I’m flying to Hawkes Bay on Sunday morning for my family Christmas lunch. I land at 11am and will work out to be somewhere with good cell coverage for my final segment of the year! 

I’m excited NZ is 90% double vaxxed. I think this will bode very well for NZ being a huge draw for overseas tourists when we finally open our borders. I got my booster shot and I think those of us who want to travel aren’t fazed about what we’re seeing overseas, we’ll just keep up with our booster shots. 

I thought we’d just wrap the year up with some highlights of my NZ travels: 

January: went to Christchurch for a wedding and just love how the city is now. The vibe of the Terrace, the rooftop restaurants and bars, the weekend markets. 

March: I had a Nelson-Hokitika Wildfoods tour planned for last March, then Auckland got locked down, so next year I’m trying again. Dave Dobbyn is playing at the festival and we’ll take the Trans Alpine to Christchurch for a night. 

April: I took a tour to Queenstown and Central Otago in April and it was so gorgeous being down there in autumn that I’m doing it again next year. 

I popped to Hawkes Bay a few times. 

In 2022 I have 5 tours planned. 3 in NZ starting with Hokianga and Bay of Islands in Feb. 

Plus, my Greek Islands cruise followed by a 10-day tour of Italy. 

Travel blogger for large.com, Megan Singleton, joined Francesca Rudkin. 

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