Michael Zehender rounds up the seagoing palaces entering the water for the first time next year.

The brash, bold Texas of JR Ewing's day is still there, but is now overlaid with a veneer of culture, writes Samuel Muston.

Pamela Wade meets some cute Kiwi expats on an island near Perth.

Most Kiwis are partial to a good cuppa. Many are also partial to a nice wine. And in Sri Lanka, you can have both in one glass.

Hundreds of Auckland-bound passengers have been delayed overnight in China after a fault with the brakes on an Air New Zealand Dreamliner aircraft.

In one region in Italy, some are rethinking the future of tourism, writes Venetia Sherson.

Paul Rush, a roving hobbit, discovers the true meaning of the 'craic' in the west of Ireland.

Off the Japanese coast, Eric Young explores an island where stunning art meets brilliant architecture.

Olly Grant steps into the past at Guedelon, built using strictly medieval methods.

First-timer Derek Cheng heads to Burning Man in the Nevada desert in search of fun and dancing.

Tristram Clayton finds much to sing about cruising on the enormous Anthem of the Seas.

An unexpected visitor sends Ewan McDonald scurrying for his life.

Steve Braunias finds a fortress of New Zealand pride on a Fijian resort island full of Australians.

First documents are rolling off the printing presses as Kiwis rush to snap up the extended travel essential.

Farrah has a nose for divine earthy truffles buried deep in the Bordeaux soil. Catherine Masters meets a talented collie.

Graham Reid has an unexpectedly rewarding time in Newcastle, NSW.

You'll leave your heart there once you've experienced its charms.

The City of Angels is speakeasy central, writes Shandelle Battersby.

Our day-trip dollars become micro-loans to empower rural women, writes Naomi Estall.

On a fine Croatian island, Winston Aldworth learns of local claims to a great traveller.

Michael Antonievich makes up for missing a morning riding the waves in Fiji.

A free guided tour in Perth's Kings Park is a great way to get a feel for the subtly beautiful Western Australian flora, finds Anna King Shahab.

Driving the 'Mother Road', Route 66, Russell Contreras searches for the works of Kerouac and Hemingway at the many used bookstores along the way.

With a yawning hole nearly 2km deep at his feet, Mark Meredith looks - very gingerly - into the abyss in Arizona.

With Mads and Borge in harness, Grant Bradley is in safe paws gliding through the pine forests above the Arctic Circle.

Summer never ends in this pocket of California, so make the most of it.

James Edgar accomplishes his mission of skiing in the tracks of 007 in Soelden.

On a freezing evening in Berlin, Ewan McDonald walks among the ghosts of those who paid the ultimate price for a new life.

He lived, he loved, he sang, he ate. Ewan McDonald hangs out in Luciano Pavarotti's modest retreat in northern Italy.