Islands of Singular Charm: a Literary, Historical and Cultural Tour of New Zealand – November 2022
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Islands of Singular Charm: A Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of New Zealand – November 2022 7 NOV – 22 NOV 2022 Code: 22253 Tour Leaders Susannah Fullerton, OAM, FRSN, Russell Casey Physical Ratings Explore New Zealand's literary heritage with authors Katherine Mansfield, Janet Frame, Ngaio Marsh and others, and enjoy stunning scenery, great food and warm hospitality. Overview Learn about the literature, history and culture of New Zealand through lectures and site visits by Susannah Fullerton, President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia with the assistance of Russell Casey. Visit the family homes of Katherine Mansfield, Janet Frame, Kate Sheppard and Dame Ngaio Marsh. View rare book collections at the Dunedin Public Library, University of Otago Library and Oamaru Public Library Join author Ruth Williamson on a literary tour of the Otago Peninsula. Visit a country property established by Jane Austen's great-nephews, and home to writer Lady Mary Anne Barker. By 4WD visit Samuel Butler’s ‘Erewhon Station’, and view sites associated with Lord of the Rings. Travel the rugged west coast and visit Fox Glacier on the journey south through Westland National Park. Spend 2 nights at the Lake Moeraki Wildnerness Lodge, in the heart of Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area where local experts will take you though the rainforest into the habitats of glow- worms, Morepork Owls, fur seals and Fiordland Crested Penguins. Near the shores of Lake Wanaka enjoy a poetry reading by poet and playwright, Liz Breslin. Enjoy a scenic drive by 4WD to the setting of Tolkein’s Middle Earth at Glenorchy and the nearby town of Paradise. Travel through the Fiordland National Park encompassing mountain, lake, fiord and rainforest environments. Conclude with a relaxing overnight cruise aboard the Milford Mariner and explore the full length of Milford Sound! Overnight Wellington (3 nights) • Dunedin (2 nights) • Ashburton (2 nights) • Christchurch (2 nights) • Lake Moeraki (2 nights) • Queenstown (2 nights) • Milford Sound Cruise (1 night) • Queenstown (1 night) About the Tour For Katherine Mansfield her native land was made up of “islands of singular charm”. Janet Frame found her country “a territory of loneliness”, while for Ngaio Marsh it was the place she could deposit corpses in boiling mud pools or bales of sheep’s wool. Eleanor Catton in The Luminaries explores its gold-digging past, Samuel Butler wrote of it satirically as a utopia in Erewhon, and Lady Barker described station life in a best-selling book. Visiting writers have also had things to say about New Zealand – from Darwin, Trollope, Kipling and Conan Doyle to more modern authors like Rose Tremain and Paul Theroux, writers have enthused over the scenery, felt overawed by the majestic landscapes, and have loved the people, while film makers have used the breathtaking vistas as backdrops in many movies. This tour will explore the rich literary heritage of New Zealand. There will be visits to the homes of writers and their graves, we will see rare collections in libraries, listen to a contemporary poet read her work, hear about national fellowships for authors, and enjoy guided literary walks in towns and cities. Statues of writers have been included, there will be an unusual visit to a homestead with intriguing Jane Austen associations, and we will walk where stories and novels are set. You will also learn about New Zealand’s past – how it came to be the first nation to give women the vote, how the gold rush shaped its towns, about living off the sheep’s back, and the development of its wine industry. New Zealand’s culture is unique, with its Maori and Pacific Island cultural mix, its emphasis on adventure sports, heading out into the bush, protecting its superb environment, and its sense of being an important little country at the end of the world (or the beginning, as NZ is the first country in the world to Islands of Singular Charm: A Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of New Zealand – November 2022 August 2021 Page 2 see the light of a new day). This tour will show you some of New Zealand’s magnificent scenery, with a spectacular train trip through the mountains, a glacier, a stunning cruise in UNESCO heritage Fiordland, a stay at a luxurious rainforest lodge, bush walks, wildlife and much more. There is only one place on any mainland where you can find an albatross colony – we will visit it and see the birds flying home at the end of a day out at sea. There will be dinner at Parliament House, a picnic by a lake, and other meals where you will enjoy the country’s famed cuisine and national products such as whitebait, Vogels bread, kumara, hokey-pokey icecream, local cheeses and wines. Last year Lonely Planet listed New Zealand in its Top Five Countries in the world to visit. Come and discover why for yourself. Join Kiwi Susannah Fullerton in delving into its literary heritage, viewing its scenic wonders, and revelling in its vibrant, friendly and memorable culture. Islands of Singular Charm: A Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of New Zealand – November 2022 August 2021 Page 3 Leaders Susannah Fullerton, OAM, FRSN President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, Susannah has published several books on Jane Austen and has lectured extensively on famous authors, their lives and works both in Australia and overseas. Susannah Fullerton, OAM, FRSN, majored in English Literature at the University of Auckland. She then completed a postgraduate degree in Victorian fiction and prose at the University of Edinburgh. For over 20 years Susannah has been President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia. She has lectured extensively on Jane Austen in Australia and overseas and has published many articles about Jane Austen’s works. She is the co-author of Jane Austen – Antipodean Views and published Jane Austen and Crime in 2004, and Brief Encounters: Literary Travellers in Australia (Picador) in 2009. Susannah’s latest books are A Dance with Jane Austen, Happily Ever After: Celebrating Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and a new memoir Jane & I: A Tale of Austen Addiction. Susannah is very well known on the Australian speakers’ circuit as a literary lecturer. She gives talks on famous authors, their lives and works, and on history, at the Art Gallery of NSW, State Library of NSW, ADFAS, WEA, schools and for a great variety of clubs and societies. Susannah uses her training in drama to delight her audiences with dramatic readings from novels and poems. Her interest in literature is wide ranging. She is a member of the Dylan Thomas Society of Australia, the Australian Brontë Association, the NSW Dickens Society and she is Patron of the Kipling Society of Australia. She has worked on literary prize committees, organised literary conferences and is a most experienced lecturer and group leader. To discover more about Susannah’s activities, visit www.susannahfullerton.com.au Media coverage of literary tour to the Southern States in 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avFegu_RkpE Russell Casey A dedicated traveller with a passion for calligraphy, miniature paintings and textiles, Russell has travelled extensively through New Zealand, the Middle East, Iran & Central Asia. His language studies include French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Persian & Mandarin. Russell has led ASA’s tours since 2009, especially with Susannah Fullerton on her literary tours. Islands of Singular Charm: A Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of New Zealand – November 2022 August 2021 Page 4 Russell Casey has led tours for ASA since 2009. He has held a fascination for the Middle East, Persia, Central Asia and the Silk Route since studying Latin at school. With a keen interest in languages, Russell studied French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Persian and Chinese (Mandarin). Learning Japanese generated an interest in calligraphy and woodblock prints. Persian and Arabic studies added to the appeal of calligraphy and 'The Art of the Book', which in turn led to visiting some of the great libraries and museums of the United Kingdom and Ireland to view their collections. After independently visiting Turkey, Syria and Jordan, Russell travelled to Iran on the ASA Art and Culture of Persia tour in 2002. In 2005 after completing the ASA Silk Route tour, he revisited Iran to further his understanding of Persian speaking peoples and their arts – including textiles, architecture, gardens and cuisine. He holds a Queensland Ambulance Service first aid certificate, a Master’s degree in Medical Physics and is undertaking independent study in the art, history and culture of Central Asia, the Silk Route and surrounding regions. Russell consults in radiation protection and eHealth, including working as an expert advisor to the IAEA. Islands of Singular Charm: A Literary, Historical and Cultural tour of New Zealand – November 2022 August 2021 Page 5 Itinerary The following itinerary lists a range of site visits which we plan to visit. Many are accessible to the public, but some require special permission which may only be confirmed closer to the tour's departure. The daily activities described in this itinerary may change or be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate alterations in opening hours, flight schedules and confirmation of private visits. The tour price includes breakfast daily, lunches/picnics and evening meals indicated in the detailed itinerary where: B=breakfast, L =lunch/packed picnic and D=dinner. Wellington - 3 nights Day 1: Monday 7 November, Arrive Wellington Airport transfer for participants arriving on the ASA ‘designated’ flight Information Meeting Literary orientation walk Pre-dinner talk from Dr Nicholas Wilson Welcome Evening meal This tour begins in Wellington. Participants taking the ASA ‘designated’ flight are scheduled to arrive in the early afternoon.