Royalty in New Zealand 2006

[en830]

Well you lucky people could be graced by a Royal visit next year. Yes the present MRS EN830 and I are considering visiting your lovely Islands in April 2006.

Part of our tour will take in the South Island and part the North Island. I hope to be gracing the Wananka show over the Easter weekend.

I guess New Zealand is a bit like Jersey and can be walked around in a day, so after the airshow what else to you recommend we should see?

[Dave Homewood]

Wow, the actual King and Queen of the Channel Islands, coming here, and so soon after the recent visit of Prince Andy.

Walked around in a day? You are 'aving a laugh mate! It's 1 and an 1/2 times bigger than the UK. It'll take at least 2 days!

Definately visit Christchurch and Auckland, if only for their excellent aviation museums but there are loads of other attractions there. A popular thing with foreign tourists is the Milford Track - check it out online if you're into tramping (hiking in US speak). Taupo is also a great area, and you have to see Rotorua. If possible also the Bay of Islands, or the Marlborough Sounds (which you would pass through a little of if you cross Cook Strait by ferry).

Loads more attractions too. I'll have a think. You'd both be made welcome in Cambridge too Ian, of course.

[en830]

We are thinking of hiring a gypsy's caravan and horse, would you consider this feasibly?

[Dave Homewood]

One tip, many UK tourists prefer the option to hire a campervan and drive round the country. It is often a cheaper and more convenient option than hotels/motels, and hire car, etc.Every town has a camping ground, and you are also allowed to park up in many public areas for the night, like beside some beaches, etc. No-one will hassle you to move on usually. The more people going the cheaper that option gets of course too.

If you perfer the motel option, another excelent cheaper alternative are holday cabins in camping grounds. I toured the South island last year with my parents and was surprised to find most cabins are actually to the high standards, if not higher, than motel rooms, but much cheaper. Look for camping grounds with the Kiwicamp logo, they're guarenteed. Also the Qualmark endorsement,and the same from TIANZ or AA too helps.

What are you into though, apart from aviation? There's all sorts here, adventure tourism, wine trails, whale watching, horse trekking, tramping, museums... name what you want to see, we'll make recommendations.

If you get "homesick" while here, Christchurch is NZ's English city, Cambridge is NZ's English town, Dunedin is our Scottish city, and Akaroa is NZ's French town too by the way. I recommend the first three, and I here Akaroa's a wonderful place for a visit.

Here are some helpful sites
www.newzealand.com/travel/

www.tourism.net.nz/

www.qualmark.co.nz/index.jsp

www.nz.com/

www.rotoruanz.com/home.asp

www.lakewanaka.co.nz/index.cfm/Home

www.nzsouth.co.nz/

Ferry tickets cheapest from this site I believe
www.interislander.co.nz/

Camper vans
www.britz.com/

You can see Kiwis at Otorohanga
www.kiwihouse.org.nz/

There's Waitomo Caves
www.waitomocaves.co.nz/home/

Ooh, I really recommend Nelson as a destination too, gorgeous place
www.nelsonnz.com/page.php?page=index

As far as travel goes, you can do a certain amount by train but our network isn't that extensive, unlike the UK or Europe. Driving's the cheapest option and best. Flying is dear.

I'd recommend flying into Christchurch, get a camper/car and drive to Wanaka and Queenstown region, then up the west coast all the way to Nelson (amazing landscape and culture there, and great roads, realy made for travellers). From Nelson to Blenheim (Omaka of course) and then Picton to cross the strait to Wellington. Head north, taking in Ohakea museum, and all points till Auckland. You can fly out from there. You'd see a good proportion of the country then and all the good aviation museums such as

Wigram, Chch
Ferrymead, Chch
NZFPM, Wanaka
Maybe Mandeville too
Founders Museum in Nelson has a lovely Freighter
Museum at Blenheim also worth a look
Omaka too
Wellington has the Southwood Car Museum with some planes
Ohakea
DC3 at Mangaweka
Motat, Auckland
Ardmore, Auckland
Dairy Flat, Auckland
Auckland Museum

Lots of possibilities Ian, for you and anyone reading this who hopes to visit NZ

I hope this has helped in some way.

[Dave Homewood]

PS - the gypsy's do not use horses in this country, they're modern and use trucks. You cannot hire them but you can see them littering town squares across the country with their markets. Oh yeah, they ain't real Gypsy's either, just drop-outs from society who read fairy tales as kids and thought the lifestyle looked easy.

[Bruce]

A really great place to visit, but well off the normal tourist trail, is Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland. Awesome place with plenty of intersting things to do - Fishing, craft shops, potters and other artisans, forest walks, great beaches, stunning scenery, and a real "island" lifestyle (kind of like Jersey?) Acessible by ferry (passenger and Vehicular - 3 hours) or by air from Auckland.
see www.greatbarrier.co.nz/
Highly recommended.....

[en830]

The mobile home option is the one I am looking at. What I am intending to do is to book a hotel for the first and last nights, in Christchurch. The period in between we will take to the highway and travel around your splendid country, it will be nice to see somewhere other than here the centre of the known universe.

We are also planning on visiting Hong Kong on the way out and maybe Singapore on the way back.

[Dave Homewood]

I have heard Hong Kong is fantastic to stopover at.

How many days will you be in NZ for?

[en830]

If al goes according to plan we should be in NZ for three weeks, give or take a day or so

[DragonflyDH90]

Your most welcome to come and visit us down in Mandeville after or before Warbirds over Wanaka. Our company is called the Croydon Aircraft Company we specialise in vintage aircraft restoration as well as taking people for flights (possibly the most reasonably priced anywhere in the world).
Im sure there are many on this site who can vouch for our rather unusual and rare collection of machines.
We are approx 3hrs drive from Wanaka (South), but the drive is great with some lovely scenery. You can have a look at our website on www.croydonaircraft.com, please excuse our website its rubbish (Im in the process of sorting it) and there are one or two aircraft shown that are no longer with us and again one or two not shown that are.

[en830]

Thanks for the invite Dragonfly, I will have to mix my interests with that of Mrs EN830, who tollerates the Aviation side of our life, I'm sure she'll enjoy a flight in a vintage aircraft.

I fancy doing a helicopter picnic and also whale watching, our other interest is photographing wild life.

[Dave Homewood]

What sort of wildlife? Birds? Sea creatures? Mammals?

We have lots of birds, seals, sea lions, penguin colonies and the Royal Alatross sanctuary near Dunedin. As for mammals, NZ has only one native mammal tye, the bat. We have introduced species (mostly pests) like deer, rabbits, rats, possums, etc. Most tourism based around these is shooting them!

But if you're into photographing birlife, especially sea birds and rainforest birds, you'll be happy. There's also whales and dolphins, etc too.