helloworld Travel Mt Maunganui - Recent staff trips

I really wanted to explore more of the USA,  and as a solo traveler especially a female solo traveler I was quite nervous to travel alone when I was recommended Contiki tours. Tours tailored for 18–35-year-old travelers to explore the world and get to meet others with the same love of travelling!

Arriving in Fort Worth Texas USA it felt like as soon as I reached our hotel, where we were to start the tour the next day, the tour had already started! The Tour Manager Alex had set us up in a WhatsApp chat a few days before so we could introduce ourselves and a few of the other travelers put out a call if anyone wanted to explore downtown Fort Worth as a pre tour get to know each other! And boy was it a blast! We ubered down to Fort Worth Stockyards which was booming with cowgirls and boys out on the town. We had a quick dinner at a hole in the wall eatery where the culture shock immediately hit me when I asked for a lemon lime and bitters and got a glass full of lemon and lime juice with nothing else! (And oh, it was bitter alright ha-ha). From there we walked the busy streets over to the world’s largest Honky Tonk! Standing at 3 acres Billy Bobs Honky Tonk was a country fans dream! Complete with over 8 bars, dance floor, concert hall, BBQ restaurant, pool table, and a professional bull riding grade bull riding arena inside the bar! Talk about a wild ride! Before back to the hotel ready to start the tour!!

Day 1

Day 1 begins with a proper meeting with Tour Manager Alex and the rest of the travelers on the tour, we were only a small group this round with the capacity at 40 on the tour our group of 12 had the pick of the sets on the coach, and made it the perfect size group to get to know everyone really well. Also shout out to our amazing coach driver Bob, he was a legend! Once that was out of the way we headed back down to Fort Worth Stockyards to witness this historical town in action, once known for its livestock, it is now a true testament to the western lifestyle. We toured the stockyards, got to pet the horses, visit the John Wayne Museum and explored some interesting souvenir shops. Cowboy boots anyone? Before it was time for the twice daily cattle drive, where longhorn cattle walk the streets of Fort Worth in a truly fantastic display, surrounded by cowboys on horseback you get transported back to the old west! But we didn’t stay for long because we were headed off to Austin Texas ! Now I’ve never been a coach travelling fan before but I have fully converted after this trip, with long journeys ahead of us Tour Manager Alex decorated our coach to the nines old west style! We played icebreakers and trivia games galore before we got introduced to our day song (House party by Sam Hunt) to get us in the mood to explore the south! To play every morning on the coach to get us in the adventurer spirit. Arriving in Austin felt quick as anything before we headed out to a local restaurant Revelry Kitchen and Bar and I was introduced to my first of many chicken burgers (they call them chicken sandwiches in the USA, and I can’t tell you how many times I got confused asking for a sandwich at burger joint).

Day 2 -  Austin TX

Day 2 in Austin began with a bang as we were up at the crack of dawn heading out to Kayak ladybird lake aka Colorado River with Rowing Deck. Our kayak guide Riley was wicked, not only telling us all about his life growing up on the water in Austin, but showing us all the local wildlife (we saw turtles!) and even showing us a secret huge rope swing which we introduced to the kiwi Manu once or twice! Then back home to the hotel to nap off the morning before heading out to try some traditional Texas BBQ at Ironworks BBQ and let me tell you it is divineeeee!

Day 3

Day 3 had us saying goodbye Austin, hello San Antonio, with a quick pit stop at Gruene , the cutest little town almost untouched by time. With retro convenience stores, second hand shops, cute boutiques full of handmade pottery, wacky shirts and signs, and the famous Gruene Hall . We arrived in San Antonio and got straight into a walk of the Historic Market Square a colour hub of Latin American culture! And lunch for some classic tex-mex at La Margarita Mexican Restaurant & Oyster Bar . And our tour manager even found us Cascarones to crack, a Latin American easter tradition where you crack hollow eggs full of confetti and glitter on each other in celebration. We even saved one to sneak attack our Tour Manager later! Before we were off for a walking tour of San Antonio getting to explore the Majestic Theater , the original site of the Spanish governors Palace , San Fernando Church and ending at the famous Alamo ! (of course, taking a group pic!) We then were given the afternoon to ourselves to wander the city, I chose to explore the gorgeous Riverwalk with a comically large virgin pina colada in hand before we met back up to have dinner at a quirky restaurant called Dicks last resort , where the food is great and the staff are mean. Literally that’s their schtick, you pay to be insulted, would highly recommend for a silly night.

Day 4

Day 4 was another early start for our trek down to Houston Texas baby! And we hit the ground running in Houston heading straight to the Houston Space Center . We got to spend nearly 5 hours at the Space Center and it was the perfect amount of time to see everything! From a self guided tour to witness the history of rockets (from the creation to launch systems to the first Americans in space all the way up to the actual Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo missions from 1968 to 1972). To walking inside an actual shuttle and converted shuttle carrier made from the bones of a Boeing 747. Even getting to witness Tom Hanks 270˚ wide documentary experience “MOONWALKERS” on the history of astronauts and the future of moon landings with the much-anticipated Artemis Missions. We even got to see some actual yellow school buses from school field trips arriving at the space center the same time as us. After leaving the space center we were back on the coach to find a tasty late lunch at POST Houston a cultural hub for all things food entertainment and markets!

Day 5

Day 5 had us on the road at the break of dawn heading down to New Orleans, Louisiana ! Of course, trekking down watching Princess and the Frog to get us in the Bayou spirit as we slowly started to see the rolling plains of Texas fade to the bayou and marsh of Louisiana! (Absolutely my favourite leg of the coach journey. The highway travels over the bayou for a large portion of the journey to New Orleans making you feel like you already part of the scenery) Making a quick stop at a Trader Joes for lunch (think if a supermarket and Hawaii combined in the deep south) before we arrived in the French Quarter at our hotel for the next 3 nights, only 1 block away from Bourbon Street ! And we arrived in style doing a quick orientation of the French quarter, with beads thrown at us from the balconies, before Contiki shouted complementary beignets, (a puffed donut-type desert covered in icing sugar and sometimes honey) at the Musical Legends Park enjoying the delicious New Orleans delicacy serenaded by the sounds of crooning saxophone from a balcony of a local’s home across the road. Before we headed back to the hotel to celebrate one of our group’s birthdays New Orleans style with King Cake! To amazing to be described this colourful treat has to be tried! Before we headed back out for silly shirt night along bourbon street.

Day 6

Day 6 had a group of us waking up early to visit the famous Café du Monde, the oldest coffee shop in New Orleans opening in 1862, its menu largely unchanged selling dark roast chicory coffee and beignets. But that’s definitely all they need with lines down the block even at opening time telling you just how delicious these beignets are! I became a little obsessed even purchasing a Café du monde beignet mix to bring home a taste of New Orleans. After our morning treat it was free time all day, where we walked the riverbanks seeing the iconic riverboat chugging along, visiting voodoo shops (be careful of taking photos inside voodoo is not to be messed with in Louisiana!) and plenty of quirky boutiques. Lunch today was a craw broil at the Fiery Crab , my advice, wear the gloves! Ha-ha! The architecture of New Orleans took my breath away the French inspiration, the details, the colour, the smells, the iconic balconies over bourbon street. It was a dream! Our dinner that night was extra special with Contiki organizing a cooking class for us at the Louisiana School of Cooking where we were taught to make homemade jambalaya, gumbo, bread pudding and so much praline we couldn’t finish it (we packaged up the left over praline and it ended up lasting us till the end of the trip it was so good!) before winding up the night at The Spotted Cat jazz club dancing the night away!

Day 7

Would you believe day 7 and our last full day in New Orleans began with the hunt for Beignets and coffee? (I got a little obsessed ha-ha) We had a free morning this morning with a group of us taking the tram (only $3!) out to the Garden District . Where we wandered through beautiful old buildings and gorgeous massive trees creating a canopy above like you’re in a whole new world. We visited some local bookshops, saw an abandoned firehouse, went thrift shopping at the local boutiques ( vagabond vintage was wicked with everything from band shirts from the 50s to colourful pieces from all over the world) before stopping for lunch at Mahoney’s Po-boys , for a po-boy a New Orleans staple (almost like a sandwich and a panini had a baby) before we rushed back to the hotel to make our tour booking of an alligator airboat ride through the bayou with Airboat Adventures , exploring the winding trails, beautiful trees and wildlife. The guides even help get you up close and personal with some of their local alligators tempting them with tasty marshmallows to get them as close as 1 meter away! We ended the day with our own dinner and I tried pop-eyes famous for the Louisiana hot chicken!

Day 8

We now have to say goodbye to the land of Beignets and jazz but fear not next stop the home of the king and blues capital of the world, ladies and gents we are off to Memphis, Tennessee ! After a long 8 hours’ drive we arrived just in time for dinner in a rainy Memphis so after a quick bus tour of Memphis we stop for dinner at Central BBQ , located opposite the civil rights museum built around the site of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination! Before early to bed before the next big day!

Day 9

We are “walking in Memphis” for day 9! Starting our day where all must with a tour of Sun studios the original recording studios where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and many more made their mark on the music world. We even got to hold the microphone Elvis recorded on! We then went for a walk along Beale Street before heading to the Peabody Hotel home of the famous duck parade. We ended up just missing the parade but we did get to see spectacular sight of the famous ducks enjoying their fountain. But that was all we had time to wander that morning because then we were off to Graceland home of Elvis Presley. A huge compound that not only includes Elvis’s mansion where he raised his family (that you can actually tour through!), but museums of his entire vehicle collection, his tour jumpsuits and memorabilia, his gravesite, his private plane named for his daughter Lisa Marie and so much more. If you are a fan of the King of rock and roll,  this is the place to visit. We then wound down the afternoon with a tour of the rock and soul museum to learn more about Memphis’ rich history of music, before having dinner on Beale Street with a goodbye to Memphis watching a live blues band at the Blues City Café .

Day 10

A new day means a new city and we are saying goodbye to one music capital and hello to another because we were off to Nashville Tennessee.  Today’s coach stop was at the Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store, an old-school ice cream parlor with a Southern buffet in a 19th-century general-store setting for a quick bite before we were off again. Our Coach dropped us off right in the Heart of Nashville on Broadway Street . The main street of Nashville full of Honky Tonks, cowboy boots and country music! After a delicious lunch at Lainey Wilsons Bell Bottoms Up Bar with my first taste of Authentic Nashville Hot chicken (HOTTTT but delicious!) A few of us who hadn’t yet bought ourselves a pair of cowboy boots went shopping at a few of the numerous boutiques before we headed back to the hotel – Comfort inn and suites downtown - which in true Nashville style had a pool in the shape of a guitar!! Where we could rest up and change ready for a night on the town, roof-top bar hopping from Luke combs category 10 roof top bar to Lainey Wilsons bell bottoms up bar and ending the night with live music at Honky Tonk central !

Day 11

Day 11 was a foodie day! Today was our Make Travel Matter excursion with a trip out to Nearest Green Distillery a 458-acre whiskey distillery founded by Nathan ‘Nearest' Green, the first known African American master distiller in the world. His Family has carried on his legacy and remains fully African American and women owned! Though many may not know his name just yet they will definitely have heard of his mentee famed Tennessee whiskey maker Jack Daniel. We had a tour through the facility through the barrels of aromatic whiskey as well as into the bottling facility where we got to watch them hand dip and label a few bottles before we could take part in a whiskey tasting surrounded by images and stories of the first 100 employees of Uncle Nearest. After returning back to Nashville, we then had some free time to do some much needed shopping! Which of course had to include some goodies like cookie dough scoops from Nobaked cookie dough (the chocolate chip and red velvet were to die for!) and a stop at the best Nashville hot chicken in town Hattie B’s , and when they say hot, they mean it! It was knock your socks off good! And a visit to Savannah Candy Kitchen , a real-life candy land complete with toffee apples, fudge candy and a candy train! We even got to see a bike bus in action for a hen’s night! Which looked like so much fun!!!

Day 12

Ahh it’s the last full day on the tour! But we were going out with a bang! We explored the Country Music hall of fame , with all the greats including an added on tour of the Dollywood exhibit ! Before a few of us made our way to a free line dancing class at Luke Comb’s Category 10 bar . And I have to say line dancing in my cowboy boots is a memory I will hold onto for life!! With live music driving us on we danced till we dropped! Before our last dinner all together at Pinewood social to reminisce about our favourite stops on the tour and to get everyone’s socials to keep in contact before out for one last hurrah on the town before an early flight home!