Visit my websites at www.travelwriters.com/richardvarr or www.varrwriter.com.  I am a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).

I just returned from New Zealand and added the below blogs.

Above the Tasman Glacier. Photo by Richard Varr

Our helicopter swerves over the sharp and peaked edges of the snow-packed mountain range, where our final destination is now in clear view.  We’re headed for the flat, ice-covered floor of the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand’s largest.

Upon landing, I can hear the crunch as my feet step onto freshly-fallen snow that will soon be part of the thick glacial ice.

Walking on the Tasman Glacier. Photo by Richard Varr

There’s not a footprint in sight as I gaze at the frozen valley of white before me – snow-covered mountain peaks shrouded by both wispy and puffy layers of cloud bands above.

Richard on the glacier.

“It’s just something that can’t be touched – it’s totally natural,” trumpets Mark Hayes, our chopper pilot and guide.  “The glacier is alive – no two ways about that.  It moves during a 24-hour period, eight inches a day, and it changes all the time.”

Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake: helicopter view. Photo by Richard Varr

Within Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, the Tasman Glacier is now 27 kilometers (17 miles) in length.  Slowly receding like most glaciers around the world, it blackened rock-covered edge breaks apart into icebergs and melts into the milky pale-blue waters of the Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake, the water’s opaque color due to a high concentration of “rock-flour,” or finely ground rock from the moving glacier.

Local guides tell me the glacier is losing about 200 meters a year, but snowfall continues to add to its thickness, as it takes 30 feet of snow to compress into one foot of glacial ice.

Aoraki/Mount Cook in a cloud swirl. Photo by Richard Varr

I stayed one night within the National Park – part of my three day adventure in this mountainous region of New Zealand’s South Island.  At every corner of the park, with its commanding rocky ridges and sturdy pine tree forests, it’s easy to catch a glimpse of Aoraki/Mount Cook, the country’s tallest mountain.

Statue of Sir Edmund Hillary with Aoraki/Mount Cook in the distance. Photo by Richard Varr

At The Hermitage, a multi-story upscale hotel in Mount Cook Village offering excellent views, a statue of Sir Edmund Hillary stares intently at the 12,316-foot-high Mount Cook.  A New Zealand native, Hillary climbed Mount Cook in 1948, but became a legend five years later when he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay were the first known climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Hiking in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Photo by Richard Varr

Several hiking paths in and around Mount Cook Village lead to rocky outposts, scenic river and lake vistas, and closeup views of the area’s three nearby glaciers.

Later that day, I gaze upon yet another view of the Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake from above; this time reaching the top of an adjacent mountaintop traversing rock and gravel-filled roads in 4×4 vehicles.  “It’s a bit of a moonscape and it’s so crystal clear up here,” says guide Willy Nunn.  “And the air taste delicious.”

“When there’s no wind, there’s dead silence,” he adds, “with only the sounds of the gravel falling down in mini avalanches.”

Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake from atop a mountain, with blackened glacial tongue. Photo by Richard Varr

WATCH VIDEO BELOW!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mount Cook Ski Planes (and Helicopter Tours): www.mtcookskiplanes.com

Tasman 4WD and Argo Tours:  www.mountcooktours.co.nz

The Hermitage:  www.hermitage.co.nz

VIDEO

Thermal crater in Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland. Photo by Richard Varr

Greater Rotorua is an astounding dichotomy.  The natural beauty of rolling hills and aquamarine lakes contrasts to its volcanic activity with boiling mud pits, hissing fumaroles, yellow-streaked sulfur mounds and spitting, gurgling geysers.  And there’s no mistaking the sulfurous smells wafting through the air. Nonetheless, the area’s geothermal characteristics make it indeed a one-of-a-kind attraction.

Champagne Pool. Photo by Richard Varr

I visited the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland with its craters filled with chalky-green waters, sulfur residues and crude oil slicks; its trickling waterfalls; and the bubbling and steaming Champagne Pool, named so because of its orange-tinted mineral deposits lining the pool’s perimeter.

Lady Knox Geyser. Photo by Richard Varr

Nearby Wai-o-tapu is the small Lady Knox Geyser which spouts daily just after 10 AM.

The Whakarewarewa Thermal Area includes the large Phohutu Geyser, shooting steaming water as high as 100 feet and erupting on average of 10 to 25 times a day.  “There are so many things I see in a geyser.  There’s a power, a strength and the ability that has to change,” explains Whakarewarewa guide Shane Marshall.  “When I look to the base of the geyser, there’s all that strength you can see from the actual base.  When it first comes out of the ground, there’s intense strength pushing the water out.”

Pohutu Geyser. Photo by Richard Varr

“We as a people, we pull all of our strength from the environment around us,” Marshall continues.  “So what that tells me is anytime I need strength I just need to look to the environment to remind me of it.  As the water comes up it changes, so again that offers me the ability to look and see change, going from intensely hot to cold.”

Meeting House. Photo by Richard Varr

Whakarewarewa also has the Ngā Mōkai-a-Koko Mud Pool, formed by volcanic acid gases and steam decomposing minerals to form clay called Kaolin.  Nearby is the Thermal Village with its indigenous people’s Māori meeting house and village; and Te Puia with the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and its own village as well, offering live cultural performances, carvings and weavings.  “The village and meeting house give people the opportunity to come and see who we are and to see our living  and ceremonial areas, without actually intruding on us as a people,” notes Marshall.

The "Devil's Bath," a crater with water colored by ferrous salts and sulfur. Photo by Richard Varr

Other natural wonders and attractions include the expansive Lake Rotorua, popular for water sports, fishing and boating; the Buried Village encompassing what remains of a village after the 1886 Mount Tarawera volcanic eruption; and the Polynesian Spa, with thermal pools fed by underground springs.

For more information:    www.rotoruanz.com

VIDEO: Pohutu Geyser

VIDEO

Photo by Richard Varr

Māori singers perform on November 8, 2011 during the opening pōwhiri ceremony of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) annual convention in Wellington, New Zealand.  The country’s indigenous people, Māori make up about 15 percent of New Zealand’s population. The pōwhiri ceremony is a formal Māori welcome for visitors; in this case, the American and Canadian travel writers.  An image of the traditional Māori meeting house is behind the singers.

Watch the performance:

By Richard Varr

Richard at 13,114 feet elevation.

A cold wind howls through the mountain passes as I gaze upon the jagged peaks towering over the historic town of Telluride – not looking up at them, mind you, but instead looking straight out.  That’s because I’m 13,114 feet high atop Imogene Pass – so high, it seems, that I can almost touch the puffy strands of clouds above.

It took a couple hours or so to reach this altitude.  Our 4-wheel-drive vehicle maneuvered rough rock-filled roads carved along steep mountainsides, all part of the Imogene Pass/Tomboy Ghost Town Tour.

Views up the Imogene Pass/Tomboy Tour. Photo by Richard Varr

Our journey led us deep into the San Juan Mountains to the once notorious gold rush mining town of Tomboy, where dilapidated cabins and splintered wood beams now clutter the landscape along some of Colorado’s most dramatic high country views.  We then continued to ascend the mountain range, passing shimmering waterfalls, driving over makeshift stone bridges and eventually along two-mile-high roads carved through ice drifts as we approached the summit.

Tomboy ruins. Photo by Richard Varr

This adventure, offered by tour operator Telluride Outside, was just one highlight of my visit last July to the year-round resort area.

What started as a rugged mining town in the late 1800s, due to its vast silver and mineral deposits, would eventually blossom into a world-class ski destination, festival hub and vacation getaway.

Gondolas above Mountain Village. Photo by Richard Varr

The actual historic town itself, designated a National Historic Landmark, sits in a box canyon at 8,750 feet elevation and connects with neighboring Mountain Village using a free gondola transportation system,

the only one of its kind in North America.  With its upscale hotels, spas, restaurants and shops, Mountain Village at 9,545 feet elevation is also home to the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort,

Mountain Village. Photo by Richard Varr

founded in the 1970s when skiing and tourism would eventually replace mining as the area’s major industry.

With the fall upon us, ski season has officially kicked off in Colorado, and the Telluride Ski Resort is looking forward to the upcoming season.  “It’s probably the most beautiful place you’ll ever ski,” says resort spokesman Tom Watkinson.

Ski statue, Mountain Village. Photo by Richard Varr

“Telluride is surrounded by 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks and is one of the highest concentrations of 14-000-foot peaks in North America.  We have skiing from 13,150 feet all the way down to 8,725 feet.”

Along the San Miguel River in Telluride. Photo by Richard Varr

The area includes 2,000 skiable acres with 125 trails, 18 lifts and an average annual snowfall of 309 inches.  And for the non-skier, there’s plenty to do.  “There are spas, galleries, shopping and a history museum,” says Watkinson.  “There’s an extremely rich history in Telluride with the old mining days before skiing started.”  Other winter activities include snowmobiling, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

“The non-skier can come out here with the ski group and be entertained, and not feel like they’re just stuck in the ski lodge and watching the fireplace,” adds Watkinson.

Actual safe robbed by Butch Cassidy in 1889. Photo by Richard Varr

A tour of the old town reveals genuine and dramatic episodes of Wild West history.  In 1889, Butch Cassidy and his gang robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank – his first bank heist.  The outlaws strategically placed horses around town to escape.  They were never caught, and the $24,580 of stolen loot was never recovered.  The bank no longer exists, but a sunglass shop has the actual safe that Cassidy robbed.

Another interesting spot is the so-called “Popcorn Alley,” where prostitutes once worked small shacks known as “cribs.”

"Popcorn Alley." Photo by Richard Varr

“In  Telluride they had a series of seven or eight of them in a row,” explains local historian and tour guide Lauren Bloemsma.  “The doors opened and closed so rapidly throughout the evening, that the street became known as Popcorn Alley, and it’s still known as that today.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  www.visittelluride.com

LODGING

Hotel Madeline in Mountain Village. Photo by Richard Varr

The Hotel Madeline, opened in 2008, is the top luxury resort hotel in Telluride.  Located in Mountain Village, the hotel has one, two and three bedroom suites, and one, two, three and four bedroom condos and penthouses.  Guests enjoy the full service Spa Linnea, two restaurants, indoor pool, ski valet, family and children’s activities.   (www.hotelmadelinetelluride.com)

Telluride Ski & Golf Resort (www.tellurideskiresort.com) and the Hotel Madeline recently announced a partnership whereby the hotel will become the official hotel of the resort.

DINING

View from outside Allred's Restaurant: Telluride in a box canyon below. Photo by Richard Varr

I suggest a visit to Allred’s Restaurant, atop the mountain peak between Telluride and Mountain Village.  The gondola stops there; elevation 10,550 feet above sea level.  It’s a pricy restaurant, but at least have a cocktail and enjoy the view.   www.allredsrestaurant.com

Central Telluride. Photo by Richard Varr

Telluride on Dwellable

The Frauenkirche. Photo by Richard Varr

The setting sun illuminates the domed façade of the Frauenkirche with a golden glow.  The so-called Church of Our Lady is Dresden’s most famous silhouette and one of the city’s most visited landmarks.

The 18^thcentury view painter Bernardo Bellotto repeatedly captured its iconic image on canvas – an image now branded on mugs, tourist books and souvenirs, and used in commercial advertising.  For me, beholding the colossal Baroque church was a special moment.  Upon visiting in 2002, I saw it under reconstruction amidst a pile of stubby boulders and chipped rock.

The Frauenkirche and New Market Square. Photo by Richard Varr

In February 1945, American and Allied air forces dropped phosphorous bombs, carpeting the city with a firestorm that destroyed the church and other historic sites.  The amassed rubble sat there until rebuilding began.  The Frauenkirche finally reopened in 2005 with the same Baroque glory – inside and outside – when first completed in 1743.

Evening service inside the Frauenkirche. Photo by Richard Varr

Richard self photo with Frauenkirche.

“The cross atop of the church was buried under the rubble for 45 years.  You can imagine the surprise and the gratitude when the cross was found, deformed but not destroyed,” says Pastor Sebastian Feydt during an evening service.  “The church not only reminds us of the destruction and suffering that war brings, but as a symbol of hope, it shows us that wounds heal and reconciliation is possible.”

Landmarks highlighting Dresden’s Saxon Royalty include the Zwinger Palace, Royal Palace and the Hofkirche (cathedral) – which today house museums, gardens and walkways that have made Dresden one of Europe’s culture capitals.

Furstenzug (Procession of Dukes) frieze at night, with Hofkirche. Photo by Richard Varr

Others landmarks include, to name a few, the Augustus Bridge, the Semper Opera House, City Hall and the Bruhlsche Terrasse, a promenade above the Elbe River referred to as “Europe’s Balcony.”

"All burn" at the 2011 Plano Balloon Festival. Photo by Richard Varr

They stand like giant and colorful light bulbs – glowing, flickering and illuminating the night sky.  It’s Saturday night at the 2011 Plano Balloon Festival where I’m watching an “all burn,” where balloonists fire their propane burners in unison – a syncopated burst of flames shooting up in more than a dozen now glowing balloons.  The gently swaying aircraft sport bold patterns, sponsor names and cartoon-like faces – a colorful cacophony of creativity and aeronautical design.

Firing the burner. Photo by Richard Varr

Held every September, this year’s Plano Balloon Festival was the 32^nd annual event.  It’s Texas’ largest such festival with liftoffs during the early morning and evening, when free-floating balloons drift along a landscape of long shadows and orange sunrises and sunsets.

“You’re standing in a basket and it’s not like your flying,” says John Cavin, pilot of the Purple People Eater balloon.  “It’s like the Earth is revolving underneath you.  That’s the feeling you get when you’re up there.”

I attended the three-day event on Saturday, September 17^th.  Wind gusts ruled the late afternoon and early evening, and for a while pilots where skeptical whether their balloons would ever take shape, as flight seemed out of the question.

Balloons taking shape at Oak Point Park. Photo by Richard Varr

But at dusk, Mother Nature took a breather perhaps as winds finally died down.  Suddenly, Oak Point Park’s throng of festival goers cheered as electric fans whirled and burners blasted flames into the balloons as they slowly came alive.

To get balloons airborne, they’re first laid flat on the ground.  Crews use fans to inflate them while sideways, and once suitably inflated, burners shoot bursts of heat to give the balloon lift.  Once the air is hot enough, the balloons tilt upwards and baskets are positioned for launch.

"All burn." Photo by Richard Varr

Flights can be tricky and sometimes unpredictable, often at the mercy of wind gusts and weather conditions, with the pilot having the final say on whether the balloon will take off.  “My mind is one of safety – what can I do to make sure this flight ends up peacefully,” says pilot Phil Bryant with the Texas Council on Propane balloon.  “I always try to position myself, the balloon and the passengers in a way that the landing is really the most important part of the flight.  It’s the landing that really makes the difference.”

John Cavin (left) and Phil Bryant. Photo by Richard Varr

“There are no two landings alike,” adds Cavin.

Flights this year were $250 per passenger, and the festival had fireworks, marathons and other events to entertain those wanting to stay on solid ground.

“It’s a way of enjoying aviation that you can’t in any other type of aircraft,” says Bryant.  “We can float over bodies of water.  We can pick a leaf off the top of a tree.  You can’t do that in any other type of aircraft.”

VIDEO of “All Burn” with Countdown

For more information:

www.planoballoonfest.org

www.planocvb.com

How many progressive and popular restaurants actually pay close attention to calorie count for every item on the menu?  The Seasons 52 chain, with its Plano restaurant the only one in Texas, promises that nothing on its menu is more than 475 calories, with some items less than 200. “You can have four courses here and not break 1,000 calories,” says server Sirus Ornzoff.  And that can be a tall order for entrees that sound mouthwatering – Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon, Wood-Roasted Pork Tenderloin, or Caramelized Sea Scallops, to name a few.  The key is “perfect portioning with proper cooking methods” – no butter added and no frying, but instead grilling, brick-oven cooking, roasting and steaming.

Desert options, each less than 475 calories. Photo by Richard Varr

Seasons 52’s menu features more than 100 bottles of wine and 80 by the glass.  The name is inspired by efforts to pluck the ripest farmer’s market foods every week and season throughout the year.

Bishop Park and Lake at Legacy Town Center, Plano. Photo by Richard Varr

Plano, with its sprawling farmland and Texas “big sky,” is home to several high profile companies, the state’s most popular annual hot air balloon festival and Southfolk Ranch from the TV series Dallas.  Those visiting this progressive Dallas suburb have a choice of 34 hotel offering more than 4,300 hotel rooms.  I toured three hotels during my September visit.

Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center. Photo by Richard Varr

Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center (www.marriott.com).  This 404-guestroom hotel sits opposite a scenic pond within The Shops at Legacy center and is in walking distance of more than 80 restaurants, sidewalk cafes and boutiques.  This is a classic and comfortable Marriott property with suites and more than 32,000 feet of meeting space, including an 18,000-square-foot ballroom and amphitheater.

Lounge at the NYLO Hotel, Plano. Photo by Richard Varr

NYLO Hotel (www.nylohotels.com).  With its first hotel in Plano, this progressive hotel brand’s properties, with concrete walls, ultimate modern amenities and piping clinging to high ceilings, are designed to look like an old warehouse in New York City’s Meat-Packing District.  Described by staff as “modern, hip and unique,” Plano’s 176-room NYLO Hotel is a full service facility.

Ultra-modern lobby of the aloft Hotel, Plano. Photo by Richard Varr

aloft Hotel (www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/).  Another ultra-modern, loft-inspired design.  The brand has created new terminology for the hotel industry, where the snack area is called the “refuel area,” the meeting room the “tactic room,” and the pool is referred to as the “splash area” with its “splash towels.”  Maids knocking on doors will say “refresh” instead of “housekeeping.”  “People actually enjoy it because it’s different,” says General Manager Brad Comstock.