"It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf." ~Robert Lynd

During my New Zealand Photo Adventure I had the wonderful opportunity to visit  

"The Hills" Golf Course  which opened in Arrowtown, New Zealand in 2007 by Sir Michael Hill.  The course hosted The New Zealand Open in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2014.  It is famous for the beautiful flora, views, and especially the sculptures.  Sir Michael Hill has always loved the arts and wants young people in New Zealand to be exposed to the arts the same way they are in Europe.  "The Wolves are Coming" exhibit is on the 18th fairway and was designed by a Chinese sculptor named Liu Ruowang.  Sir Michael was originally only going to purchase 5 of the pieces, but ended up purchasing the entire 111 piece set.  The horse exhibit on the 7th tee titled "The Frolic and the Fancy" was designed by Max Patte in 2013.  Max is based in Wellington, New Zealand.  Each of the horses weigh about 1.5 tons and are about 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall.

 My photos don't do this fabulous golf course and beautiful sculptures justice, but what a wonderful place to practice one's photography skills!

"The Wolves are Coming" reminded me of several scences in the "Twilight" movie series.

Wolf attack!

Me in the morning before coffee ;)

 I loved the landscaping throughout the course!

Here is "The Frolic and the Fancy"exhibit:

 Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Please let me know if you have any questions remember that your e-mail address will never be published if you leave a comment.  Take care my friends!

~Michelle 

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” -Anonymous

Many of you who read this post already know if traveling with a group is right for you.  I had always been hesitant since I like my space and don't like waiting for others when there is something I want to do.  Over the past year I have traveled with two groups.  One of the trips would be considered luxury travel:  (click on the underlined words following to see a post on this trip)

Luxury travel trip

                 The other would be considered be considered an adventure/humanitarian travel trip:

Adventure/Humanitarian travel

 It would be unfair for me to compare these two trips because that would be like comparing apples and oranges!  Tanzania is a developing country and New Zealand has a thriving economy.  I definitely did learn what I want and can handle in a trip especially with other people.

On one trip, which would be considered adventure and humanitarian travel, to Tanzania with I had to share a room with 3-4 people and sleep on bunk beds.  For two nights of the nine I was there I had to share a bed with another woman.   I also had to share a bathroom with no less than four people.  We only had access to cold or bucket showers which made it impossible for me to wash my waist length hair :(  There was also one night that we were supposed to sleep in a boma in Massai Land.  I didn't go because they were sacrificing a goat and everyone had to drink a little blood or the Massai might be insulted.  I am a strict vegetarian and am very involved in animal rescue.  There was no wifi in the guest houses we stayed at the entire trip.   

It may sound like I'm bashing this group and I really don't mean to - that is NOT my intent.  My intent is to share  some questions that I will always ask when traveling with others.  I feel that I should have known better and asked more questions!  Here are some:

1.  Will I be sharing a room (or a bed) and with how many people?

2.  Will I be sharing a bathroom and with how many people?

3.  Ask for a COMPLETE itinerary so you will know if there are any activities that conflict with your beliefs.

4.    Will any of the places you stay have wifi or any type of internet access?

5.    How often will you be moving from place to place?

6.    If traveling to a developing country, what type of bathroom facilities will be available?  In many developing countries, there is no running water so you might only have a squat type toilet.  

7.    What will your daily schedule be like?  If each day is 12-16 hours, do you have the stamina for it?

8.    What is the food and or meals like?

9.    How much spending money and or cash will I need?

 ***I may add to this list if you want to leave me a comment with other important questions.

 Now that I have told you so many negatives about my trip to Africa, it's only fair that I tell you the positives.  First and foremost, they made sure we were safe and felt safe.  They told us what we needed to know about the culture so we wouldn't offend anyone AND stay safe.  The leaders made sure that I had vegetarian food even though I was the only one on the trip.  They also respected my decision to not spend the night in Masailand for the goat sacrifice. I learned how to use my DSLR camera.  By staying at the guest houses we were financially helping the local people.  I got to see the culture and a side of the country that I would not have if I hadn't been on this trip.  I also got some great photos!  Please see my other post on this trip here:  

Adventure/Humanitarian travel

 http://www.wanderingsearching.com/2014/03/my-humanitarian-journey-and-safari-to-tanzania-africa..html              

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I love to read your comments or questions and and reading other people's blogs as well.  Your e-mail address will never be published.  Until next time, take care my friends!

  ~Michelle

 In late July of 2013 I traveled to Tanzania with a group called "The Giving Lens".  This group was founded by Colby Brown who was the lead photographer for National Geographic for four years.  We visited schools, an orphanage, families affected by AIDS and went on a three day safari in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorogoro Crater.  This trip would be classed as "adventure travel".  During the ten days I was there we stayed in three different areas of Tanzania including Moshi, Karatu, and Robunda.  I have many public albums with hundreds of photos on my Facebook page in case you want to see more.

Participants had the option of sleeping overnight in a boma in Masailand  like this one:

This was one of two group trips that I have been on in the past year or ever for that matter.  I decided to write this post so the post I will be writing later this week might make more sense.  With the growing popularity of group travel, I think it's very, very important to choose the right trip and know what questions to ask before committing to one of these trips.  Here is a brief synopsis of the 10 day trip I went on eight months and nine trips ago.  

Visiting Children in the Schools

I took this photo of Colby Brown and I was honored that he used this photo in an article he wrote on his blog A Road Less Traveled:  

 http://www.colbybrownphotography.com/an-adventure-through-tanzania-with-an-iq260-from-phase-one/

My photo is at the very end :)

The kids loved my sunglasses at the schools we visited:

Visiting Children in an Orphanage

Visiting Massai Land

 Safari in the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorogoro Crater

 I will leave you with a beautiful aerial view of Mount Kilomanjaro, which is the closest I got to the summit, as I was leaving Tanzania:

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I love to read your comments or questions and and reading other people's blogs as well.  Your e-mail address will never be published.  Take care my friends!

  ~Michelle