Travel Tidbits

A very surprising highlight for us on our trip to New Zealand was Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World in Auckland. It features an excellent aquarium walk-through, a polar theme ride and a museum, all situated underground beneath a highway! — NORM LOEFFLER, Wichita Falls, TX

During our trip to New Zealand in March ’03, we were determined to find a yellow-eyed penguin on our own. Locals suggested Allen’s Beach (near Dunedin, South Island) at 6 p.m. Alone, we hid behind the rocks and blinked as a penguin swam in on a wave, stood up, waddled ashore, preened and assumed yoga poses. We saw yellow-eyed penguins again at Nugget Point in the remote Catlins. At Waikawa, we saw more penguins and Hector’s dolphins at Curio Bay. — JOHN & NANCY OSTHEIMER, Fort Collins, CO

On our European river cruise on the Viking River Cruises’ Viking Pride, we passed through 16 locks on the 106-mile long canal joining the Main and Danube rivers. The locks lifted the ship 1,149 feet and then, after crossing the divide, dropped it 240 feet into the Danube. While cruising the Danube we then passed through four additional locks that dropped the boat to the normal level of the river. — CARROLL CHANDLER, Dallas, TX

Waiting for an early-morning flight out of Chiang Mai, Thailand, I realized that the airport had a “monks only” section. Ladies, do not sit close to that area! I did, to watch the news on a monitor across the way, and the monks next to me moved. Did I feel like the plague! — LILLIE ECHEVARRIA, Livermore, CA

I would highly recommend staying in the center of town in Athens, Greece, either in the Plaka or Monastiraki area rather than the outlying districts. It may be noisier, but it is so nice to be able to walk to the tourist sights and enjoy the feel of the city. We greatly enjoyed our walk through the streets to the National Archaeological Museum one afternoon. Different blocks seemed to specialize in the types of goods they sold. For example, the area around our hotel in the Monastiraki area was mostly hardware stores, and on the way to the museum we passed a block of open-air meat markets. — RICHARD BERNER, San Diego, CA