Golden Bay, New Zealand: A serious alternative to Abel Tasman National Park

Located in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, the town of Taupo sits sublimely in the shadow of the snow-capped peaks of Tongariro National Park. Fittingly, this 40,000-person lakeside town has recently become one of New Zealand's most popular tourist destinations, as hikers, trout fishers, water sports enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies have started descending upon it.

Already valued at an estimated $185 billion, the worldwide ecotourism segment is expected to exceed $374 billion in global impact within the decade.

Calling all job hunters: the city of Wellington, New Zealand, is welcoming Americans to move and work in the county's capital — touting its great work/life balance.

In the century-plus since its inception in 1910, Glacier National Park in northwest Montana — the Crown of the Continent — has seen drastic changes. 

The chance to spot a bear, bison, or bald eagle in the wild is one of the major reasons travelers visit the United States’ 63 national parks. You might assume that a megafauna mecca like Yellowstone National Park would offer the best odds of seeing multiple animals. 

Air New Zealand has this week announced a new in-flight menu that places emphasis on local flavors and ingredients that are unique to New Zealand. A Taste of Aotearoa is onboard Business Premier cabins now and will be available on all long-haul flights specifically out of New Zealand. The creative menu features local food producers and fresh and locally sourced ingredients.

Enter the Babich Wines “Trip to New Zealand” sweepstakes by August 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-night trip for two to New Zealand, including air to and within New Zealand; hotels in Auckland, Marlborough, and Queenstown; choice of activities; and a NZD$1,000 gift card.

When the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) proposed drastic hikes to admission fees last fall, the reaction was swift and negative. It seems the NPS heard what people will saying.

Forget the free food and fancy drinks—the best thing about flying first class is the seats. Specifically, the ability to lie down, which makes a huge difference in comfort on a long-haul flight.

Glacier National Park is one of the most gorgeous parks in the national park system. The sprawling park is in northern Montana and is home to some of the oldest glaciers in the US — not to mention wildlife like grizzly and brown bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pumas, wolves, elk, moose, and more. The park has gorgeous day hikes running between half a mile or 20 miles, and some of the best backcountry backpacking in the US. You can even hike from the US into Waterton Lakes National Park, the attached national park just on the other side of the US-Canada border.

Tsingy National Park (full name: The Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park) is a national park in Madagascar. The name “tsingy” comes from a Malagasy word meaning “walking on tiptoes,” which is an apt description of the landscape of the park. It is known for its unique karst formations, formed by rain that dissolved the soft limestone over time, creating sharp, rocky spires.

Winter may not seem like the ideal time to visit the wilds of a national park, but really there’s no bad time to enjoy the beauty of America’s public lands. Some national parks in temperate or even tropical climates are better to visit in winter when they’re free from the scalding heat of summer. If you don’t mind the potential for a bit of snow, you’ll enjoy relative quiet in some of the larger parks visited en masse during warmer months.