Newbie visit - appreciate if I can ask some questions.
Discussion
Morning all,
I'm making my first trip over from the UK this Thursday. We'll be there 11 days in total, landing in Auckland and driving for 4 days down to visit my sister in the Hawkes Bay (Napier) area of North island. It's going to be completely different to my normal holidays (city breaks, seaside) but that's the appeal and I'm really looking forward to it.
I do have a few questions though and hope the NZ forum can help. I'm also interested in any other advice, comments, input, etc since most of what I know I've just heard via friends. Guide book purchased to be read on the plane though
.
Jet lag - We fly via Hong Kong without stopover and arrive midday. What to expect?!
Auckland - we are planning to spend the first day and night there taking it easy, but couldn't get an affordable hotel there. So we're booked into a motel by the airport. Is it worth seeing Auckland, given that it's going to be in the opposite direction to our final destination? Can we drive into Auckland and park for free? I drive in the London rush hour weekly so I'm not bothered by city driving.
Car hire - I can sort this but any PH input welcomed. Everything affordable seems to be a Corolla or equally dull. I loved the idea of buying something cheap for the time there and dumping it at my sister's. I even looked at used cars. But OH really wouldn't be amused if it went wrong.
Hotels - hoping to just turn up and find rooms in the various areas e.g. rotorua, taupo, etc. Good plan?
Routes - Any recommended routes/stops? We'll be at the coast for 5 days once we're at our final destination, so I'm not fussed about seeing the seaside on the way down there.
Are there any interesting things in North Island to check out that have an engineering/motoring/racing theme? Or at a stretch a WWII/miltary theme? My Dad will be out there and we're into that. I'm concerned he will be bored.
That's all. Really appreciate any answers that you can give since local experience is always the best. We're coming by Cathay Pacific/Air NZ premium economy which I'm sure is something to look forward to and I hope will make it a lot more comfortable. I've spent the whole weekend loading my iPad with hours of videos so I reckon I'm ready for the painful parts of the trip!
I'm making my first trip over from the UK this Thursday. We'll be there 11 days in total, landing in Auckland and driving for 4 days down to visit my sister in the Hawkes Bay (Napier) area of North island. It's going to be completely different to my normal holidays (city breaks, seaside) but that's the appeal and I'm really looking forward to it.
I do have a few questions though and hope the NZ forum can help. I'm also interested in any other advice, comments, input, etc since most of what I know I've just heard via friends. Guide book purchased to be read on the plane though
.Jet lag - We fly via Hong Kong without stopover and arrive midday. What to expect?!
Auckland - we are planning to spend the first day and night there taking it easy, but couldn't get an affordable hotel there. So we're booked into a motel by the airport. Is it worth seeing Auckland, given that it's going to be in the opposite direction to our final destination? Can we drive into Auckland and park for free? I drive in the London rush hour weekly so I'm not bothered by city driving.
Car hire - I can sort this but any PH input welcomed. Everything affordable seems to be a Corolla or equally dull. I loved the idea of buying something cheap for the time there and dumping it at my sister's. I even looked at used cars. But OH really wouldn't be amused if it went wrong.
Hotels - hoping to just turn up and find rooms in the various areas e.g. rotorua, taupo, etc. Good plan?
Routes - Any recommended routes/stops? We'll be at the coast for 5 days once we're at our final destination, so I'm not fussed about seeing the seaside on the way down there.
Are there any interesting things in North Island to check out that have an engineering/motoring/racing theme? Or at a stretch a WWII/miltary theme? My Dad will be out there and we're into that. I'm concerned he will be bored.
That's all. Really appreciate any answers that you can give since local experience is always the best. We're coming by Cathay Pacific/Air NZ premium economy which I'm sure is something to look forward to and I hope will make it a lot more comfortable. I've spent the whole weekend loading my iPad with hours of videos so I reckon I'm ready for the painful parts of the trip!
Edited by Pentoman on Sunday 9th February 22:39
mark387mw said:
Something you're familiar with
https://trademe.co.nz/695246940
Make them an offer, run around in it, flog it in Napier
Thanks for that. Tempting. At the moment a Holden Spark (below) is £255 for just 5 days from Saturday to Wednesday.https://trademe.co.nz/695246940
Make them an offer, run around in it, flog it in Napier
or it's £270 to hire a Corolla and £324 for a Camry.
Am I right in believing the rumours that if I purchased a car I would be automatically insured to drive it? And that I can drive my sister's car too?
As for the rest - thanks for input. Noted the bits on dealing with jet lag and not doing too much on day 1. Some useful links to things we can go and look at there too.
Yup it's a short drive to Napier really, so far we're planning to see Matamata, Taupo, Rotorua, possible Tongariro park, and whatever else we can fit in during the initial 3-4 days. After that some day trips out from Napier.
I've screwed up leaving the hire car booking this late, haven't I?
I will consider more suggestions for cheap, functional cars, especially if any members know any. My Dad's a mechanic so maybe it would also solve the problem of finding something for him to do...
I'll leave it there and make it my wedding gift.
Yup it's a short drive to Napier really, so far we're planning to see Matamata, Taupo, Rotorua, possible Tongariro park, and whatever else we can fit in during the initial 3-4 days. After that some day trips out from Napier.
I've screwed up leaving the hire car booking this late, haven't I?
I will consider more suggestions for cheap, functional cars, especially if any members know any. My Dad's a mechanic so maybe it would also solve the problem of finding something for him to do...
I'll leave it there and make it my wedding gift.
Edited by Pentoman on Wednesday 12th February 14:30
Mark387sw, Siscar, Gator - thanks.
I came back two days ago, and didn't update the thread while away because... well I was getting away from it all.
Lovely place, really enjoyed it. I won't say any more since we don't want everyone finding out do we?
But on the PH front, the motoring was interesting. The roads are great, well maintained, and empty. The speed limit's a little low but I would happily have that for the freedom and space. Returning to the UK was a shock, everyone is too close, and too aggressive. Why do we ever bother with performance cars in the UK?! I now see that's it's just a status symbol.
The Falcon turned out to be an XR6 which seems to be a higher-spec slightly sportier version of the regular Falcon, with the same 4.0 I6 (280hp?) engine. I was excited, but then I got in. It felt so cheap, it sounded like a four-cylinder on start up, and it didn't seem that pokey. Cue a few hours wondering why I bothered. But then I had to use the performance on a curved slip road, and was shocked to see that it likes corners. It really likes them. From that point on, the rest of the driving was fantastic fun. It has enough power to get about well, but best of all some entertaining roadhandling very reminiscent of a Focus or Mondeo. Not to mention great comfort. The 6-speed auto with manual mode worked well too. I really liked the car and remain surprised that it didn't fall apart during corners.
You guys seemed quite negative so I'm not sure why my view is different. Is this latest version more advanced? As a rental car it worked well. Loads of luggage space, sat nav that included every imaginable destination (even out-of-the-way hostels), bluetooth for music and phone, and a bit of fun.
I then borrowed a 90s camry - comfy and surprisingly likeable, but the lack of a/c was a challenge - and a 2000s Skyline which was vastly inferior to the Falcon. But I'm not sure the Skyline was meant to be remotely sporty, and it was incredibly soft in suspension. In the UK a skyline is of course known as a performance car. This 300GT was definitely not and I couldn't help but be disappointed.
So that was a short summary of my time. I didn't visit anything with my Dad in the end but it was nice to have those options. I did see that Napier art deco weekend by chance. In fact I got a parking ticket there. A huge $10! I was actually thankful! Thanks for the advice and I'll keep quiet about the place. While quietly wondering how hard it is for a brit to find IT work over there for a year or so.
I came back two days ago, and didn't update the thread while away because... well I was getting away from it all.
Lovely place, really enjoyed it. I won't say any more since we don't want everyone finding out do we?
But on the PH front, the motoring was interesting. The roads are great, well maintained, and empty. The speed limit's a little low but I would happily have that for the freedom and space. Returning to the UK was a shock, everyone is too close, and too aggressive. Why do we ever bother with performance cars in the UK?! I now see that's it's just a status symbol.
The Falcon turned out to be an XR6 which seems to be a higher-spec slightly sportier version of the regular Falcon, with the same 4.0 I6 (280hp?) engine. I was excited, but then I got in. It felt so cheap, it sounded like a four-cylinder on start up, and it didn't seem that pokey. Cue a few hours wondering why I bothered. But then I had to use the performance on a curved slip road, and was shocked to see that it likes corners. It really likes them. From that point on, the rest of the driving was fantastic fun. It has enough power to get about well, but best of all some entertaining roadhandling very reminiscent of a Focus or Mondeo. Not to mention great comfort. The 6-speed auto with manual mode worked well too. I really liked the car and remain surprised that it didn't fall apart during corners.
You guys seemed quite negative so I'm not sure why my view is different. Is this latest version more advanced? As a rental car it worked well. Loads of luggage space, sat nav that included every imaginable destination (even out-of-the-way hostels), bluetooth for music and phone, and a bit of fun.
I then borrowed a 90s camry - comfy and surprisingly likeable, but the lack of a/c was a challenge - and a 2000s Skyline which was vastly inferior to the Falcon. But I'm not sure the Skyline was meant to be remotely sporty, and it was incredibly soft in suspension. In the UK a skyline is of course known as a performance car. This 300GT was definitely not and I couldn't help but be disappointed.
So that was a short summary of my time. I didn't visit anything with my Dad in the end but it was nice to have those options. I did see that Napier art deco weekend by chance. In fact I got a parking ticket there. A huge $10! I was actually thankful! Thanks for the advice and I'll keep quiet about the place. While quietly wondering how hard it is for a brit to find IT work over there for a year or so
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