Thursday 28th July, 2011

Kia Ora everybody!

Neil’s Stuff:          

Hi everyone,

In case you didn’t know – the snow has arrived!!! If you don’t believe me, check out these photos of our Spaceships Christchurch depot under a thick blanket of fresh snow!

I have just returned from a week in Straylia where it was great to catch up with people from Spaceships Oz, Nomads, Flight Centre, Peterpans, Travelbugs, Mojosurf, ‘The Arts Factory’ - Common Area, Buddha Bar and Cheeky Monkey’s where we got to hear and see things from a slightly different (and much warmer) perspective.  Everyone seems to be concerned about the strength of the Aussie and Kiwi dollar, blaming this on the lack of numbers in some places.   I want to stick my neck out there and say – yes, we are relatively more expensive but we were never super cheap in the first place (if that’s what you are after, go and do ‘Stray Asia’).  We can’t sit around waiting for the dollar to drop; instead we have to get on with promoting the cool stuff! We have amazing things on offer in both New Zealand and Australia which should really be experienced on a ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday.   It amazes me that a bus pass covering the whole of the East Coast of Australia can be bought for the same price as a trip to Fraser Island.  But the reality is that if you just stick to the East Coast of Australia and pre-book everything before you go, you will never end up doing all the extra cool life changing experiences that this area has to offer.  No, this isn’t a prelude to starting up Stray Australia, just an attempt to get you to do cool stuff (and see that it will not seem expensive).  It is reassuring to talk to Nat from Mojo Surf in Oz and hear that their products are up on last year. Stray and Adventure Tours New Zealand are also both significantly up on last year’s figures and none of us are the cheap options in our markets.  What we have in common is that we are the most content focused travel options over our routes, we really do offer extra cool stuff that is more than worth every penny.  Our current favourites are, Blue Duck Station where you can kayak into your accommodation and have the option of hunting for your own dinner; and Rangitata (our new stop outside Christchurch), a lodge at the base of the Southern Alps in stunning Lord of the Rings scenery.  

Celia and I are off to Asia for a month so my next thoughts will be from sent from Chiang Mai. We are also starting our new Stray blog, follow what we are up to at blog.straytravel.com.

Cheers

Neil

P.S. Thanks to Dan and Michael for the accomm, Mat for helping me smash myself up in the bush and Nat and the crew for being you!

P.P.S. Check out the Mojosnow “Roadie” in New Zealand at mojosnow.com – this new trip will be huge!

Mojosnow

The snow has well and truly arrived, the North and South Island fields are pumping! Over a metre of snow fell on Ruapehu last week, Queenstown has been coated to lake level and half of the country is covered in the white, fluffy stuff! Mojosnow bookings have started flooding in with travellers keen to get amongst the action on both islands. Our epic, ‘6 Day South Island Roadie’ which explores some of the South Island’s best fields and scenery has departures booked in August. The self-drive package options are proving really popular also! What better way to head to the mountain than in a Spaceship equipped with racks, chains, a fridge for the après ski beers, iPod/MP3 connectors for tunes and coffee cup holders for the essential morning wake up!  Mojosnow packages are totally flexible and can include everything from transport, accommodation and our epic Mojo Multi-Pass (lift passes) which can be exchanged for activities such as Milford Sound cruises, skydives, bungy jumps and bar tabs.

For more information, training or enquiries please contact nemo@spaceshipsrentals.co.nz or the glowing Catrin Pepper at reservations on 09 526 2140 or sales@mojosnow.co.nz.

Cheers,

Nemo

Golden Backpack Awards

It’s that time again - voting is now open for the Golden Backpack Awards. Because we are the best, why not take a second to vote for us – click here for voting forms!

Vote for Stray and Adventure Tours NZ as the best National Tour/Transport Operator!

Vote for Spaceships as the best National Car/Camper Rental Operator In NZ and Oz!

Vote for The Barn as the best Hostel/Accommodation in NZ!

Love Story Of The Month

“I just wanted to email and let you know that in two weeks I am marrying the man I met and fell in love with in December 2008 on the Stray bus in New Zealand! We met waiting for the bus in Nelson and travelled with 'Number Two' until we went our separate ways in Queenstown. Needless to say our separation didn’t last long!

So Stray and New Zealand will always hold a very special place in our hearts!

Thank you and kind regards,

Katie (and Gerry)”

STRAY LOVE ALL THE WAY!

Blonde Story Of The Month

An Irish blonde female asked Nat the driver one day, “What are all the filing cabinets doing in the paddocks?”

Nats reply: “Ummm, the beehives you mean?”

“Oh I thought they were documents regarding the cows!”

IT MUST BE HARD BEING IRISH AND BLONDE!

Catch ya further off the beaten track!

Team Stray and Space

If you do not wish to receive these email updates or if there is anyone else in your team who you think deserves to get the news, please let me know: julia@straytravel.co.nz. Ta.

PS yay the snow is here!