Heritage Expeditions and Wild Earth Travel owner/director Aaron Russ and BDM Sarah Porter welcomed over 40 agents and brokers onboard Heritage Explorer for an inspection, followed by a long overdue catch up with canapes and bubbles.

The 30m expedition yacht is currently in the middle of a successful summer season exploring islands between Auckland and the Bay of Islands. The 18 passenger vessel is equipped with zodiacs and kayaks.

The New Zealand Government has reneged on a promise that it would reopen borders and reconnect to the world in the first quarter of 2022 on the condition that the country’s population was 90% fully vaccinated, says the chair of the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ).

Scott Mehrtens who is also managing director of Leisure Time Travel, says this week’s announcement around borders was really just a tinkering of the MIQ situation for returning New Zealanders.

Wild Earth Travel is running a five day distillery tour of the South Island via a privately chartered plane.

The Spirit of the South, from 26 to 30 November visits six distilleries and takes clients from Blenheim to the West Coast, across to Wanaka, and then to Nelson before returning to Auckland. Highlights include Elemental Distillers, Reefton Distilling Co, Cardrona Distillery and Dancing Sands.

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Wild Earth Travel has a limited, two cabins only offer for a Sub Antarctic Islands cruise on board PONANT’s Le Bellot.

Departing 29 December 2020 and 8 February 2021, the 15-day cruise is priced at $13,495pp (down from $18,205).

Departing Auckland, Le Bellot sails to the Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Island, Auckland Islands, Macquarie Island and The Snares before passengers disembark in Dunedin.

A completely different option for travellers, while still being close to hand, is worth consideration by travel agents and their clients, says Sarah Porter, business development manager – Auckland for Wild Earth Travel.

A re-entry to India is one of the highlights of Pandaw Cruises latest programme agents heard at a Wild Earth Travel lunch in May.
Shannon Morgan, director of sales Australasia with Pandaw, says the company is already operating seven night cruises on both the upper and lower Ganges and will be operating on the Brahmaputra River later this year.
‘It is a different experience,’ says Morgan, ‘more about the flora and fauna and the rural environment.’

• Lunch at Royal New Zealand... Lunch at Royal New Zealand...
• Kate Hunt, Flight Centre broker;... Kate Hunt, Flight Centre broker;...
• Shannon Morgan, Pandaw; Sali Marinkovich,... Shannon Morgan, Pandaw; Sali Marinkovich,...
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Amy Forsyth, communications and sales specialist at Wild Earth Travel, recently returned from a luxury cruising expedition with PONANT in Norway.

Playing ‘pied piper’ is often a successful strategy for travel agents looking to develop a niche and point of difference, says Aaron Russ, director of Wild Earth Travel.