Theme travel: where to go and what to do

The Time Traveller

Former journalists Allen Walley and Kevin McCarthy have ventured into the travel industry and developed Time Traveller, a tour company specialising in historical subjects. It is offering an American Civil War trip and another looking at the War of the Roses.

"A lot of places are saturated in drama and history and local colour," Walley says. "If you're telling the story of a battle while standing on the field where it took place it can be extremely atmospheric."

Future possibilities include an Anzac Day tour to Gallipoli, an off-the-beaten-track examination of India's history and an exploration of China's Silk Road.

Contact: ph (04) 381 0385 or visit Time traveller

Gulliver's Events

"A themed tour works on several levels," says Suzanne Robin.

So Robin, who organises all the trips, will make sure an expert guide's on hand and that everything matches. For instance, if you're on the art and architecture tour of New York with Hamish Keith, you stay in a design-oriented boutique hotel.

Other trips include a literary tour of Ireland with broadcaster Brian Edwards, a European motorsport tour with Owen Evans, an operatic tour of Europe accompanied by Dame Malvina Major, "foodie" tours to Australia with either Allyson Gofton or Peta Mathias, and a look at highland flowers in China with gardening specialist Bill Ward.

Because of the price (from $6500 up) and time involved (up to three weeks), Robin's clients tend to be older, usually over 45. She hopes her next tours will take New Zealanders ballroom dancing in a Venetian palace or tobogganing in Russia at Christmas.

Contact: ph (09) 357 2521 or (03) 379 1252.

Epicurean Workshops' Culinary Tour

A small group will tour through southern Australia to savour the tastes and wines of the region, ending with two days on Kangaroo Island, famous for its Ligurian bee honey, farmhouse cheeses, chickens, olive oil and lobster.

"I loved the region when I went there and I always hoped I'd be able to take a group back because I was so enamoured with it," says organiser Catherine Bell, who owns the Epicurean Workshop.

There will be a fair amount of independence, but with the benefits of discounted group travel. Bell hopes the atmosphere on this, her first foray into themed travel, will be more like that of a group of friends with a common interest.

Further information: ph (09) 524 0906 or visit Epicurean Workshop

Bushwise Women

Since starting its all-female trips around 10 years ago, Bushwise Women has expanded. Its local wilderness trips always have a theme - a tour of goldfields or a closer look at coastal environments.

It has also moved overseas, with a trip into the Australian Outback, a canal tour of France and a culinary visit to Tuscany.

"And there are always two underlying themes," says Cynthia Roberts, who runs the business with Roz Heinz. "There's the theme of women of all ages sharing their life experiences, and then the theme of ecology and conservation."

Contact: ph (03) 332 4952 or visit Bushwise women

Dance Party Tour Of Europe

In a variation on the twenty-something Contiki bus tour, nightclubbers will be whisked through 10 countries in seven days, partying nonstop and ending up on the hedonistic Spanish island of Ibiza. They
will have invitations to the best nightclubs and be escorted by Channel Z personnel.

Because the participants are expected to be young, the cost will be below $4000 and the return tickets will stay open for two years. "A great way to start your OE," says Willie Salave'a, who is organising this trip.

Salave'a also hopes to set up two similar trips later this year, one with celebrity guide Mikey Havoc going to Ibiza and another heading to a dance party in a Pacific resort. He is also organising a tour
up the Amazon with media personality Bill Ralston and another to China with radio host Barry Holland.

Further information: Budget Travel, Onehunga, ph 0800 08 28 34.