Discussion
To be fair, the NZ forum is more for those living there than considering a holiday.
I think Emirates (via Dubai) will be your only option from Manchester assuming you want to minimise stops, but prices don't seem too bad next to the usual suspects from Heathrow.
Get an extra week or two if you can, it's a big place and the "highlights" are spread far and wide. If you started in Christchurch, wanted to get to Milford / Doubtful Sound and drive your way up to Bay of Islands in the north then fly home from Auckland it would be at least 2000 miles worth. There's little motorway outside of the cities and there tends to only be one road to get two places so don't expect to cover ground at the same pace as the UK.
With just 2 weeks I'd be inclined to do a week on south island - get to Queenstown, one of the Sounds, then maybe up the west coast and back via Arthur's Pass. Then get to Auckland, maybe head south to Taupo / Waitomo / Rotorua for a few days before going north. Or just stick to one and do the rest on another trip.
Campers are great but in the popular spots there are restrictions on overnight parking so you end up staying (and paying for) proper campgrounds. Motels are plentiful and pretty cheap, and hire of a regular car can be very cheap if you're not fussy (lots use 10 year old, high mileage jap stuff - very reliable if a bit dull). April is autumn time and can be cold, particularly towards the bottom of the south island - which may make a camper a bit less pleasant too.
I think Emirates (via Dubai) will be your only option from Manchester assuming you want to minimise stops, but prices don't seem too bad next to the usual suspects from Heathrow.
Get an extra week or two if you can, it's a big place and the "highlights" are spread far and wide. If you started in Christchurch, wanted to get to Milford / Doubtful Sound and drive your way up to Bay of Islands in the north then fly home from Auckland it would be at least 2000 miles worth. There's little motorway outside of the cities and there tends to only be one road to get two places so don't expect to cover ground at the same pace as the UK.
With just 2 weeks I'd be inclined to do a week on south island - get to Queenstown, one of the Sounds, then maybe up the west coast and back via Arthur's Pass. Then get to Auckland, maybe head south to Taupo / Waitomo / Rotorua for a few days before going north. Or just stick to one and do the rest on another trip.
Campers are great but in the popular spots there are restrictions on overnight parking so you end up staying (and paying for) proper campgrounds. Motels are plentiful and pretty cheap, and hire of a regular car can be very cheap if you're not fussy (lots use 10 year old, high mileage jap stuff - very reliable if a bit dull). April is autumn time and can be cold, particularly towards the bottom of the south island - which may make a camper a bit less pleasant too.
Done a lot of research before our trip in a years time. The best way to get there is Emirates, it is via Dubai and Oz but the prices are right (around £1300pp) and you can have stop-overs plus it is ultra comfy in the A380.
I found camper van companies will not let you get straight into one after a 24hr flight so you need at least a day acclimatizing. I also found hiring a car and using motels/B&B's much cheaper more convenient and plentiful than campervans and camping. You can move on quicker and much less work keeping van ship shape.
You will seriously struggle to get round both islands with just two weeks away from UK, you need at least 3 days getting there and getting upright again, same with going back - you cannot return to work next day, so another day there. We have a trip planned for 28 days and it just about gets all the sights in, if you went for 3 weeks it will curtail the tour a fair bit.So if you do go for 2 weeks, just do one island - the south is more rugged, volcanic and spectacular, the North is more populous, compact and more Maori.
I found camper van companies will not let you get straight into one after a 24hr flight so you need at least a day acclimatizing. I also found hiring a car and using motels/B&B's much cheaper more convenient and plentiful than campervans and camping. You can move on quicker and much less work keeping van ship shape.
You will seriously struggle to get round both islands with just two weeks away from UK, you need at least 3 days getting there and getting upright again, same with going back - you cannot return to work next day, so another day there. We have a trip planned for 28 days and it just about gets all the sights in, if you went for 3 weeks it will curtail the tour a fair bit.So if you do go for 2 weeks, just do one island - the south is more rugged, volcanic and spectacular, the North is more populous, compact and more Maori.
Thanks for all your info chaps.
We have 3 weeks in France booked for August, so 3 weeks in NZ isn't going to occur this year. As you all suggest, 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough given the distances involved. My wife, although not a teacher, is limited to school holidays for her hols, so it is going to have to wait for next year I think.
So, where do we go for Easter? Hmmm.
We have 3 weeks in France booked for August, so 3 weeks in NZ isn't going to occur this year. As you all suggest, 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough given the distances involved. My wife, although not a teacher, is limited to school holidays for her hols, so it is going to have to wait for next year I think.
So, where do we go for Easter? Hmmm.
Just a point on the camper van idea.
We did just this when we were there in 2011.
We started in Auckland and did just over 3 weeks driving around, saw pretty much everything that is on the list on both islands. Loved it, every second of it.
We are 28 and 31 so its not all kiddies.
PM me if you want more info on it.
eta: I want to go back for a month and do it on a motorbike in the summer.
We did just this when we were there in 2011.
We started in Auckland and did just over 3 weeks driving around, saw pretty much everything that is on the list on both islands. Loved it, every second of it.
We are 28 and 31 so its not all kiddies.
PM me if you want more info on it.
eta: I want to go back for a month and do it on a motorbike in the summer.
andygo said:
Thanks for all your info chaps.
We have 3 weeks in France booked for August, so 3 weeks in NZ isn't going to occur this year. As you all suggest, 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough given the distances involved. My wife, although not a teacher, is limited to school holidays for her hols, so it is going to have to wait for next year I think.
So, where do we go for Easter? Hmmm.
I wouldn't say that it's not worth going for just two weeks. We went last November and did 13 nights in NZ. This consisted of 2 nights in Aukland, 2 in the Coromandel, 1 in Rotorua, 1 in the National Park, 2 in Marlborough, 2 at Fox Glacier and 3 in Queenstown.We have 3 weeks in France booked for August, so 3 weeks in NZ isn't going to occur this year. As you all suggest, 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough given the distances involved. My wife, although not a teacher, is limited to school holidays for her hols, so it is going to have to wait for next year I think.
So, where do we go for Easter? Hmmm.
It was quite a packed holiday but we felt like we got a really good flavour of the place and took in a lot of the main sights. Having said that, we could quite happily have spent another couple of weeks there and still not seen everything that we would have wanted to.
We would also have had an extra night in NZ but due to flight delays on the way out we ended up spending a day sleeping in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur which meant that we arrived in Aukland a day late.
lauda said:
I wouldn't say that it's not worth going for just two weeks. We went last November and did 13 nights in NZ. This consisted of 2 nights in Aukland, 2 in the Coromandel, 1 in Rotorua, 1 in the National Park, 2 in Marlborough, 2 at Fox Glacier and 3 in Queenstown.
It was quite a packed holiday but we felt like we got a really good flavour of the place and took in a lot of the main sights. Having said that, we could quite happily have spent another couple of weeks there and still not seen everything that we would have wanted to.
We would also have had an extra night in NZ but due to flight delays on the way out we ended up spending a day sleeping in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur which meant that we arrived in Aukland a day late.
I think given the info that we are going do it next year when we can make a longer trip of it. But cheers for the insights everyone.It was quite a packed holiday but we felt like we got a really good flavour of the place and took in a lot of the main sights. Having said that, we could quite happily have spent another couple of weeks there and still not seen everything that we would have wanted to.
We would also have had an extra night in NZ but due to flight delays on the way out we ended up spending a day sleeping in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur which meant that we arrived in Aukland a day late.
We're off to NZ in September. OH is a Kiwi so we're staying with her family for most of the time and travelling for a week. We looked at campervan hire and have decided it was cheaper to hire a car and stay in motels. We did that last time too.
We think it'll be easier to get to some of the places we need to by car rather that a big van so hopefully we'll see more.
Where are you planning? We're staying near Christchurch, then heading south to Queenstown, then Dunedin and back through the Catlins.
Last time, we went West and then North round and back.
We've just booked the flights, Emirates MAN to CHC with just stops in Dubai and Sydney. If you can avoid stopping in Bangkok its definitely worth avoiding! It does mean longer stops and Dubai and Sydney and the middle flight is longer but I think worthwhile.
P.S. Last time we went in April flights were £850, September is about £850 too
We think it'll be easier to get to some of the places we need to by car rather that a big van so hopefully we'll see more.
Where are you planning? We're staying near Christchurch, then heading south to Queenstown, then Dunedin and back through the Catlins.
Last time, we went West and then North round and back.
We've just booked the flights, Emirates MAN to CHC with just stops in Dubai and Sydney. If you can avoid stopping in Bangkok its definitely worth avoiding! It does mean longer stops and Dubai and Sydney and the middle flight is longer but I think worthwhile.
P.S. Last time we went in April flights were £850, September is about £850 too
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff