Let's Travel Dec-Jan 2017-8

ISSUE 51 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017/8

ISSUE 51 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017/8

Let’s Travel THE MAGAZINE FOR CORPORATE AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS

THE MAGAZINE FOR CORPORATE AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS

NEW ZEALAND Auckland Northland Christchurch New Plymouth

461001

Historical HOBART

9

VIETNAM River Cruising

771176

$9.95 inc GST

THE LOUVRE Abu Dhabi

contents 5

22

NEW ZEALAND

25 ASIA 59 AUSTRALIA 67 CRUISING 79 PACIFIC ISLANDS 85 BEYOND 93 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

52

90 BUSINESS SECTION

80

90

2 www.letstravelmag.com Contents

New Zealand NZ Cuisine 6 The Glasshouse 10 Auckland Zoo 14 The George 18 New Plymouth 22

Destination New Zealand

New Zealand Regional Dining

By Winsor Dobbin

Auckland and Wellington are both home to several world-class restaurants. In Wellington you have established stars like Logan Brown, Boulcott St Bistro, Ortega and Hippopotamus, while the Harbour City’s highlights include Cassia, The Grove, The French CafÊ and newcomer Pasture.

Pegasus Bay

6 www.letstravelmag.com New Zealand, Cuisine

Asia China Indonesia Vietnam India Hong Kong Thailand

26 34 38 42 48 52

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 25

Destination Asia, Indonesia

Wakatobi Dive Resort A luxury eco dive resort built on a conservation-based business model and situated at the global epicentre of marine life biodiversity

34 www.letstravelmag.com Asia, Indonesia

Australia Hobart 60

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 59

Australia, Hobart www.letstravelmag.com 61

Cruising Aqua Expeditions 68 Hapag-Lloyd Cruises 74

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 67

Gold Stars for Aqua Expeditions

By Gayle Dickson

As a frequent world traveller, I love ticking new and exciting ventures off my bucket list. What is unexpected though is when that tick massively outweighs all your expectations‌and then some!

68 www.letstravelmag.com Cruising, Aqua Expeditions

Pacific Islands Fiji 80 Tahiti 82

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 79

Destination Pacific Islands, Fiji

Mantaray Island Resort

M

antaray Island Resort, Fiji is regarded as having some of the best snorkelling in Fiji… and with good reason! Enter the reef directly in front of the resort and you will see flourishing coral and countless species of fish. Sharks, moray eels, octopus, pipefish, occasional eagle rays,

turtles and seahorses abound. Add to that shimmering schools of slack jawed mackerel and vibrant parrotfish. Then top it all off with the mesmerising colours of clown fish and clouds of bright blue anthias.

Mantaray Island Resort has been a voluntary marine reserve since

80 www.letstravelmag.com Pacific Islands, Fiji

2003 and a formally gazetted marine reserve since late 2012. This means there’s been no fishing in the Mantaray Island reserve for almost 15 years now.

As you can imagine, a tropical marine environment that has been nurtured for a long period of time really begins to flourish.

Beyond Abu Dhabi 86 Scotland 90

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 85

In addition to the permanent galleries and a 270-seat auditorium, Louvre Abu Dhabi features special exhibition space, a Children’s Museum, boutique, café and a public park.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a universal museum on Saadiyat Island that exhibits art and artefacts from ancient times to the present day.

Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum contains 12 chapters in the galleries, special exhibition spaces, a Children’s

Museum, auditorium, restaurants, retail and a research centre.

Surrounded by the sea, the buildings are connected by waterfront promenades beneath the museum’s stunning dome.

Louvre Abu Dhabi has developed a rich collection of works originating from throughout human history and around the world, brought together to highlight universal themes and influences. To date, Louvre Abu Dhabi has acquired more than 600 artworks, exhibited alongside

300 works on loan from 13 leading French institutions.

Louvre Abu Dhabi was born out of a unique intergovernmental agreement between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France in 2007.

As part of the agreement, Louvre Abu Dhabi has access to expertise and training from 17 French partner institutions, as well as loans from 13 leading French museums for 10 years, and will benefit from special exhibitions organised by these institutions for 15 years.

Beyond, Abu Dhabi www.letstravelmag.com 87

United States of America Las Vegas 94 Texas 98

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 93

Destination USA, Texas

Dig into Prehistoric Texas Texas may have become a state in 1836, but the land that is Texas has been around a lot longer— approximately 600 million years. Over time, earthquakes and volcanoes pushed and pulled the land, creating mountains and inland seas that became habitats for early reptiles and mammals. Time travel along the Prehistoric Texas Trail to learn more about the first inhabitants of the Lone Star State‌

98 www.letstravelmag.com U.S.A,, Texas

Business Section Cathay Pacific 102 Garuda Airlines 106 Air Tahiti Lounge 110 Anantara Resorts 112 Paradise Cruises 114 The Orange 116 New Products/Giveaways 118 Where in the World 120

Australia, Hamilton Island www.letstravelmag.com 101 New Caledonia

Garuda Airlines Garuda Indonesia Launches ‘Star Chefs’

As part of Garuda Indonesia’s commitment to continue improving the service to premium customers, the company launched the ‘Star Chefs’ campaign recently in Jakarta. ‘Star Chefs’ program will offer Business Class passengers travelling Garuda Indonesia on selected international routes from September 1st to December 31st, 2017 a signature menu designed by renown chefs from top Indonesian restaurants.

Passengers departing from Sydney or Melbourne to Denpasar or Jakarta will enjoy a special menu by Chef Vindex - Chef and Indonesia’s culinary expert. Chef

Chris Salans - Chef Owner of Mozaic & Spice Restaurant in Bali - will present his signature menu on the flights departing from Denpasar to Sydney or Melbourne. And Chef Antoine Audran - Executive Chef of Kaum Restaurant - will design special dishes for passengers returning from Jakarta to Sydney and Melbourne.

The ‘Star Chefs’ program reunites selected famous chefs from international restaurants who will design their signature menus with Indonesian ingredients on the following routes: 1. Chef Chris Salans (Chef Owner of Mozaic & Spice Restaurant in Bali)

106 www.letstravelmag.com Airlines, Garuda Airlines

Denpasar - Sydney/Melbourne Denpasar – Shanghai 2. Chef Antoine Audran (Executive Chef of Kaum Restaurant in Jakarta, Bali, Hongkong) Jakarta – Sydney/Melbourne Hong kong – Jakarta/Denpasar 3. Chef Agus Hermawan

(Executive Chef of Ron Gastrobar Indonesia in Amsterdam) Amsterdam - Jakarta 4. Chef Vindex Tengker (Chef and Indonesia’s culinary expert) Sydney/Melbourne – Denpasar Sydney/Melbourne –Jakarta Shanghai – Denpasar Jakarta/Denpasar – Hong Kong Jakarta - Amsterdam