looking for flights to New Zealand around next Easter

VixxAnn

swizzle wrote:

Now you`ve done the hard bit sorting the flights out- you have the fun of sorting out what to do when you get there- FAB

Yeah! Already starting to think of that... but pretty determined not to actually book and pay for anything else at least until we're into next year.

Think we have ditched the motorhome idea as when we looked at prices they were a lot more than hiring a car and paying for reasonable accomodation each night. If we hadn't gone over budget on the flights we might have splashed out on it but now I think I'm happy with the idea of a car and various accomodation. The B&Bs, motels, lodges, holiday parks all look very reasonable over there - it just means living out of suitcases most nights!

ampersand

Hello VixxAnn,
I'm a New Zealander and was about to ask for any latest 'Best Fares' news on here, for Nov or Jan(having decided that December was probably ridiculous)and found your post.
Have a wonderful time and DO go to Hawkes Bay - it's the orchard bowl(and my main neck of the woods, though Wellington-born and early-bred)and you'll not believe how wonderful and bountiful and glorious is the experience of driving through Pakowhai, between Napier and Hastings. Napier is interesting(or has become so of late)in that a huge earthquake lifted up new land from the sea, whilst destroying much of Napier in Feb '31(if memory serves). Rebuilding was thus done in what we now know as Art Deco style. We used to think much of it hideous as children and I remember that blood samples were always taken in a building named Munster Chambers. (It seemed funny then, as TV had not long hit our untainted shores, early>mid-60's)

May I urge you to take out Family Membership of the Youth Hostel Association?

It's name is a misnomer nowadays - please throw away ANY mental baggage you may have in conjunction with it. It will be a boon to you as a family during such a short trip(and later, wherever you are, especially as Tesco Clubcard vouchers are newly able to be used for YHA here. That will mean staying anywhere at a QUARTER the usual price)

************
Don't stay too long in Auckalnd or Christchurch, a week in Auckland out of a 3 week trip is too much.
Yes, richardw is absolutely right.

Cross over to Taranaki:Mt Egmont and the Honey House. Remember the molten quaking centre of the North Island, too - for mudpools and hot outdoor springs amid ferns and gullies(Rotorua, Taupo, Morere) then there is the wild East Coast(maybe not for your little ones yet).

At the Northern tip are mango tides and everywhere still harbours lost places.
Remember, the land mass is about the same as here, with a twentieth of the population. If you have Scottish connections, you should really be going to Dunedin, rather than Christchurch, though they are not far apart. From Christchurch,nip to Akaroa, where French Street/place names show how close NZ was to being claimed for La Belle Hexagone....

The cable car up to the Botanical Gardens and Basin Reserve in my Windy City birthplace of Wellington is still a trip to treasure.

See if the children can learn some simple Maori before you go.

If you are lucky enough to be invited onto a marae, or for a hangi, accept.

Anyway, I'd best now ask my own question re: help/hints for Nov or Jan, having taken on board all that I have read here.

I wish you happy times ahead in Aotearoa.

VixxAnn

ampersand wrote:

May I urge you to take out Family Membership of the Youth Hostel Association?

See if the children can learn some simple Maori before you go.

If you are lucky enough to be invited onto a marae, or for a hangi, accept.

Thank you so much for all the interesting info - I know who to ask about NZ culture now;)

Will look into the YHA membership (we are certainly not to proud to do some cheap basic stuff!) - do you not need you own bedding though?

Only maori have told the kids (& that I know!) is Kia ora! but its a start and I take on your point. Would love to go to a hangi from what I've read.

Hope you find a good buy for your flights - I kept checking Expedia,Thomas Cook etc daily and it is amazing how much they change (and how quick the cheaper ones sell out!)

Maybe we should get a "All things to do with New Zealand" thread set up -seems to be a lot of people that have been and have useful info ????

alison74

I would definitely look into YHA's are they are fabulous in NZ and other non-yha ones are just as good.

Check out the best ones to stay at on

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=10

and you will get specific answers on that forum. Most of them do family rooms now and as a previous poster mentioned, hostels are not what you think they might be. They are modern these days, a lot of them have keycard security, offer free breakfast etc and are always central.

Most of them supply bedding now, so you don't need to take your own.

And yes, get to a hangi. I did mine in Rotorua (where the thermal wonderlands are) and learnt to do the Haka which I am sure your kids would love and then ate until I burst !!

abisnail75

Definitely agree with the YHA suggestion. I spent 7 weeks there and mostly stayed in YHA hostels (some are almost like basic hotels) and I also saved a packet off other attractions in NZ with membership. Remember to ask wherever you go if they offer YHA discount and you'll be amazed what you can save. Bearing in mind by UK membership cost me (at that time for one person) £13, I estimated I saved around £250 in total during my trip for this little investment. Imagine how much you could save with a family!

VixxAnn

Do I join the YHA in UK or New Zealand??

alison74

You join it in the UK, much cheaper than buying it in NZ and then you can use the card anywhere in the world - valid one year. I would leave getting it till a month before you go, so you can use it after your trip to NZ aswell.

sarahjw

think you can use Tesco clubcard vouchers for YHA membership now too!