Trip Report - New Zealand - 3 weeks on North Island
Apr 3rd, 2004, 03:45 PM
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Trip Report - New Zealand - 3 weeks on North Island
Hello everyone,
Here is my trip report of 3 weeks on the North Island of New Zealand. We had a wonderful time. It is long, so email me if you want a copy.
Brushtail.
_________________________________
Three weeks on the North Island of New Zealand in March 2004. Travelled 3,472klm all over the North Island. All prices are in New Zealand dollars. Petrol prices ranged from $1.15 - $1.26 per litre. Yikes!! Depending where you bought it. The motel prices are for the room, not each. We are both 47 years old with average fitness. (in other words, couch potatoes) lol
We booked a hire car (Toyota Corolla) on the Net at home with Apex Car Rentals @ $45.00 per day. www.apexrentals.co.nz They were brilliant. They picked us up at the airport and, at the end of the holiday, dropped us off at our Airport motel for our final night. I would definitely go with them again.
Pre booked our first three nights on the net at home. Decided to free-wheel the rest of the way.
Arrived in Auckland, picked up our hire car and headed to our first nights accomm at North Shore Holiday Park. (a Top 10). This was the first disappointment of the holiday. I expected better. It just goes to show how brochures and a fancy website do not tell the full story. We stayed in a tourist flat for $88.00 and it was old, tired and the bed was saggy. Just like us. Oh well.
We left Auckland the next morning in brighter spirits and headed north to Paihia. Once out of the city, things looked up. (don!|t they always?) Stopped for morning tea at the German Tea Shop on the side of the road just south of Brynderwyn. A nice break as they have alpacas and I love them.
On through lovely countryside to Paihia where we stayed for two nights at Bay Cabinz. A lovely motel complex on School Rd, Paihia. We had a new cedar cabin to ourselves with deck looking out over the town and bay itself. A total contrast to the previous night!|s accommodation in Auckland. www.baycabinz.co.nz $95.00 per night. Thoroughly recommend them. Lovely people. We found the local RSA (Returned Services Association), called RSL!|s in Oz, and had dinner there. Good food at a good price. Sitting on our cabin deck with a glass of wine watching Paihia and the Bay was a joy and we relaxed. We toured Waitangi, hired a Tuk Tuk for a fun drive around town, went across the ferry to Russell and did the usual touristy things. The weather was glorious, 25C.
Left Paihia early in the morning and headed up to Cape Reinga. We seriously underestimated the distances in NZ. Coming from Australia, NZ seems small, but the roads are winding and it took us a lot longer to get around than we thought. The roads are, however, in top condition. Cape Reinga was well worth the trip. Standing at the edge of the world looking where two oceans meet, Tasman and Pacific, was great. Windblown and happy we settled on one of the picnic tables for our lunch - fresh crusty bread bought at Kerikeri, cheese and apples. Yum.
One of the things that we did each day was take a small metal thermos flask and two cheap plastic cups with us. The thermos only holds two cups of boiling water, but we filled it up each morning at the motels, took their coffee and sugar sachets, the rest of the milk they provide you with and made up our morning teas at the side of the road in a suitably gorgeous spot. Easy and enjoyable. We brought the thermos from home and they questioned it at the airport. This pleased us as it meant security was doing its job.
We stayed overnight at Top 10 Ninety Mile Beach. http://www.ninetymilebeach.co.nz/ The room was as old and shabby as Auckland, but was only $70.00, had spacious grounds, and was right next to the beach. They also have a good restaurant where we had dinner.
Headed back down the west coast to Auckland. Spectacular windy road through forests. Crossed on the Hokianga car ferry which was fun and on through more windy roads full of green ferns and Kauri trees. Stopped at Tane Mahuta which is conveniently situated close to the road. Enjoyed that. On through Dargaville (tried Kumara chips) and to Auckland. We hoped to stay at Orewa but, being a Friday night, the place was booked out. Made a note to book ahead for the weekends during our stay in NZ. We were getting very tired by this time, 5.30pm in peak traffic in Auckland trying to find somewhere to stay. Not nice.
We went to the only place we knew, back to North Shore Holiday Park where the only accomm they had left was a bunk room with no bathroom, kitchen or sheets for $101.00. We were not impressed at the price. The kitchen chairs had torn vinyl, the place was old. After tea at the conveniently placed Pizza Hut, within walking distance, we started to research our Jason!|s motel guide www.jasons.co.nz for a place the following night at Coromandel. We made a few phone calls and booked Coromandel Court Motel for $125.00. Jasons is a fabulous website. They have free maps and accomm directories and will send them to your home free of charge. This makes planning your holiday more exciting.
Fed the ducks in the Holiday Park and then left for the Coromandel Peninsula. Had morning tea in Thames. A lovely little town and they had a Saturday morning market just for us. Really enjoyed that. Onwards on the windy road which seriously hugs the coast to Coromandel. Beautiful views on the way. Our video camera was getting a big workout filming through the windscreen. This worked a treat. Big clear video of our trip.
Coromandel is a nice little town and our motel room was a dream. www.coromandelcourtmotel.co.nz/
This is a new motel and our two bedroom unit (both rooms with king beds) had a spa. Luxury. $125.00 per night. Lazed around all afternoon, writing postcards and planning the next part of the trip. Decided not to go to Whitianga and Hot Water Beach as the tides were wrong. Low tide was 8am and we were too far away. Feeling a bit tired after all the driving. Maybe next time.
Headed back to Thames and on to Rotorua via Paeroa and Matamata. (Hobbiton). Loved Matamata and went on the Lord of the Rings Movie Set Tour. $50.00 each. We were picked up in a bus at the information centre and driven to Hobbiton. We both really enjoyed this tour and danced under the party tree, visited Bilbos house and chatted to other Rings fans. On to Rotorua to stay with relatives for the next five days.
There is so much to see and do in Rotorua and we did most of it. My husband Phil went Zorbing, http://www.zorb.com/ , we went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal area, Buried Village, Skyline Gondola, Rainbow Farm, shopped and had a good time. A lovely place. My cousin says she could never live in Oz, it was too dangerous with poisonous spiders and snakes, but she happily lives on a volcano with steam coming out of the drains on the side of the road and the occasional explosion in the local park. That is weird. We made use of their computer and booked ahead in Wellington, New Plymouth and Auckland through www.wotif.com Tried to book Napier but, again, it was a weekend and there were none available through that website.
Left Rotorua and headed to Taupo with a stop to Huka Falls. Spectacular again. NZ is so beautiful, a postcard view at every turn. Taupo was nice and we had a look around as we went on to Napier. Stopped on the side of the road again in a rest area next to a burbling river and had our picnic lunch. I could get used to this. Arrived in Napier and found accommodation through the Information Centre. These places are so useful. Stayed at The Beachfront Motel. http://www.beachfrontnapier.co.nz/napier.html This was a bit more than we wanted to spend for accomm but worth it for two nights. (think how much we saved with the rellies in Rotorua). $139.00 per night. The motel is new and we had another luxury spa in our room.
I loved Napier with the big sweep of Hawke Bay and its Art Deco style. We stayed right on Marine Parade and we loved it. We had dinner at the RSA, another good value meal, and explored the waterfront and town. Lovely spot.
Onwards to Wellington. Another long drive. We had booked into the Hotel Willis Lodge through Wotif and the hotel is a disaster. $99.00 per night. Old, seedy, shabby with torn curtains, broken blinds, ancient faded bedding and broken tiles in the bathrooms. The small hot room looked out over the back rubbish area. We did not stay there, but after discussions with hotel staff, and even though it was still only 2pm, we were still charged the full two nights. They had our credit card details. We are still fighting this out with them. Wotif.com could not be more helpful and they are seriously looking into the matter for us, after all it affects their own business. You book in good faith, expecting reasonable rooms. Hotel Willis Lodge is a rip-off.
Tired and a bit upset, we went to the Information Centre in Wellington to try and find alternate accomm for the night. (went to the information centre!K!K..that sounds so easy. It took us ages to find through heaps of traffic and one way streets in a strange city.) Stayed at Halswell Lodge. Nice room in a big old fashioned house. http://www.halswell.co.nz/ We stayed in the lodge itself. Lovely. $159.00
After the awful time we had had, we decided not to stay the second day in Wellington which is not really fair on the city itself. But we had had enough. Our motel was situated right in town so we walked around a lot exploring that afternoon and again the following morning before heading up to Ohakune near Tongariro National Park. We went to the Wairoa War Musuem which Phil was passionately interested in, and while he explored, I enjoyed a coffee with fine views of snow capped Mt Ruapehu, our next days destination.
We stayed at The Hobbit in Ohakune. The motel was named 20 years ago, the owner being a long time fan of The Rings. www.the-hobbit.co.nz Nice motel which we can really recommend. $85.00 per night and they had a great restaurant. The next day we travelled to Whakapapa and up the chair lifts of Mt Ruapehu. Being the end of summer, there was no snow but we were fascinated with the landscape. We had never seen anything like it and really enjoyed the day.
On to Wanganui overnight. The road was windy, again, and because of the floods of the previous month, there were a lot of slips and washouts. This made it interesting, to say the least. But once again, picture postcard views everywhere you looked. Overnight at Riverview Motel. Lovely people and really nice new room with, you guessed it, a spa. www.nzmotels.co.nz/river.view $99.00. Went to the Cosmopolitan Club for tea. Similar in style to the RSA!|s. A bistro style meal. Good value. We got our maps out at the table after eating, and people came over to us and started giving us suggestions of where to go and what to see etc. Nice.
We left Wanganui and headed to New Plymouth via Hawere. I really liked Hawere. Lovely little town and we had morning tea in King Edward Park with hundreds of ducks. They saw us with our picnic bag and followed us to our bench seat. I love ducks and it was great.
We were lucky enough to see Mt Taranaki without clouds and liked New Plymouth. We stayed at The Waterfront Hotel, booked through Wotif. http://www.waterfront.co.nz This is a new hotel right across from the water and our room had a good view of the Wind Wand. $125.00. Starting to feel weary of travelling about now. Explored town and ate ice-creams along the waterfront in true holiday mode.
Had dinner at the New Plymouth Club, along the waterfront and it proved to be the worst meal of the trip. It looked nice, but tasted awful. Just steak, salad and crumbed mussels, but was not nice and we only ate half of it. VERY unusual for us. Lol We then did something we had never done before. We each got a drink, wine and beer, and sat on the balcony and watched the sun go down over the ocean. We live on the east coast of Oz, so this was very new. ??
Left New Plymouth and headed north for our final 4 days in Auckland. Once again a long days travelling but beautiful scenery. Lunch in Otorohanga, nice little town, and on to Auckland. We stayed 3 nights at the Copthorne Anzac Avenue, booked through Wotif for $139.00 per night with free cooked breakfast for 2. Very nice. http://www.copthorneanzac.co.nz . A nice hotel that couldn!|t do enough for you. Every request was met with a smile and a - yes, of course.
Explored Auckland for the final few days, went up the Skytower and watch idiots sky jump off the top, dangle on a wire to the delight of everyone on the observation deck, and then drop down swiftly to the ground. Similar to bungee. They paid $195.00 for the privilege. Ferry to Devonport, Kelly Tarltons, the Auckland Musuem, Victoria Markets, etc. Feeling about 100 years old by this time, we walked miles, and looking forward to home.
Final night at Silver Point Motel. With free shuttle to airport next morning. http://www.auckland.hotels-nb.com/fo...LVER-POINT.asp $86.00 It was OK, but had no restaurant so we had dinner at the motel down the street. Spent ages throwing out rubbish, - maps, brochures, food etc, trying to get everything back into our luggage.
Left Auckland early next morning for the 9am flight back to Sydney.
Overall, we had a wonderful, wonderful time and would go again in a heartbeat. The country is beautiful and the Kiwis are lovely friendly people who really want you to enjoy the country they are so justifiably proud of. It is very easy to drive around and I spent a lot of time saying - look at that.
What would we change? Paying a bit more for better accommodation made a difference to our day to day experience. Backpacking is not for us. But it needn!|t have been luxury either. Just modern and basic would do.
We learned to be flexible with our itinerary. If we didn!|t like a place we moved on, or stayed longer if we did.
I would keep better track of our money. I used ATMs and visa but couldn!|t get a balance of our account. Checking on the net was good, but the visas took days to clear so it was unreliable. Eg: The hire car money was withdrawn three days after we got home. I was a bit concerned at the end of the holiday but came home with more than $1200.00 spare in the bank. I could!|ve spent that. Lol
I would love to answer any questions anyone has of NZ. I can!|t talk about our holiday experience enough and my family and friends are already bored silly.
[email protected]
Brushtail !V now back at work saving for the South Island in 18 months time.
Here is my trip report of 3 weeks on the North Island of New Zealand. We had a wonderful time. It is long, so email me if you want a copy.
Brushtail.
_________________________________
Three weeks on the North Island of New Zealand in March 2004. Travelled 3,472klm all over the North Island. All prices are in New Zealand dollars. Petrol prices ranged from $1.15 - $1.26 per litre. Yikes!! Depending where you bought it. The motel prices are for the room, not each. We are both 47 years old with average fitness. (in other words, couch potatoes) lol
We booked a hire car (Toyota Corolla) on the Net at home with Apex Car Rentals @ $45.00 per day. www.apexrentals.co.nz They were brilliant. They picked us up at the airport and, at the end of the holiday, dropped us off at our Airport motel for our final night. I would definitely go with them again.
Pre booked our first three nights on the net at home. Decided to free-wheel the rest of the way.
Arrived in Auckland, picked up our hire car and headed to our first nights accomm at North Shore Holiday Park. (a Top 10). This was the first disappointment of the holiday. I expected better. It just goes to show how brochures and a fancy website do not tell the full story. We stayed in a tourist flat for $88.00 and it was old, tired and the bed was saggy. Just like us. Oh well.
We left Auckland the next morning in brighter spirits and headed north to Paihia. Once out of the city, things looked up. (don!|t they always?) Stopped for morning tea at the German Tea Shop on the side of the road just south of Brynderwyn. A nice break as they have alpacas and I love them.
On through lovely countryside to Paihia where we stayed for two nights at Bay Cabinz. A lovely motel complex on School Rd, Paihia. We had a new cedar cabin to ourselves with deck looking out over the town and bay itself. A total contrast to the previous night!|s accommodation in Auckland. www.baycabinz.co.nz $95.00 per night. Thoroughly recommend them. Lovely people. We found the local RSA (Returned Services Association), called RSL!|s in Oz, and had dinner there. Good food at a good price. Sitting on our cabin deck with a glass of wine watching Paihia and the Bay was a joy and we relaxed. We toured Waitangi, hired a Tuk Tuk for a fun drive around town, went across the ferry to Russell and did the usual touristy things. The weather was glorious, 25C.
Left Paihia early in the morning and headed up to Cape Reinga. We seriously underestimated the distances in NZ. Coming from Australia, NZ seems small, but the roads are winding and it took us a lot longer to get around than we thought. The roads are, however, in top condition. Cape Reinga was well worth the trip. Standing at the edge of the world looking where two oceans meet, Tasman and Pacific, was great. Windblown and happy we settled on one of the picnic tables for our lunch - fresh crusty bread bought at Kerikeri, cheese and apples. Yum.
One of the things that we did each day was take a small metal thermos flask and two cheap plastic cups with us. The thermos only holds two cups of boiling water, but we filled it up each morning at the motels, took their coffee and sugar sachets, the rest of the milk they provide you with and made up our morning teas at the side of the road in a suitably gorgeous spot. Easy and enjoyable. We brought the thermos from home and they questioned it at the airport. This pleased us as it meant security was doing its job.
We stayed overnight at Top 10 Ninety Mile Beach. http://www.ninetymilebeach.co.nz/ The room was as old and shabby as Auckland, but was only $70.00, had spacious grounds, and was right next to the beach. They also have a good restaurant where we had dinner.
Headed back down the west coast to Auckland. Spectacular windy road through forests. Crossed on the Hokianga car ferry which was fun and on through more windy roads full of green ferns and Kauri trees. Stopped at Tane Mahuta which is conveniently situated close to the road. Enjoyed that. On through Dargaville (tried Kumara chips) and to Auckland. We hoped to stay at Orewa but, being a Friday night, the place was booked out. Made a note to book ahead for the weekends during our stay in NZ. We were getting very tired by this time, 5.30pm in peak traffic in Auckland trying to find somewhere to stay. Not nice.
We went to the only place we knew, back to North Shore Holiday Park where the only accomm they had left was a bunk room with no bathroom, kitchen or sheets for $101.00. We were not impressed at the price. The kitchen chairs had torn vinyl, the place was old. After tea at the conveniently placed Pizza Hut, within walking distance, we started to research our Jason!|s motel guide www.jasons.co.nz for a place the following night at Coromandel. We made a few phone calls and booked Coromandel Court Motel for $125.00. Jasons is a fabulous website. They have free maps and accomm directories and will send them to your home free of charge. This makes planning your holiday more exciting.
Fed the ducks in the Holiday Park and then left for the Coromandel Peninsula. Had morning tea in Thames. A lovely little town and they had a Saturday morning market just for us. Really enjoyed that. Onwards on the windy road which seriously hugs the coast to Coromandel. Beautiful views on the way. Our video camera was getting a big workout filming through the windscreen. This worked a treat. Big clear video of our trip.
Coromandel is a nice little town and our motel room was a dream. www.coromandelcourtmotel.co.nz/
This is a new motel and our two bedroom unit (both rooms with king beds) had a spa. Luxury. $125.00 per night. Lazed around all afternoon, writing postcards and planning the next part of the trip. Decided not to go to Whitianga and Hot Water Beach as the tides were wrong. Low tide was 8am and we were too far away. Feeling a bit tired after all the driving. Maybe next time.
Headed back to Thames and on to Rotorua via Paeroa and Matamata. (Hobbiton). Loved Matamata and went on the Lord of the Rings Movie Set Tour. $50.00 each. We were picked up in a bus at the information centre and driven to Hobbiton. We both really enjoyed this tour and danced under the party tree, visited Bilbos house and chatted to other Rings fans. On to Rotorua to stay with relatives for the next five days.
There is so much to see and do in Rotorua and we did most of it. My husband Phil went Zorbing, http://www.zorb.com/ , we went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal area, Buried Village, Skyline Gondola, Rainbow Farm, shopped and had a good time. A lovely place. My cousin says she could never live in Oz, it was too dangerous with poisonous spiders and snakes, but she happily lives on a volcano with steam coming out of the drains on the side of the road and the occasional explosion in the local park. That is weird. We made use of their computer and booked ahead in Wellington, New Plymouth and Auckland through www.wotif.com Tried to book Napier but, again, it was a weekend and there were none available through that website.
Left Rotorua and headed to Taupo with a stop to Huka Falls. Spectacular again. NZ is so beautiful, a postcard view at every turn. Taupo was nice and we had a look around as we went on to Napier. Stopped on the side of the road again in a rest area next to a burbling river and had our picnic lunch. I could get used to this. Arrived in Napier and found accommodation through the Information Centre. These places are so useful. Stayed at The Beachfront Motel. http://www.beachfrontnapier.co.nz/napier.html This was a bit more than we wanted to spend for accomm but worth it for two nights. (think how much we saved with the rellies in Rotorua).
$139.00 per night. The motel is new and we had another luxury spa in our room. I loved Napier with the big sweep of Hawke Bay and its Art Deco style. We stayed right on Marine Parade and we loved it. We had dinner at the RSA, another good value meal, and explored the waterfront and town. Lovely spot.
Onwards to Wellington. Another long drive. We had booked into the Hotel Willis Lodge through Wotif and the hotel is a disaster. $99.00 per night. Old, seedy, shabby with torn curtains, broken blinds, ancient faded bedding and broken tiles in the bathrooms. The small hot room looked out over the back rubbish area. We did not stay there, but after discussions with hotel staff, and even though it was still only 2pm, we were still charged the full two nights. They had our credit card details. We are still fighting this out with them. Wotif.com could not be more helpful and they are seriously looking into the matter for us, after all it affects their own business. You book in good faith, expecting reasonable rooms. Hotel Willis Lodge is a rip-off.
Tired and a bit upset, we went to the Information Centre in Wellington to try and find alternate accomm for the night. (went to the information centre!K!K..that sounds so easy. It took us ages to find through heaps of traffic and one way streets in a strange city.) Stayed at Halswell Lodge. Nice room in a big old fashioned house. http://www.halswell.co.nz/ We stayed in the lodge itself. Lovely. $159.00
After the awful time we had had, we decided not to stay the second day in Wellington which is not really fair on the city itself. But we had had enough. Our motel was situated right in town so we walked around a lot exploring that afternoon and again the following morning before heading up to Ohakune near Tongariro National Park. We went to the Wairoa War Musuem which Phil was passionately interested in, and while he explored, I enjoyed a coffee with fine views of snow capped Mt Ruapehu, our next days destination.
We stayed at The Hobbit in Ohakune. The motel was named 20 years ago, the owner being a long time fan of The Rings. www.the-hobbit.co.nz Nice motel which we can really recommend. $85.00 per night and they had a great restaurant. The next day we travelled to Whakapapa and up the chair lifts of Mt Ruapehu. Being the end of summer, there was no snow but we were fascinated with the landscape. We had never seen anything like it and really enjoyed the day.
On to Wanganui overnight. The road was windy, again, and because of the floods of the previous month, there were a lot of slips and washouts. This made it interesting, to say the least. But once again, picture postcard views everywhere you looked. Overnight at Riverview Motel. Lovely people and really nice new room with, you guessed it, a spa. www.nzmotels.co.nz/river.view $99.00. Went to the Cosmopolitan Club for tea. Similar in style to the RSA!|s. A bistro style meal. Good value. We got our maps out at the table after eating, and people came over to us and started giving us suggestions of where to go and what to see etc. Nice.
We left Wanganui and headed to New Plymouth via Hawere. I really liked Hawere. Lovely little town and we had morning tea in King Edward Park with hundreds of ducks. They saw us with our picnic bag and followed us to our bench seat. I love ducks and it was great.
We were lucky enough to see Mt Taranaki without clouds and liked New Plymouth. We stayed at The Waterfront Hotel, booked through Wotif. http://www.waterfront.co.nz This is a new hotel right across from the water and our room had a good view of the Wind Wand. $125.00. Starting to feel weary of travelling about now. Explored town and ate ice-creams along the waterfront in true holiday mode.
Had dinner at the New Plymouth Club, along the waterfront and it proved to be the worst meal of the trip. It looked nice, but tasted awful. Just steak, salad and crumbed mussels, but was not nice and we only ate half of it. VERY unusual for us. Lol We then did something we had never done before. We each got a drink, wine and beer, and sat on the balcony and watched the sun go down over the ocean. We live on the east coast of Oz, so this was very new. ??
Left New Plymouth and headed north for our final 4 days in Auckland. Once again a long days travelling but beautiful scenery. Lunch in Otorohanga, nice little town, and on to Auckland. We stayed 3 nights at the Copthorne Anzac Avenue, booked through Wotif for $139.00 per night with free cooked breakfast for 2. Very nice. http://www.copthorneanzac.co.nz . A nice hotel that couldn!|t do enough for you. Every request was met with a smile and a - yes, of course.
Explored Auckland for the final few days, went up the Skytower and watch idiots sky jump off the top, dangle on a wire to the delight of everyone on the observation deck, and then drop down swiftly to the ground. Similar to bungee. They paid $195.00 for the privilege. Ferry to Devonport, Kelly Tarltons, the Auckland Musuem, Victoria Markets, etc. Feeling about 100 years old by this time, we walked miles, and looking forward to home.
Final night at Silver Point Motel. With free shuttle to airport next morning. http://www.auckland.hotels-nb.com/fo...LVER-POINT.asp $86.00 It was OK, but had no restaurant so we had dinner at the motel down the street. Spent ages throwing out rubbish, - maps, brochures, food etc, trying to get everything back into our luggage.
Left Auckland early next morning for the 9am flight back to Sydney.
Overall, we had a wonderful, wonderful time and would go again in a heartbeat. The country is beautiful and the Kiwis are lovely friendly people who really want you to enjoy the country they are so justifiably proud of. It is very easy to drive around and I spent a lot of time saying - look at that.
What would we change? Paying a bit more for better accommodation made a difference to our day to day experience. Backpacking is not for us. But it needn!|t have been luxury either. Just modern and basic would do.
We learned to be flexible with our itinerary. If we didn!|t like a place we moved on, or stayed longer if we did.
I would keep better track of our money. I used ATMs and visa but couldn!|t get a balance of our account. Checking on the net was good, but the visas took days to clear so it was unreliable. Eg: The hire car money was withdrawn three days after we got home. I was a bit concerned at the end of the holiday but came home with more than $1200.00 spare in the bank. I could!|ve spent that. Lol
I would love to answer any questions anyone has of NZ. I can!|t talk about our holiday experience enough and my family and friends are already bored silly.
[email protected]
Brushtail !V now back at work saving for the South Island in 18 months time.
Apr 4th, 2004, 01:00 PM
#5
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An RSA is a community club for war veterans. RSA stands for Returned Services Association. In Australia it's called an RSL. I think they are called American Legions in the USA.
Anyone can sign in and enjoy a quiet drink or a bistro style meal. They are usually very good value and cheaper than restaurants. Eg: In Paihia, we had Garlic bread $2.00, Steak, salad and vegetables $15.00. Tea and coffee $1.20. Glass of white wine $3.00, beer $3.00.
There is generally a big screen with a local game on with people casually watching (in NZ it was either Kiwis playing cricket or Super 12).
Just a casual atmosphere. Well worth a look when you are travelling.
Anyone can sign in and enjoy a quiet drink or a bistro style meal. They are usually very good value and cheaper than restaurants. Eg: In Paihia, we had Garlic bread $2.00, Steak, salad and vegetables $15.00. Tea and coffee $1.20. Glass of white wine $3.00, beer $3.00.
There is generally a big screen with a local game on with people casually watching (in NZ it was either Kiwis playing cricket or Super 12).
Just a casual atmosphere. Well worth a look when you are travelling.
Apr 4th, 2004, 02:29 PM
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Thanks for the information. We will look into those in July. Yes,we have both American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars in the U.S. but those clubs are not usually open to anyone, and I don't know that they serve meals on a regular basis. They seem to be more social clubs. Thanks again.
Apr 4th, 2004, 06:00 PM
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Brush,
I'm sorry to hear that you had so many troubles with your accommodations in NZ, but to paraphrase you, and as I tell my clients..."anyone can make a website look good".
You will not receive any better information than a travel agent who specializes in NZ (not me, necessarily..just go to the NZ Tourism site and look for an agent in your area). Remember, an agent is working for YOU and wants you to have the best possible vacation experience!
Now that you've experienced the North Island quite extensively it's time to head to the South Island next time!
Enjoyed your report!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist
I'm sorry to hear that you had so many troubles with your accommodations in NZ, but to paraphrase you, and as I tell my clients..."anyone can make a website look good".
You will not receive any better information than a travel agent who specializes in NZ (not me, necessarily..just go to the NZ Tourism site and look for an agent in your area). Remember, an agent is working for YOU and wants you to have the best possible vacation experience!
Now that you've experienced the North Island quite extensively it's time to head to the South Island next time!
Enjoyed your report!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist
Apr 6th, 2004, 01:01 AM
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Hello everyone,
Just an update on the Hotel fiasco in Wellington and Wotif.com.
Wotif has contacted us and sent a huge apology and given us a full refund for the two nights unused accommodation at Hotel Willis Lodge, and even refunded the $4.00 booking fee.
Wotif couldn't have been more helpful. We are really pleased with their efforts on our behalf and we will certainly keep using their excellent service.
So there you go, a happy ending.
Brushtail
Just an update on the Hotel fiasco in Wellington and Wotif.com.
Wotif has contacted us and sent a huge apology and given us a full refund for the two nights unused accommodation at Hotel Willis Lodge, and even refunded the $4.00 booking fee.
Wotif couldn't have been more helpful. We are really pleased with their efforts on our behalf and we will certainly keep using their excellent service.
So there you go, a happy ending.
Brushtail
Apr 6th, 2004, 05:33 PM
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Brush,
that is absolutely awesome that they not only gave you a refund but apologized as well! That speaks volumes for their company!
As with most businesses, we find out their "true colors" when a problem arises. A perfect example is a company that I've dealt with since 1995 with no problem at all....until there was. They completely messed up my client's honeymoon and it took me A YEAR to get them a refund!
Unfortunately, I find this happening frequently of late, so I'm very glad that you had a happy ending!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist
that is absolutely awesome that they not only gave you a refund but apologized as well! That speaks volumes for their company!
As with most businesses, we find out their "true colors" when a problem arises. A perfect example is a company that I've dealt with since 1995 with no problem at all....until there was. They completely messed up my client's honeymoon and it took me A YEAR to get them a refund!
Unfortunately, I find this happening frequently of late, so I'm very glad that you had a happy ending!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist
Aug 2nd, 2004, 01:26 PM
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Hi Brushtail -
I have been looking into rooms for next March for north and south NZ. It seems that 'wotif' has good prices, and it is good to know that they are responsible.
My question is, when you were on the computer in NZ, could you also see what Expedia, Orbitz, etc, offerred? I assume that it can be done, but I want to make sure. Can anyone answer this?Thanks.
I have been looking into rooms for next March for north and south NZ. It seems that 'wotif' has good prices, and it is good to know that they are responsible.
My question is, when you were on the computer in NZ, could you also see what Expedia, Orbitz, etc, offerred? I assume that it can be done, but I want to make sure. Can anyone answer this?Thanks.
Aug 4th, 2004, 06:17 PM
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Hi Jed,
I have not had any experience with Orbitz or Expedia. Maybe someone else can help you with that.
The only hint I can give you if you freewheel, is to make sure you book a bit earlier for the weekends. We found that places were booked out if we left it until the Thursday or Friday.
I have not had any experience with Orbitz or Expedia. Maybe someone else can help you with that.
The only hint I can give you if you freewheel, is to make sure you book a bit earlier for the weekends. We found that places were booked out if we left it until the Thursday or Friday.
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