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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Polynesia, New Zealand and Hawaii

Polynesia comprises over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean and New Zealand and Hawaii lies at the eastern and western end of the triangle. The two places are connected by their Polynesian culture although both have now large population of Caucasians. New Zealand's North Island contains a number of active and potentially active volcanoes, just like Hawaii. The difference between them is New Zealand can boast of geysers while Hawaii don't have any. New Zealand is a country by itself while Hawaii is a state of the United States of America.

If you are from New Zealand or have visited New Zealand before, it should be interesting to visit Hawaii as well to observe the similarities and differences. If you own properties suitable to serve as vacation rentals, you can list them for free at Relocation Rentals for free. Currently, I see only Hawaiian vacation rentals listed there. I think they should include New Zealand vacation rentals as well. I just commented to make that suggestion and wonder if we would see New Zealand vacation rentals being listed on that site in the future.

Anyway, Hawaii is a paradise to visit. Oahu, the third largest island of Hawaii and the most populous, with approximately 75% of the resident population of the Hawaii, is also home to Honolulu, the capital of the State of Hawaii. Oahu's most popular beach is Waikiki Beach.

Hawaii has 8 major islands, all with their different attractions, and at Hawaii Vacation Rentals, you can find links to vacation rentals on Maui, Big Island Vacation Rentals as well as to specific places like Waikiki, Kihei, Wailea, Kanaapali, etc.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

New Zealand, Australia and others

Online Hotel Search and Booking is a website that lists hotels of countries all over the world, but unfortunately, New Zealand has not been added to their list yet. However, New Zealand and Australia is close to each other and I believe it is not uncommon to hold dual citizenship of both countries. Plus while you will need a passport, I think New Zealand citizen do not need a visa to visit Australia. And if you are a visitor to New Zealand, since you have come so far, you might just as well visit another country. Australia is not that far away plus you have a much bigger area to chose to visit than New Zealand. For accommodations in Australia, look at Australia Hotels and Other Lodging. You will see a loooong list of hotels there, plus there is a map of Australia with a few names of Australian cities which is clickable.

However, if you are travelling as a family with small children, you may want to look for family-friendly hotels. Australian states and cities are included in the list of places for family-friendly hotels, but unfortunately, at the time of publishing of this post, search for family-friendly hotels in various places in Australia produced this message: "Error !! There is a problem with your request. There are no Family Friendly Hotels registered with us at this time in City." However, since they are listed, I am sure they are working hard to find family-friendly hotels to list in those cities. But there should be plenty in cities in the United States of America, which New Zealanders would feel comfortable visiting as they are also an English speaking country with similar culture.

New Zealanders are environmentally conscious, and may want to seek eco green lodging, but unfortunately, I don't see either New Zealand or Australia listed. But there is a promising message there: "More coming soon".

Or perhaps you are a yoga enthusiast. At yoga retreats, I found Australia Yoga Retreats which listed one Australian yoga retreat at Byron Bay, New South Wales. This showed that they are actually working hard to get more listing and have found some success.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Vacation rentals for New Zealand and the rest of the world

If you are seeking accommodation for your holidays in New Zealand, try New Zealand Vacation Rentals. There I can see 2 categories - North Island and South Island. However, this site is only one small section of vacation rentals where you can seek holiday accommodations in any part of the world.

New Zealand is part of Polynesia, consisting of many islands spread over a huge triangle in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is unique in that it has a temperate maritime climate compared with the rest of Polynesia which mainly have a tropical climate. Hawaii shares in the Polynesian roots with New Zealand, but differs in that it has a warm tropical climate and probably more conducive to tourism. If Polynesian culture is what you seek to experience, but you prefer a warmer climate, you should opt for Hawaii and for holiday accommodation, that can be arranged easily by Hawaii vacation rentals. Hawaii consists of hundreds of islands and atolls, but there are only eight main populated island, and one of them is Maui. This is the second largest of the island, the largest of which is Hawaii Big Island.

Maui is a pleasant island and in fact its population is reported to be growing because those who have visited the island before found it so conducive for living that they decided to settle down there. Wailea on Maui is a high class area with many luxurious hotels and resorts plus exclusive golf and tennis clubs and is a magnet for celebrities. I heard Wailea is a favourite destination of Paris Hilton, but she is not alone. There are lots more other celebrities who frequent Wailea. It seems Wailea is a great place for celebrities watching. Wailea is expensive, but there are cheaper alternatives on Maui, like the nearby and more affordable Kihei or Makena, where your pocket is spared, but you still get to enjoy all that the beautiful Maui have to offer.

You can check all this out at Maui vacation rentals.