Lift it and the helicopter rises; lower it and the machine sinks. Anthony presents them one by one: first, the pedals, which control where the helicopter’s nose points – which is not necessarily the same direction as the one in which it is travelling Next comes the collective, a lever by my left arm. Without getting into a debate about the pros and cons of each, the 300 has more elbow room and is reportedly less twitchy than the much-loved “Robbie”.Once at a safe height, my broad grin at the vertical takeoff disappears as my brain focuses on the controls. It is worth pointing out that I have deliberately chosen a school that does not teach on the cheaper and more widely available Robinson R22. The hospitality of our hosts, Nancy and Roger, is superb and, after a day to recover from our long-haul flight, it is off to the airfield.Within minutes of being introduced, my instructor, Anthony Carino, is showing me how to preflight (make the preparations and checks required before takeoff) the Hughes/Schweizer 300 CBi helicopter we will be flying. The fact that it is probably a New Zealand apple coming home cuts no ice.Tired and considerably poorer, we arrive at Pleasington Homestay, a B&B in semi-rural Whitford, to the south of Auckland and within easy driving distance of Ardmore airfield, the venue for my debut flight behind the wheel, or joystick to be more precise. With a little help from Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority, it is possible to convert training time in New Zealand towards a UK Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL).Our trip does not start auspiciously, though; as we arrive in Auckland, the X-ray machine reveals a forgotten apple at the bottom of Jill’s bag An instant NZ$200 (£70) fine, no appeal.

An hour’s flying slot easily eats up half a day, and I know that trying to learn something in the air when you have work on your mind is a waste of money.The US and South Africa were in the running as locations which could offer both quality training and a holiday I could enjoy with my wife, Jill, but a visit to the HeliFlight stand at the London Air Show in April last year convinced me that New Zealand, the Landof the Long White Cloud, was the place. As for those travellers keen to do their own homework, CSF is launching an online manual, Staying Healthy, to raise awareness among holidaymakers.More details on health and hygiene abroad, as well as the ‘Staying Healthy’ guide, are available online at www.checksafetyfirst . Learning to fly a helicopter is an itch that has needed scratching for years, but the key element for me has always been time. My experience of learning to fly fixed-wing aircraft was that an hour or two a week resulted in “two steps forwards, one step back”, a rate of progress that translated into more time taken and more money spent

Mastering a helicopter requires a combination of skills.

One is a lightness of touch, another is co-ordination akin to patting your head with one hand, rubbing your tummy with the other, while tap dancing and singing the national anthem at the same time.
Although some might say this view is an exaggeration fostered by helicopter pilots themselves, I took it seriously enough to feel that I needed to train somewhere that would allow me to progress as quickly as my brain could manage.A second consideration was that trying to fit in flying with work is counterproductive. It was developed to exceed the standards set down by the World Health Organisation, and can now be accessed online as well: e-Cristal allows hotels under inspection to check their progress online.The website also provides CSF’s clients with an opportunity to tempt potential customers: hotels and ships performing consistently well are placed on the organisation’s consumer website. Young children and the elderly are particularly susceptible, as are those on slow-release medication, which can be wiped out of the system by regular vomiting.CSF gives clients who meet its standards a Cristal award, a certification which is about to mark its 10th anniversary. Even in destinations considered developed, such as Spain, a common problem is posed by swimming pool water that has not been kept at the correct pH balance or contains insufficient chlorine: both increase the likelihood of finding Cryptosporidium, a bug that manifests itself as serious gastroenteritis. CSF works to prevent the occurrence of Legionella, a bug that inhabits showers and baths. The Nile ships monitored by CSF are fitted with a germicidal ultra-violet light which kills off bugs in the water used to wash fruit and salads.Mr Harrington said that while most travellers are aware of the risks of drinking unclean tap water, they may not know so much about the threat from waterborne viruses. From its 11 offices worldwide, CSF employs agents to perform monthly audits for clients, always arriving unannounced.

To date it has provided hygiene training for more than 200,000 hotel staff around the globe.Most food poisoning comes down to a few repeat offenders, such as campylobacter, salmonella and E coli “If it’s buffet food, it’s got to be hot. If it’s been left out in the sun and then gone cold, it’s a breeding ground for infection. Chicken is particularly dangerous in this sort of environment,” said Mr Harrington.CSF checks the delivery of food to hotels; something as simple as not having freezer trucks at the right temperature can scupper other safety precautions.And what of the various perils on the sea? CSF monitors cruise ships in the Mediterranean as well as more than 70 vessels operating on the river Nile. “Ships face a particular problem, because if you’ve done something wrong the disease will spread very quickly. Ocean liners need to be more vigilant because there is no means of testing them once they put to sea,” said Mr Harrington. “We make sure hotels and their suppliers handle, cook and store food properly, everything from temperature testing to labelling where chemicals are kept and so on,” said Mr Harrington.