Warehouse Precinct for a quick eyeful of some of the city’s famous street art, and grab takeaway coffees at Precinct. Then, because it’s just down the road, it’d be rude not to call into The Tart Tin for something sweet to-go: the salted caramel eclairs do the trick.
Blueskin Bay just north of Dunedin boasts estuarine scenery galore, and if you time it right, you can fill your basket with various goodies. Clams are farmed commercially there, but can also be gathered at low tide. Harvey Street Merchant in Waitati stocks a wide range of local artisan foods, fresh fruit and veges, breads and pastries. If it’s a weekend, the taproom at Arc Brewing Co. on State Highway 1 opens at midday – order a tasting paddle of their small-batch brews to help you choose what to fill a growler or two with. Arc is a handy landmark just near the turn-off we make to take the coastal route via Karitāne.
One of the trip highlights we were most looking forward to was lunch booked at Fleur’s Place, Fleur Sullivan’s world-famous restaurant, perched on a historic whaling station and serving fish from the Moeraki Bay boats.
We brushed past big bushes of fennel as we walked through the door to be greeted by Fleur, in black jeans, an old black woollen jersey and her shock of white hair, who was waiting tables with plenty of chat in between.
Our table was soon piled high with fresh-baked bread, smoked eel pate, clams and scallops in a rich sauce of mushroom, bacon, and Pernod, a tomato-spiked twist on chowder, and plenty of locally caught fresh fish – gurnard, tarakihi, blue cod, and monkfish. That fennel perfuming the garden around the building was put to good use in the hollandaise embracing our fish fillets – which had been lightly dusted in flour, and cooked beautifully in the frypan.
By chance, our brief time in Ōamaru coincides with the annual Victorian fete. Harbour St is bustling with actual bustles and lots of beards. I pop into Craftwork Brewery – punters clad in their Victorian finery are packed like sardines, so I choose a quick grab of a bottle of their Saison Citron from the chiller to take home.
Owners and brewers Michael O’Brien and Lee-Ann Scotti (Victorian dress is their every day – not just for fete) were born to craft. Prior to moving into brewing, David was the town’s celebrated bookbinder. At Craftwork, they brew small batches focusing on Belgian styles – farmhouse and specialist ales, and barrel-aged sours. Across the road, there’s just a handful of flavours on offer at Deja Moo – perfect for indecisive me, and my pick of licorice is the perfect late-afternoon refresher.
The day’s heat has just started to temper as we arrive at Riverstone Kitchen for dinner. There’s a big group of us and waitstaff cleverly suggest we order aperitifs and wander round the garden as a good way to relax into things (my Campari and blood orange perfectly complements the setting sun).
Dot Smith’s home-and-castle across the moat is a story for another time, but we do manage a chat with Dot herself, as she throws food to the peacocks and peahens after completing her day’s work in the garden. The impressive collection of raised beds here, tended by Dot and son and head chef Bevan Smith is verdant with kale, lettuces, fennel, artichokes, and strawberries all ripe for picking, bushes of gooseberries and stonefruit gearing up, and so much more.
In the kitchen, Bevan lets the garden goods talk the loudest on his menu, which changes every few weeks according to what’s being harvested. Asparagus is still in its prime when we visit so we gorge on big plates of it topped with a poached egg, which, pierced, gives the tender spears a golden robe.
Swordfish, Havoc pork, Okaahu lamb, jersey bennes – all presented relatively simply so as not to clutter the plate or palate. A few bottles of local vineyard Ostler’s Caroline pinot noir are shared and we all agree this silky, mellow wine to be a superb ambassador for the burgeoning Waitaki winegrowing region.
There’s barely room for dessert but when we see Bevan plating up scoops of icecream sorbet in a rainbow of hues, we’re in, and somehow we manage blackcurrant souffle and deep-fried Spanish custard, too.
● Around here, I learned, you don’t just buy strawberries, you buy Matsinger strawberries, or you PYO from their farm.
● Scotts Brewing Co on the Ōamaru waterfront is famous for good pizzas and, of course, the beer – these guys were the first to brew a gluten-free beer.
● If you’re in the market for a high-end meal, Cucina in South Hill is the spot.
● Or, if you book several days ahead, you might secure a dinner-table spot at Pen-y-Bryn. The historic luxury lodge is a member of the Slow Food movement – co-owner and chef James Glucksman sources produce hyper-locally and presents a multi-course dinner with optional wine match
● Inland from Ōamaru, Waitaki is our newest wine region and ripe for exploring – book with Waitaki Wine Tours for an insider advantage
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>To travel Northland’s Kauri Coast is to journey through time and a world of giants.
Starting at the State Highway 12 turn-off at Brynderwyn, the route skirts the Kaipara Harbour’s northern reaches and pretty, historic settlements.
The Southern hemisphere’s biggest harbour, the Kaipara’s saltwater rivers and shores once provided food, transport and warpaths for Māori. In the mid-1800s a wave of newcomers swept in on the “kauri rush”.
The timber story is best told at the world famous Kauri Museum at Matakohe. But further west the magnificent Ripiro Beach is another giant Kauri Coast story.
The beach stretches 107km from Pouto on Kaipara Harbour’s northern mouth to where Maunganui Bluff surges 460m from the sea.
Although by the mid-1800s the Kaipara and Northern Wairoa River comprised the country’s busiest sea route because of kauri and gum, entry to the harbour was perilous. The sea and shifting sands off Pouto became known as the Graveyard. There are said to be 150 wrecks entombed in the seabed, dunes and sandbars, giving Ripiro Beach another moniker – Shipwreck Highway.
New Zealand’s oldest wooden lighthouse, a kauri structure built in 1844, sits on sandstone surrounded by dunes at Pouto Point. Decommissioned in 1947, it is now in Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga care.
Among ships coming to grief on Ripiro Beach was L’Alcmene, a three-masted, 36-gun, French corvette wrecked at Baylys Beach in 1851, en route from Hobart to collect kauri spars from Whangaroa. Off course, with 230 people on board – 229 sailors and one passenger, a Swedish countess – the ship was driven ashore during a cyclone, with 12 sailors’ lives lost.
L’Alcmene and many other shipwrecks are displayed at Dargaville Museum, along with Māori artefacts including a war canoe found in a dune lake at Pouto, and the story of “Dalmatian” gumdiggers from Croatia.
Older people often recount tales of toheroa gathering on Ripiro. During the annual open season people came from all over, armed with spades and sacks for their fill of the large shellfish. But decades of commercial and private harvesting threatened the now protected toheroa’s survival. Collecting them was banned nationwide in 1982.
People still come for other kai moana caught off the beach; the surf lures board riders and the long ribbon of white sand (longer than 88km Ninety Mile Beach) is enjoyed by walkers, bird and sealife watchers, horse riders, blow-carters and two- or four-wheel drivers.
Tourism information describing this Tasman-swept coast as “New Zealand’s longest driveable beach” can give a false sense of security. Signs at access points ask visitors to stay off the fragile dunes, drivers to take only 4×4 vehicles on the beach and swimmers to go in only on incoming tides.
But it’s long been a playground, as beach settlements like Pouto, Glinks Gully and Omamari attest. The biggest, Baylys Beach (permanent population 350) is a tumble of baches straddling gullies and ridges, and a new-build subdivision called Sunset West. As the name suggests, glorious sunsets are a feature of the coast.
Another feature is the visible layers of prehistoric trees and lignite embedded in low cliffs near Baylys. Lignite is a soft, combustible wood-like rock formed from compressed peat, in this case from forests that stood as recently as 300,000 years ago.
In places, what first looks like brown rock reveals itself to be wood, remants of forests covered and uncovered during the shifting currents of passing millennia. Some strata contain a white layer of fine glass – volcanic ash carried from the Taupō eruption and preserved in swamps.
A less known story of Ripiro is a battle between Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua. The battle, circa 1807, at Moremonui 12km north of Baylys Beach, was the first time warring Māori used guns against each other.
Learning of an advancing Ngāpuhi war party, some carrying muskets, Ngāti Whātua warriors beat the enemy after staging an ambush at Moremonui. Because of the number of dead strewn on the beach, the location was named Te Kai a te Karoro (the Feast of the Black-backed Gull).
This nationally historic event, the first of what would become the Musket Wars, is marked by an otherwise unsignposted, hard-to-find plaque 50m from the beach up the Moremonui stream.
One of the most popular Kauri Coast attractions is Taharoa Domain, better known as the Kai Iwi Lakes – only a few kilometres by road or walking track from the wild coast. Two of the three crystal clear, freshwater dune lakes are the largest and deepest of their kind in New Zealand.
Anyone wanting to stay at the lakeside campgrounds over Christmas-New Year must book months earlier or wait until the rush is over.
The Kauri Coast road journey ends at the Waipoua Forest, home of living giants thousands of years old. This is the heartland of local iwi Te Roroa who, with the Department of Conservation, employ “Guardians” to tell visitors about the forest, its history and its vulnerability.
The danger of kauri dieback disease has closed some tracks to famous trees but at Tāne Mahuta, the 2000-year-old “Lord of the Forest”, Guardians protect this remnant of the vast forests that gave the Kauri Coast its name.
Where: Take the Kauri Coast turn-off at Brynderwyn, 104km north of Auckland; Pouto Point is 55km south of Dargaville; Baylys Beach is 13km west of Dargaville; Kai Iwi Lakes is 36km north of Dargaville; Waipoua Forest is 58km north of Dargaville.
Things to do: Matakohe Kauri Museum and Dargaville Museum; Walking and cycling coastal, mountain and forest tracks, including the 4-hour round trip from Pouto village to the lighthouse; eco tours including along Ripiro Beach; quad bike hire or horse riding at Baylys Beach.
Places to stay: High end or budget options throughout the Kauri Coast include lodges, hotels, motels, glamping, bach rental, campgrounds, B&B.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
]]>Emirates Group has rolled-out a Covid-19 vaccination programme for its substantial UAE-based workforce in coordination with the Dubai Health Authority.
The news comes as the airline cuts services to Australia as the pandemic continues to take a huge toll on aviation.
The Dubai flag-carrier is suspending the majority of its Australia service for “operational reasons” and will see its final services for the foreseeable future operating to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane in the coming days.
This sudden stop in service follows a decision in Australia to reduce permitted arrivals by half until February 15th due to the discovery of a new strain of Covid-19 in Brisbane.
The Emirates inoculation drive began this morning, with priority being placed on its frontline aviation workforce, including cabin crew, flight deck and other operationally focused roles.
The airline, along with dnata, are among the first transport and air services organisations in the world to offer employees the option to get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.
The Emirates Group is making both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines, which have been approved by the UAE health authorities, accessible to its employees at various company locations across the UAE.
Inoculation appointments will run 12 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure as many essential aviation workers as possible can get the vaccine.
Source: breakingtravelnews.com
]]>Australia’s top health chief has dashed hopes that the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine will allow people to travel overseas this year, predicting borders will remain closed until 2022.
The man who urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to shut the borders last year made the grim prediction this morning.
As the first anniversary of the international border closure approaches on February 1, Health Department chief Brendan Murphy said it’s too early to say whether borders can reopen this year.
“I think that that is a big question. I think that the answer is probably no,” he told ABC TV.
And he concedes the big reason is that even though the vaccination will stop people getting the virus, we still don’t know if it will stop them spreading it to others.
“I think that we’ll go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions – even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus,” Professor Murphy said.
“And it’s likely that quarantine will continue for some time. One of the things about this virus is that the rule book has been made up as we go.”
Murphy’s prediction is grim news for thousands of Australian tourism operators, aviation companies and families desperate to see loved ones overseas.
Just weeks ago, Qantas reopened bookings for international flights and is now taking bookings for flights across its entire international network from July 1, 2021.
It was expected flights to Asian destinations, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, would also resume on July 1.
“We continue to review and update our international schedule in response to the developing Covid-19 situation,” Qantas said in a statement to news.com.au.
“Recently we have aligned the selling of our international services to reflect our expectation that international travel will begin to restart from July 2021.”
But Murphy’s comments suggest that’s premature.
“I was very careful early on and I remember saying this to the Prime Minister – I don’t want to predict more than two or three months ahead. The world is changing. So I think at the moment, we’ve got this light at the end of the tunnel – the vaccine,” he said.
“So we’re going to go as safely and as fast as we can to get our population vaccinated and then we’ll look at what happens.”
Murphy said closing the borders was probably his most momentous decision as the nation’s chief medical officer throughout the pandemic.
“That was probably the most momentous day of my time. It was February 1,” he said.
“I remember, I was actually in Melbourne on that day visiting family. And I looked at the news, saw the situation in China and phoned Minister Hunt and phoned the Prime Minister and had a series of meetings that day. And the borders were closed at 9pm that night. Which is an extraordinary thing.
“And I think that our border measures, in retrospect, have been one of the reasons why we have never really had significant community transmission, other than that second wave in Victoria.”
Murphy also revealed the Morrison Government was “not intimately involved” in the Covid-19 crisis engulfing the Australian Open, describing it as a “Victorian public health decision”.
“I think that they take the risks very seriously. It’s terribly bad luck that they’ve had the positives on three flights, and I think that they’ve done a lot of preparation,” he said.
“Very unlucky but, as we know, the virus is sadly running out of control in many countries overseas.”
Asked if there were any decisions he regrets during his time as the nation’s chief medical officer, Murphy said he would have gone harder on masks earlier.
“I think that nobody is perfect. I think that our response has been pretty good,” he said.
“I think if we’d known we were going to get a second wave in Victoria, we’ve often reflected on what else we might have been able to do in the aged care preparation.
“I think we probably didn’t know how valuable masks were early on in the piece. And maybe they could have been introduced a little bit earlier. But on the whole, I think that we did pretty well.”
Murphy also played down the disturbing reports in Norway of a small number of elderly people dying after receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 jab.
“Look, I’m not unduly concerned. We’re trying to get more information about it.
“This group of people who had the jab, and unfortunately some died, were very, very old and frail. It’s not clear whether the vaccine, how directly related to the death it was. The TGA is looking at this information.
“I still think that the Pfizer vaccine will be OK, but I think we have to wait and see.”
Source: nzherald.co.nz
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