Blogs > News-Herald Food and Travel

Food and travel captivate Janet Podolak, who chronicles both for The News-Herald. Get the back story of her three decades of stories here. Guest bloggers and fellow News-Herald staffers also periodically share details of their trips.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Revisit New Zealand with writing award

New Zealand for me was in Nov. 2011 but stories written from that epic trip have just earned me a big Mark Twain award - First Place Series in the Midwest Travel Writers Association’s 2012 writing awards. That was last week in Louisville, where the group’s spring meeting gave me opportunities to get the lowdown on bourbon, food, shopping and a zipline inside a cave.

It was a strange switch to look back at my Kiwi Kronicles series while immersed in all things Kentucky. Maybe that’s why I sometimes feel I’m not quite all there, or here, for that matter. .
 I’m summarizing the work here to give you easy access to all the stories, which include some pretty neat you-are-there videos for those viewing them online. Just click on the colored text above to go there directly from here.

Those NZ stories, published early last year, included a look at the native Maori culture, immersion in the scenes where Hobbit films were done, a visit by train to an upscale sheep station, an after dark kayak paddle into a canyon illuminated by glow worms, a soak in hot springs and a trek into a primitive forest. My blogs included a wearable art fashion show in Wellington, a sheep shearing experience and the baa code on merino wool long johns I purchased, and a visit to an 1830s era mission, one of the country’s earliest settlements by Europeans.

 A really amazing interactive map, devised by my colleague Cheryl Sadler, was also a part of the series and I owe her a giant Thank You for her efforts with it. But it’s so cutting edge there was no contest category for entering it, the same scenario for my blogs and videos.
 And I hope you enjoy reading about New Zealand as much as I enjoyed writing about it.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Right on, Janet - good stuff!

May 21, 2013 at 8:18 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Always my favorite part of the news herald! Congratulations Janet

May 21, 2013 at 9:32 PM 
Anonymous Boomergirl said...

You rock 'n roll Janet Podolak. I love your stories. There's always something I can share with others. Just shared your Paris stuff with a friend of mine in Toronto headed there with family this summer. Congratulations on your latest award. Well-deserved!!!

May 28, 2013 at 11:21 AM 

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