Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Habits are hard to form

Don't worry, I've seen that it's been over a year (almost to the day) since posting a blog. They are just hard to create I reckon, and I mean habits not blogs. So much has happened since then I don't know where to begin but I'll start with...

Skiing during New Zealand's winter last year (which was absolutely superb at Treble Cone) was the start to what has since then, been an amazing year. The snow fell, the turns were made and the apres-ski was had and you know the best thing? It's all just kicked in again for this winter so with luck I'll get amongst.

Come October 2010 and Bhutan was next on the list, as I was guiding some pretty high-rollers over in that mystical and ancient world of Central Asia. It most definitely seeped into my veins and was a hard place to leave however it looks like there could be a re-visiting option again soon which is highly exciting... The amazing people and their culture, the untouched nature of their Himalayan mountain peaks and chiming 'chortens' with prayer flags flapping those prayers skyward - makes you remember how young our lovely New Zealand really is.

A fantastic summer followed awhich felt like it lasted for about a decade... It was hot, stayed hot and just generally gave us Auckland folk a new meaning to the term 'Indian Summer'. If that's the case again this year, we'll be laughing all the way to the beach.

On a slightly more serious note, there was however quite the hiccup with the devastating Christchurch earthquake and all the damage that Mother Nature's carnage caused. It was quite the ordeal being in the heart of the city centre when it struck - narrowly escaping the collapsed building facade I was walking out of and seeing the Cathedral Spire crash down into Cathedral Square with a few lucky escapes that followed... Everyone has a story that was there and the effects are still being felt. They are a resilient bunch those Cantabs and the shakes are now apparently subsiding - famous last words but fingers are well and truly crossed...

The summer wrap up came and went with Kiwi Does It being extremely busy (to be expected with such an amazing country to show-off) and then Easter too, with the odd egg or two being consumed. Normally it's up around 15 - 20 however for some reason this year there was discipline...

So now, with less than 2 months out from the Rugby World Cup and a lot of international travel on the cards, saying it's all go is an understatement... Other than the price gouging that some New Zealand accommodation providers are stupidly doing and the odd, controversial stadium-jab here and there, it's shaping up to be a great event and one that I'm sure will do great things for our small, Kiwi economy. An event that size can't help but create a buzz and Auckland will be no exception - it's already starting.

Rugby aside, we have lots of clients gearing up to trip around the country on either side of their booked seats for the games and the whole country will love the opportunity to look after our travelers from abroad.

The travel industry never sleeps, which is precisely why it's an exciting industry to be part of. While the travel and the people-meets are all important, it's always nice to just get home, take it all in and work out how you can best improve your services through the new skills and experiences that you've just had.

Which is why I need more hands on deck - watch this space and I promise it won't be another year before writing another 'web-blog'... Too many good things are happening!

Rob