Travel

We arrived in Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, on time, and quickly transferred to Viking Njord (for only its 5th trip since being launched in April 2012) to drop our bags and go exploring.

As long as I can remember, I've kept a bottle of lavender oil on hand to ward off coughs, colds and insect bites; to clean and heal wounds; to assist sleep and diminish anxiety; and simply because I love the intoxicating smell of this magical floral herb.

Derek Greslewski, author of My Trout Diaries, A Year of Fly Fishing in New Zealand, takes a close look at the Tongariro River loop track, through trout-fishers' paradise

Last week I decided to book a flight to Melbourne to give my support to Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic during their final against Vixens at Hisense Arena in Melbourne.

At Easter we decided to catch up with relatives and check out New Plymouth. We took our bikes to enable us to explore the Coastal Walkway.

Do you think of huge, bustling Beijing as a city with eco lodges at its doorstep?

You know you're in for a different sort of dining experience when the place supplies disposable plastic gloves. We've come up steep, narrow stairs to a tiny box of a restaurant lined with white plastic walls.

Best to take a half-empty suitcase if you visit Shanghai. The shopping is vast and varied, from to the very best brands in the world to fake knock-offs you can bargain hard for.

When even our kids can't ride a bike without a helmet, the wind-in-hair sensation is a feeling they'll never know. For grown-ups it's just a memory.

If you're going to try the most famous Chinese dish in the world, then what better place to go than the place that keeps on winning awards for the best Peking Duck in Peking?