When the Lone Eagle Became a Phoenix
On any average day this year, approximately
A hundred years ago, that sky was empty of everything but clouds and birds. Though a few other aviators had flown across that ocean between Europe and North America—some had died in the attempt—Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) boarded the Spirit of St. Louis in New York City on May 20, 1927 and landed less than 34 hours later in Paris. He completed the first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic. That
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Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Epoch Times
When the Lone Eagle Became a Phoenix
On any average day this year, approximately A hundred years ago, that sky was empty of everything but clouds and birds. Though a few other aviators had flown across that ocean between Europe and North America—some had died in the attempt—Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) boarded the Spirit of St. Louis in New York City on May 20, 1927 and landed less than 34 hours later in Paris. He completed the first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic. That
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Travel + Leisure
15-05-2025
- Travel + Leisure
One of New Zealand's Most Impressive Stays Is Back—With 20 Suites Set Along the Country's Longest River
The lodge is set on 17 acres of wild-meets-manicured gardens, filled with birdsong and anchored by the mesmerizing Waikato River. Arriving guests are ushered straight to seats by the river and welcomed with charcuterie platters and Louis Roederer Champagne. The new River Room is an instant hit for its front-row water views and striking design of oversized ship's lights, brass fireplace, and window-hugging lounges. The range and number of activities—both within the lodge grounds and in the surrounding Taupō area, one of New Zealand's top spots for adventure and nature tourism—are impressive. The hedge-lined driveway at Huka Lodge meanders through what, at first, feels like impeccable English parklands, with checkered lawns, flowerbeds, and an ornamental pond complete with resident ducks. But as we round a bend to the main lodge, I catch my first sight of the Waikato River, a quicksilver streak of glacial green-blue rushing along the edge of the 17-acre property, and the scene is suddenly transformed into something wild and untamed—and unmistakably New Zealand. It was this mesmerizing river, the country's longest, that first lured thrill-seekers to this spot over a century ago. In 1924, Irishman Alan Pye opened a canvas-tented fisherman's camp where keen anglers could match their skills against the Waikato's spirited rainbow trout. The camp's fame soon spread, attracting A-list anglers, including British royalty, the aviator Charles Lindbergh, and novelist James Michener. Nowadays, the setting has lost none of its allure—nor its celebrity clientele—but Huka is a more elaborate affair of 20 riverside suites and two cottages anchored by a two-story lodge above the emerald torrent. Fresh from a 10-month, $14-million renovation under new owners Baillie Lodges, Huka now offers even more vantage points from which to admire the Waikato River. Besides an expanded restaurant and extra decking, there's a striking new River Room with walls of white-paned windows that put guests closer to the action than ever. The hotel gardens along the banks of the Waikato River. George Apostolides/Courtesy of Huka Lodge New Zealand's so-called 'lodge queen' Virginia Fisher, who designed the interiors when Huka became a bricks-and-mortar lodge in 1984, oversaw its latest makeover and has stayed true to what she calls its 'retro, camping-by-the-river' feel while modernizing it for the next century. The trademark tartan has gone, but there are echoes of it in discreetly grid-patterned rugs, stylish plaids, and checked blankets. Original furnishings have been reupholstered, and tables resurfaced, and Fisher has added emphatic bursts of color—a jewel-green velvet sofa in the cocktail lounge and raspberry-hued linen drapes in the dining room. She also enhanced the lodge's art collection, mostly gilt-framed oils of landscapes and animals, with specially commissioned works showcasing New Zealand's indigenous Māori culture. Her style is quite sumptuous but also eclectic. Everywhere I look, something catches my eye—the filigreed eel traps on the lodge's exterior, an antique leather pommel repurposed as a coffee table, hall chairs with backs twisted into Celtic crosses, and, the crowd favorite, an old Spanish cabinet she reconfigured as the cocktail bar. Its four paneled doors open almost ceremonially each evening for drinks. Mornings at Huka are magical as mists lift from the river and cloak the gardens of tree ferns, flax, totara, and rimu pines. It's a scene I enjoyed from my canopied bed or sitting on the deck with an espresso and a shortbread from the minibar. Ideally, I'd spend my days admiring this river from every angle—breakfasting on the restaurant's terrace, walking down to the nearby falls where narrow gorges turn the Waikato into raging cascades and hiking along the opposite bank to bathe in riverside hot springs. But there are many modern distractions at the new Huka—from spa treatments and a forest-view sauna to a tennis court and workouts in the sleek gym. And there is neighboring Lake Taupō, a geothermal hotspot popular for watersports and outdoor activities in one of New Zealand's most striking natural landscapes. Regardless of how guests spend their days, come evening, everyone gathers for cocktails and canapes, ideally in the River Room, where I like to sit on the leather fender by the fireplace and watch the river float by in the fading light. Here's what it's like to stay at the new Huka Lodge. A deep soaking tub in a guest room bathroom. George Apostolides/Courtesy of Huka Lodge The number of accommodations remains the same after the renovation, but each has received such a comprehensive facelift that, despite some being over 40 years old, it's impossible to detect any signs of age. The 20 suites fan out from a fern-lined walkway and are arranged in twos and threes along the river, some with shared foyers and others with private entrances. The duplex Alan Pye cottage has two king bedrooms, an infinity pool, and a hot tub opening onto riverside lawns, while the four-bedroom Van Heeren cottage features a sun deck, plunge pool, and spa set on a bluff above the Waikato. The 645-square-foot lodge suites are richly textured in linen, wool, and leather to create cozy retreats in New Zealand's cool climate, with walls of glass that can open to the river and gardens in warmer weather. Furnished timber decks step down to clipped lawns and sun loungers. New suite features include custom AH Beard king beds curtained in fine linen, chaise longues, and personal bars stocked with New Zealand wines and beers, local craft sodas, and regional products, including chocolate and triple-cream Brie. My favorite treat is Huka kitchen's fat, buttery shortbread discs studded with sugar crystals. The bathrooms, located just beyond the walk-in dressing rooms, are a highlight. Timber-floored and skylit, the centerpiece is a chrome-railed bath set beside mullioned windows looking out to fern gardens, a lovely spot for a lavender and bergamot-scented soak. Lodge dining leans heavily on New Zealand's pristine produce and the easy sophistication of Pacific cuisine, whether it's the breakfast honeycomb cut straight from the estate's hives or Mount Cook alpine salmon from the country's purest streams. At breakfast, the buffet is arranged on and around the kitchen pass with baked bread and pastries, including flaky croissants and pains au chocolat, fresh fruits, cereals, charcuterie, and cheeses. Start here, then order off the menu, featuring classics such as eggs benedict and pancakes with lodge marmalade. The restaurant is an elegantly relaxed, split-level space with a riverside terrace. There are fireplaces inside and out and heated gazebos that allow for riverfront dining in any weather. Lunch offers upscale comfort foods such as pappardelle with prawns, Lake Ohau sirloin, and chocolate fondant, while dinner comprises four-course menus adjusted to taste and dietary requirements. Highlights from my dining included an heirloom tomato tart with local Cranky Goat cheese and sturgeon caviar from Rotorua, and Mount Cook salmon with yuzu and nori tapioca. Wines were well chosen for each course, but for something special, there's a cellar list of 4,500 bottles showcasing 90 percent New Zealand wines plus benchmark vintages from Australia and France. Guests staying three nights or more are treated to dinner in one of the lodge's specialty dining spaces, which include an al fresco 'green room' walled by hedges and warmed by heaters and blankets; the sunken wine cellar; and The Library, where the late British Queen Elizabeth II dined during her four visits here. Aerial view of the spa tennis courts. George Apostolides/Courtesy of Huka Lodge On-site lodge activities are concentrated in an extravagantly hedged enclosure containing a tennis court, croquet lawn, and petanque pitch. There is also a compact pool, two hot tubs in a terraced garden setting, and a yoga lawn for personal practice or private classes with an instructor (by appointment). It's a short walk to Huka Falls, a two-tiered cascade where I watch intrepid kayakers plunge over the drops and survive. Staff can also arrange jet-boating journeys to the base of the falls. Guests can borrow a mountain bike or e-bike and tackle more than 60 miles of trails along the Waikato River. The lodge supplies rods for catch-and-release fly fishing, but if you're serious about snaring a rainbow trout, then book an excursion to Lake Taupō. Huka partners with local tour company Chris Jolly Outdoors for fishing, hiking, and biking adventures centered mostly on the lake. I spent a half-day with them on a refurbished 1970s timber boat, cruising the lake, visiting contemporary Māori rock carvings, and dining on barbequed steaks and salads. One of our group caught a trout big enough to bring back to the lodge, where it was served finely filleted on blinis with sundowner cocktails. High-flyers can charter a helicopter to explore the volcanic landscapes of Tongariro National Park and Rotorua, as well as the prized vines of Craggy Range in Hawke's Bay for a private tour of the estate and cellars, wine tastings, a gastronomic lunch, and your pick of six premium bottles to be packaged up and delivered home. The 2025 renovation has added a two-room spa housed in cottages inspired by typical New Zealand 'bach' holiday homes. Accessed via a woodland path, the spa also offers twin ice-bucket baths, a soaking hot tub set among ferns, and a sauna with calming rainforest views. The spa treatment menu incorporates Indigenous elements such as manuka honey, energizing greenstone (a type of jade), and thermal muds drawn from the surrounding volcanic landscape. Small-batch Verité Spa skincare products are made locally from organic plant extracts such as blue tansy and kiwifruit seed. Treatments range from hour-long Kanohi Radiance facials that combine thermal-mud face masks and collagen-boosting face serums to the two-hour signature Aroha Goddess ritual of aromatic massage, back exfoliation, and anti-aging facial with rosehip and sandalwood. There are more than a dozen indulgence options to choose from, most incorporating some elements of Māori beliefs or rituals; therapists recommend choosing one that 'resonates with your mood or desired focus.' The newly installed gym next door is a glass-walled pavilion equipped with medicine balls, ropes, and a punching bag by the cult German fitness brand Artzt, overlooking a tranquil garden. The lodge is open to children 10 and above but does not offer any special activities or menus for younger guests. They are treated as small adults and expected to behave as such. There is one adapted suite (number four) for guests with limited mobility. The main lodge building is partially wheelchair accessible except for the lower dining room and upstairs lounges. Huka is on the national grid which generates more than 80 per cent renewable energy largely from hydroelectric power, including the Waikato River. Transfers and local transport is by Mercedes Benz electric vans, and water is drawn straight from the river and purified for lodge use. Huka Lodge is on the edge of Taupō, a geothermal region in the center of the North Island known for its therapeutic hot springs and a vast lake the size of Singapore popular for watersports, sailing, trout fishing, and forest hikes. There are also leading golf courses nearby and the Tongariro National Park for epic walks and winter skiing and snowboarding on Mount Ruapehu. Taupō is a three-hour drive from New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. The lodge can arrange transfers, or guests can choose to rent a car and drive themselves. Major agencies, including Avis, Budget, and Hertz, operate from Taupō airport. Once clear of Auckland, the roads are uncongested and easy to navigate for those comfortable driving on the 'opposite' side of the road. Alternatively, guests can book a 30-minute scheduled flight with Air New Zealand or charter a 70-minute helicopter hop. There is parking for five helicopters on Huka's 18-acre greenfield site next door. Huka Lodge and Baillie Lodges do not currently participate in any loyalty program. Lodge rates include a hearty country breakfast, pre-dinner drinks and canapés, and a four-course dinner with paired wines. Nightly rates at Huka Lodge start from around $1,700 per suite, with a minimum two-night stay. Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.
Yahoo
07-12-2024
- Yahoo
Fort Worth upstaged Dallas to celebrate this famous pilot's record-breaking flight
Fort Worth has been at the center of aviation history since the very beginning. From the first 'powder puff' air race to the setting of the endurance record for time in the air, and from the visit by the dirigible 'Shenandoah' to the first round-the-world flight, Fort Worth has been in the vanguard. In 1927, Fort Worth scored another historic moment when it welcomed pilot Charles Lindbergh and his airplane, 'The Spirit of St. Louis.' The man known as 'Lucky Lindy' and the 'Lone Eagle' was just back from his history-making New York-to-Paris flight in May 1927. Now a colonel in the Army Air Corps, he set off on a cross-country tour to visit all 48 states, paid for by the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics and backed by the U.S. Army. The stated objectives of the tour were: 1.) to celebrate the feat of flying across the Atlantic; 2.) to allow people to get to know 'Slim' Lindbergh, the man; and 3.) to hold him up as a worthy role model to the nation's children. The tour started in New York City on July 20, to return to its starting point on Oct. 26. Lindbergh would fly 'The Spirit of St. Louis,' the airplane he flew across the Atlantic, which was nearly as famous as its pilot. Lindbergh was quite familiar with Texas, having spent two years doing his pilot training at San Antonio's Kelly Field. He flew into Fort Worth from Abilene on Monday, Sept. 26, and spent that night. He landed at Fort Worth's municipal airport (the future Meacham Field) at 2 p.m. to be greeted by a throng estimated at 15,000. Crowd control was in the capable hands of 50 Fort Worth police officers, 60 Texas National Guard mounted troops, 100 Boy Scouts, and 'several hundred' members of high school ROTC programs. After a meet-and-greet at the airfield, the plan was to give the guest of honor a parade up North Main to Panther Park, home field of the Fort Worth Cats baseball team. The grandstand there could seat 4,000, with extra chairs placed on the field. Admission to the event was restricted to Fort Worth schoolchildren who had been given the day off from school. The parade would then continue up North Main past the courthouse, down Houston to 13th, over to Main and up Main to Eighth, where it would halt at the Texas Hotel. The presidential suite had been booked for Lindbergh, and a banquet in his honor was to be held in the Crystal Ballroom that evening. The evening would end with a grand ball at Casino Park (Lake Worth), open to the public, followed by a fireworks show over the lake. On Sunday, Sept. 25, Mayor Pro Tem A.E. Thomas (acting for Mayor William Bryce who was on vacation) proclaimed Sept. 26 'Lindbergh Day.' According to the proclamation, city offices would shut down and businesses would close from 3 to 4 p.m. so the people of Fort Worth might devote that time to 'patriotic thought and reverence [for the nation's progress in aviation].' The city pulled out all the stops for arguably the biggest celebrity in the country, more popular than the president or any movie actor. One Boy Scout, 15-year-old Tom Gibson, had the singular honor of being allowed to sit at Lindbergh's table at the banquet. (Lindbergh himself had been a Boy Scout growing up.) Young Tom had been one of the first in Texas to win an Aviation Merit Badge. On top of everything else, Record-Telegram columnist Kenneth E. Taylor composed a poem, 'Lone Eagle: The Lone Star State Salutes You!' for the occasion. A who's who of celebrities came to town for the event, including Gov. Dan Moody, U.S. Sen. Morris Sheppard, and Congressman Fritz G. Lanham. In addition, most of the nation's tiny air force flew in from San Antonio. The crowd watched expectantly as 'The Spirit of St. Louis' appeared in the western sky, banked to the south and came in for a perfect, three-point landing. As soon as the propeller stopped spinning, Lindbergh emerged waving. The crowd responded with a cheer, crying in unison of 'It's Lindy!' After a few words of welcome, everybody piled into cars and headed up Decatur Road to North Main. Besides the cars, the parade included a mounted cavalry escort and 50 cowboys representing the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show. The stop at Panther Park was only 15 minutes. The 'school children,' defined as anyone from 10 years up to college age, were accompanied by teachers and parents. For one of the very few times in Fort Worth school history to that point, Black and white children were in the same place, though they were seated in separate sections. Lindbergh told them about the bright future of aviation, then hopped back in the car. A wildly enthusiastic crowd lined the parade route through downtown to the Texas Hotel. The doors to the Crystal Ballroom swung open at 6 p.m. to allow more than 800 invited guests to find their places while a few uninvited attendees squeezed in to stand in the back of the room. The Lone Eagle was used to enthusiastic welcomes by this date and had collected a railroad car of gifts already, but Fort Worth came up with a gift that put everyone else to shame, presenting him with an oil portrait of his mother, Evangeline Lindbergh, a Detroit high school teacher. The work had been arranged and paid for by lawyer and civic leader Walter B. Scott, who flew to Detroit in early August. There he persuaded the lady to pose for Chicago artist Carl Bohnen by sitting each day after class for more than a month to produce the 'three-quarter-size' portrait. After he got home, Lindbergh sent a note to Walter Scott, thanking him and all of Fort Worth for the kind gift. He wrote, 'I shall always treasure this portrait along with a grateful memory of all the hospitality and goodwill shown me by the people of Fort Worth.' Bohnen was not the only important artist to memorialize the Lone Eagle's Fort Worth visit. Nationally known artist Edna Hoadley did one of her 'pencil portraits,' titling it, 'The Man of the Air.' It was reproduced as a popular lithograph print that sold well. One of those lithographs may have been the 'Lindbergh portrait' presented to Charles E. Nash Elementary by Mrs. Nash, to be hung in the school auditorium. By any definition Lindbergh's Fort Worth visit was a huge success. The 'largest turnout' in the city's history had welcomed him, said the newspaper, bigger even than the crowd that welcomed Teddy Roosevelt in 1905 and 1911. Nor was it overlooked that Cowtown had won out over Dallas by hosting Lindbergh first. Sure, Dallas turned out in force to greet him upon his arrival at Love Field and gave him a 'short reception and dinner' that night. Lucky Lindy returned to Fort Worth a little over a year later, on his way home from a hunting trip in Mexico. There was no big welcoming party this time, just a change of planes before returning y home to St. Louis. Author-historian Richard Selcer is a Fort Worth native and proud graduate of Paschal High and TCU.
