NZ jail a great tourism experience

Media release – November 8, 2007

NZ beer, jail, kiwifruit sign, jetboating and White Island feature in Lonely Planet’s best in travel destinations, experiences and journeys of the world

A tiny NZ beer label, a Napier jail, Te Puke’s kiwifruit sign, Shotover jetboating and White Island feature in Lonely Planet’s latest Blue List book of the best in travel destinations, experiences and journeys of the world.

Napier’s prison backpacker lodge is listed as one of the best nights in the slammer anywhere in the world.

As New Zealand’s oldest prison, the Napier jail used to house convicts including mass murderers, drug barons, gang members and the criminally insane.

``Guests can tour the hanging yard, sleep in converted cells and get a mug shot taken as a momento of their time in the clink,’’ the book says.

The Shotover is rated one of the 10 best river trips of the world.

``For high-octane thrills in s a high-octane city, head for Queenstown on New Zealand’s south Island where one of the signature activities (among a smorgasbord of adventures) is jetboating the Shotover River.

``It’s like a drug-induced dance on water, deep in the mighty Middle-earth scenery of the Southern Alps –Tolkein geeks may recognise the Shotover as the Ford of Bruinen if they can looking beyond the spinning bow of the jetboat, that is.’’

New Zealand’s remotest boutique micro-brewery, two hours from Nelson is among one of the 10 best beer brews in the world.

``Apparently there is a signpost but far easier to spot by the cars parked nearby. Beers is very much an integral part of life at the inn. The owners once used it to eradicate furry pests by offering a ‘beer bounty’ to cull possums taking over the Onekaka countryside.

``The offer of a free handle of beer or cider for every possum tail encouraged locals to eradicate over 5000 of the critters.’’

White Island is listed as the world’s most eruptive volcanoes while Te Puke being the self-proclaimed kiwifruit capital of the world also gets a mention among the massive monuments built with a ‘touch of the bizarre’.

ENDS

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