A SUPREME ADVENTURE
BY CHRISSY LLOYD-JONES
So much a part of travel is excited anticipation, followed by the actual trip, then reminiscences. When tour director friend Vikki from Supreme Tours & Travel rang me offering a sojourn to Europe encompassing the river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest my initial response was disbelief. After ten seconds I asked, “When?”
Supreme Tours & Travel opened their doors in 1994 and continue to offer competitively priced tours, generally catering to the more mature traveller. Terri, (who with her mother Irene started Supreme) and Vikki know how to make a trip of a lifetime truly that. The Supreme Team give great value, fully inclusive and worry-free tours to a wide range of destinations around the world. Their inclusive tour options are perfect for those who don’t want the hassle of arranging everything themselves, from coach pickups to tour guides, air travel, hotel bookings, inclusive dining packages, gratuities to service personnel and more.
Counting down the seeming 4,953 sleeps to go, time marched and our July departure date arrived. Passport checked, case packed, nighttime worries almost done, thanking people for good wishes for a safe trip, ducks in place re-responsibilities, money organised, household sorted - time to abandon daily routine and head off to magnificent Europe. Scary but exciting stuff, especially when you haven’t travelled for a while.
The courtesy transfer to the airport collects passengers from around Auckland and we
meet the group at Auckland International, eager and smiling, 20 strangers now but not for long as we have 27 days to become acquainted. Six couples and seven merry widows. First stop Singapore at 29 glorious degrees to warm the body after a cool 10 in Auckland.
People ask highlights of your trip on return. In hindsight, experiences become blurred as everything is special. I love Singapore. Apart from the warmth it’s a clean, well-organised city offering much from culinary experiences (note the famous Singapore Sling) to special attractions. Our group visited the Botanic Gardens and Gardens by the Bay with flora and fauna set in mesmerizing interior and exterior structures. You can visit the Cloud Forest or the Supertree Observatory, which has unbeatable views of Gardens by the Bay’s lush surroundings and the Marina Bay area.
The Flower Dome, the world’s largest greenhouse, housed an English roses exhibition whilst we were there.
Amsterdam, this historic Netherlands city of canals and wonky old buildings is so interesting, as is walking the cobbled streets, although litter is disconcerting as are the mad cyclists everywhere. We were warned to look both ways on the cycle tracks, which are red to disguise the blood from errant tourists apparently. Bikers speed everywhere, a most efficient way to travel, with front carriages for children, shopping and pets. We visited The Zaanse Schans tourist village with walks round the windmills, clog factory and cheese shops.
We eagerly boarded our Avalon Illumination river cruise ship on day seven. It was wonderful in every way, with outstanding food and pre dinner happy hour an event we all enjoyed. There was Cruise Director commentary each day and sightseeing on offer with professional local guides enthusiastically extolling the charms of the historic places we visited. Or we could just chill and observe the surroundings. I loved cruising along and seeing the old castles, other river craft and the extensive vertical vineyards. Each day there was on-board entertainment,
whether it be an evening disco, zither playing, waltz demonstrations, talks about the locks along the Rhine (we went through 66), an Oompah Band, a Hungarian violinist and accompanist, to name just a few. In Rhine Gorge Rudesheim the Mechanical Music Museum was a joy, the old music-producing machines were fascinating and great to hear. Some are so rare they are worth many thousands of dollars.
Visiting Nuremberg to see the rally grounds used by the Third Reich was sobering. They are in disrepair now but the plat-
Amsterdam’s wonky houses are perfectly sound for over 400 years.
