Holiday Withdrawal Symptoms......Tell me where you're going?

Ballard

My visit was all too brief but Auckland & Welly were good. The parliament tour and Te Pepe museum in Welly are superb.

I took a bus from Welly to Napier which isn't a bad place for a night. It has an Art Deco feel to it but I'm not sure that I'd go as far as recommending it as such. I did stay with a lovely couple through Airbnb and they really made the town for me. They were really great hosts and even took me along to a quiz night. If you decide to visit Napier drop me a PM and I'll give you their details.

Next was Lake Taupo which looked lovely until the heavens opened. I think that it would probably be a recommendation on the basis that it looked as though it had potential. From there it's a short ride to Rotorua which I found to be lovely.

This left me a trip back to Auckland to spend a couple of days. I fell in love with Waiheke Island which is a ferry ride from Auckland Harbour.

Being as I don't drive I had to plan around the bus routes and timetables but I enjoyed the places that I saw. I need to go back one day.

PompeyPete

DUKE wrote: »

I'd like to do the ferry to Picton, I've got a relative there with a guest house.

Do it. The crossing through the Cook Straits will live long in your memory.

Wizard_of_Id

Going to the Macdonald Monchique Resort & Spa about 30 miles north of the Algarve coast at the end of the month.
Looking forward to a week of hiking and relaxing

DUKE

Thanks Ballard & Pete :beer: I hear the beer ain't cheap What about food, eating out?

Any ideas about a sim?

I'm painting at the mo & with every stroke of the brush the thought of NZ's keeping me going. Once I've finished I shall get properly stuck into operation NZ. Auntie will put me up in Welly, so that's that bit sorted

Ballard

DUKE wrote: »

Thanks Ballard & Pete :beer: I hear the beer ain't cheap What about food, eating out?

Any ideas about a sim?

I'm painting at the mo & with every stroke of the brush the thought of NZ's keeping me going. Once I've finished I shall get properly stuck into operation NZ. Auntie will put me up in Welly, so that's that bit sorted

I really disliked the Kiwi lager and struggled to tell the different brews apart. It got to the point where I was looking out for Irish pubs so that I could have a decent Guinness and that isn't something that I ever normally do. By contrast I really enjoyed the variety of beers once I got to Australia and I never thought that I'd type those words.

I found that there was little nightlife outside of Auckland. Even in Welly the pubs emptied by around 10 and everyone seemed to go to bed.

Restaurants were, iirc, reasonably priced. I had a standout curry (one of the best I've ever had) in Welly at http://www.greatindia.co.nz/menu_dinner.html. Looking through my credit card bill I paid $52.50/£22 to eat there. A pint at an Irish pub in Rotorua (it would have been Guinness) cost $9.50/£4. A meal in Napier was $20/£10.50.

I took advice from these boards and got myself a three sim so that I could call home and use 3g free once I'd got a £20 bundle(http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home) but that wouldn't help you if you want it to call locally. I got around this by using Skype over 3g.

DUKE

Ballard wrote: »

I really disliked the Kiwi lager and struggled to tell the different brews apart. It got to the point where I was looking out for Irish pubs so that I could have a decent Guinness and that isn't something that I ever normally do. By contrast I really enjoyed the variety of beers once I got to Australia and I never thought that I'd type those words.

I found that there was little nightlife outside of Auckland. Even in Welly the pubs emptied by around 10 and everyone seemed to go to bed.

Restaurants were, iirc, reasonably priced. I had a standout curry (one of the best I've ever had) in Welly at http://www.greatindia.co.nz/menu_dinner.html. Looking through my credit card bill I paid $52.50/£22 to eat there. A pint at an Irish pub in Rotorua (it would have been Guinness) cost $9.50/£4. A meal in Napier was $20/£10.50.

I took advice from these boards and got myself a three sim so that I could call home and use 3g free once I'd got a £20 bundle(http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home) but that wouldn't help you if you want it to call locally. I got around this by using Skype over 3g.

I'm not really a pub person anymore Ballard, spent too much of my youth not remembering & being V naughty. But I do like a beer or glass of red on holiday, so 10pm will suite me fine as I can no longer take the pace.

The food prices are not too bad, but I suppose they can add up in a few weeks. What I really wanted was for you to say that it was much cheaper, but I know it's not.

I've got an old 3 phone that I won coming some years back & I still use the number for comps, so perhaps that'll do.

Thanks, all ideas welcome

Ballard

I also enjoy a red wine and took time to visit a few vineyards whilst there. If you get a chance to visit Waiheke Island there are quite a few to visit. From memory it costs $5 or $10 for a tasting from most of the places that I visited. I just got the ferry and walked around once there but there are also some organised tours and a local bus service on the island.

I must admit that you're bringing back some great memories and I'm getting jealous.

PompeyPete

Ballard wrote: »

I must admit that you're bringing back some great memories and I'm getting jealous.

I've just been through the scrapbook of our month on the road in New Zealand in a beat-up converted Ford Transit campervan.

NiftyDigits

DUKE wrote: »

I tend to change my mind quite a lot these days Was going to Vietnam, but, I spotted a real bargain for NZ flights last night :j So I booked them at £860 for 2 of us

I did the same, though paid £400 to for Nov/Dec.

I think some were under the misapprehension that they were one month validity tickets, but they weren't.
You could do some interesting combinations, such as six weeks in Thailand and two weeks in NZ,

On person did, LHR-CNX-SYD-own way to AKL-KBV-BKK-LHR for £419 booked directly with THAI.

By the time I had convinced the girlfriend that we wanted to go to NZ a lot had already sold, so was more concerned about getting the dates that I wanted, rather than to look for exotic combinations. Plus we have another holiday in SE Asia anyway.

So, reading the NZ comments with interest...as I have no idea as to what to do there...other than to hike and eat lamb.

Ballard

One thing worth mentioning about entering NZ is that they have a very strict line on importing food. You will not be permitted to take any food at all into the country and if you're taking hiking boots they must be clean. Once you pass customs you need to queue to get through quarantine where your bags are x-rayed. If they see boots they may well ask you to remove them for inspection.

One of the first signs that you will see at the airport is an advert for Kia Ora. Well, I thought that it was an advert until I found out that it's a Maori greeting.