My family and I are planning on leaving for New Zealand from Australia sometime around the 2nd or 3rd week of November.

New Zealand is the topic of these 4 questions:

1) Do we need an airline ticket to our next destination when we enter the country? For example, we are planning on going to Moorea (French Polynesia) and then onto Hawaii after leaving NZ. Do we need to have a pre purchased ticket to Moorea and Hawaii when we arrive at the NZ airport in order to be granted access into NZ?

2) Would it be a good idea to have hotel arrangements made when we enter the country? Although we have our destinations chosen, we had just planned to wing it regarding accomodations.

3) What weather will we encounter in Mid November in Raglan (west coast of the North Island) and the Fiordland National Park area (south tip of the South Island)?

4) Does anyone know when the sand flys start to get bad in Millford sound? We are considering staying at the Millford Sound Lodge, but heard they were terrible there.

5) Lastly, what is the best way to travel from Raglan near the Waitomo Adventure Caves on the west coast of the North Island of NZ, to Queenstown which is on the west coast of the south island of NZ?

In all my visits to NZ, I've never been asked to produce an onward ticket, but that doesn't mean much. Your question is specifically addressed here:

http://www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/k...base/item/1024

You shouldn't have a problem finding accommodation in November, but smaller areas with limited accommodation, such as Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Mt Cook, do fill up, so you might want to make bookings a few days prior.

Weather is anyone's guess. NZ is unpredictible at best.

Sand flies can be bad in Milford year around. In my experience, the colder it is, the fewer the sandflies...they also seem to be a bit slower when it's cold!

Thank you for the website, it is very helpful Melnq8.

Has anyone else out there had an experience with needing an onward ticket when entering NZ?

You say you are leaving from Australia, are you Australian? The reciprocal visa regulations are so much less stringent between the two countries. And there are so many occasions when New Zealanders have full access to Australian citizen benefits that I can't believe that you would need an onward ticket.

From the link I posted above:


----Citizens and permanent residents of NZ or Australia may enter on a one way ticket, providing they are travelling on a valid NZ or Australian passport, or they have a valid NZ or Australian Returning Residents visa in their foreign passport.----

No I am not an AU or NZ citizen. I am an American citizen.

We will be going straight to AU from Los Angeles, CA (USA); then 2 weeks later will be going to NZ for 2 more weeks, then on to Moorea (French Polynesia), for 1 week, then back to Los Angeles and back home to Wisconsin in the US.

Zippy 3

Wow, that's quite the air itinerary. How do you plan to book it?

I'm assuming you'd connect to Moorea through Papeete, Tahiti (?)

Is this the part you might not get booked beforehand?

I guess I'm a tad puzzled as to why you wouldn't have your air tickets completely booked before departure.

I have been asked to show an itinerary twice.

I would phone the airline you are flying with into New Zealand.

I would also phone or email the NZ consulate:
New Zealand Consulate-General
Phone: (310) 566 6555, Opt 0
Fax: (310) 566 6556
Email: [email protected]