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Back from NZ trip - here are some hotel details etc.

Back from NZ trip - here are some hotel details etc.

Old Sep 10th 2003, 5:44 am
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Default Back from NZ trip - here are some hotel details etc.

Hi Chaps,

We are now back in the UK and so I though that I would share some of my findings with you.

These are all sweeping generalisations and all my opinion, apologies if I insult anyone.

Overall impression :

NZ has excellent coffee - even the petrol stations have machines that produce pretty good coffee.

Houses are so different, most houses are wooden. They just look so different from the UK houses that it is all a bit wierd really. The walls tend to be about 4 inches thick and in many parts of the country they are single storey. Gardens in towns and cities appeared to be quite small, also in a lot of places gardens were left as grass rather than 'gardened'.

In the cities people are less friendly that in Yorkshire but more friendly than in London. In smaller places people went from really friendly to downright rude.

The winter weather is not mild, the temperatures may be 12 degrees and upward but with the horizontal rain and the cold winds it still feels like winter. We did have some sunny days as well.

When the sun comes out, everything seems to change, people smile more, the scenery takes on a sort of a glow, everything seems to be so much nicer.

We saw a lot of children without shoes - which apparently is quite usual, sometimes because of povery and sometimes because of choice.

The school buildings where bright and cheerful, usually with bright pictures on the building and amazing playgrounds.

The cost of living seemed to be quite high, fruit and vegetables were cheap (apparently importing fruit and veg is quite unusual) but groceries were about the same price as here. Cars seemed to be much cheaper, houses seemed to be much cheaper but furniture, books, records etc seemed to be slightly more expensive.

The main purpose of the trip was to decide whether we wanted to move to NZ, we still haven't decided but I now feel that I can make a decision. I think in some ways it has sorted out that initial shock of seeing the place for the first time and also given me a good idea of where places are - useful when looking at houses etc on the internet, many of the dream houses that you see are in places where work is not plentiful. I now also now what I am looking for in a place to live, which is always helpful.

Route :

Auckland 3 nights, Paihia 2 nights, Auckland 1 night, Rotorua 2 nights, Napier 1 night, Wellington 3 nights, Lake Taupo 1 night, Waihi 2 nights, Coromandel 1 night, Auckland 1 night.

Would have cut out the coromandel and stayed in Napier for longer looking back on things.

Car Hire :

http://www.rentalcars.net.nz/

$1000 more or less including all petrol.

We rented a car from APC Rentals for 18 days, we reduced the cost be hiring an older car, we had a 6 year old Nissan Bluebird.

Hotels :

We stayed at these Hotels (just in case about to go travel out there and wants some hotel info)

Auckland : Duxton Hotel (booked on www.wotif.co.nz)

We paid from $115 to $145 per night and stayed here for 4 nights in total. It is a nice hotel, about 5 mins walk from the center of Auckland. All of the rooms have a kitchenette included and a washer/dryer. The rooms we had had two queen beds, and so was great for us as we were travelling with our children.
It has a nice heated outside pool.

We also stayed in a fairly grotty motel near to the airport, this cost us $95 but wasn't really very nice.

Bay of Islands, Paihia : Paihia Pacific Resort Hotel (wotif)

Paid $110 per night.

We had a superior suite room which was meant to be split level, however split level meant 2 steps down which meant that there it was basically a motel room. The hotel was a bit old fashioned and a bit shabby, the pool was not heated and so it was to cold to swim.

Rotorua : Grand Tiara Hotel (wotif)

Paid $99 per night.

Nice hotel, two beds, tea/coffee making facilities, we also went to the Hangi which was also good. It has a nice swimming pool and some caves with Spas.

Napier : The Green House on the Hill

http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/ruthzmail/

Paid $130

Veggie homestay, this is probably the nicest place we stayed, not the poshest definately the nicest. The problem with homestays is that they are quite expensive if you are travelling with kids because you need two rooms. But the warm welcome and comfortable rooms here were really nice. The owners were expats so it was interesting to talk about their experiences.

We left our raincoats behind and by the time we had realised, Ruth had posted them off to our next hotel and we had them again the next morning.

Wellington : The Intercontinental

Paid: $159 which included a fully cooked breakfast for all of us.

V. Posh hotel, just off the harbour in Wellington. Excellent breakfast, well worth staying there.

Lake Taupo : Great Lakes Motel

Paid: $135

Nice cleanl motel. Our room has a separate bedroom with two single beds and then a queen in the main room. Right next to the restarants and shops.

Bay of Plenty, Waihi : Anthenree Hot Springs and Holiday Park

Paid : $107 per night.

Lovely place to stay, we had a motel unit which had two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area. We could see the sea from the windows. The complex has a really nice hot spring swimming pools, one at 36 degrees and one at 40 degrees. There is a children playground opposite on the beach. It is just perfect for families and also good for couples.

The had camping and camper van facilities as well. I would definately recommend this place, we liked it so much that we stayed an extra night.

Corromandel : Anchor Lodge

Paid : $130

We had a two bedroom motel unit, which had a kitchen and living room, and a balcony. Really nice place, it looked like it might be a bit of a party place at the weekends.

This has turned out to be longer than planned - sorry about that chaps.

Last edited by icklepickle; Sep 10th 2003 at 6:07 am.
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 7:08 am
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Thanks Jan,
Its always good to see posts about NZ good or bad and yours was very informative and honest.
Id heard about the no shoes thing from when we had our meds a couple there were telling us how their children went to school in NZ for six wks without wearing them.
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:03 am
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What! you didn't visit the south Island??? how dare you! lol

I must admit that when we did our recon. mission to NZ, I was only really interested in living in the north, mainly because of the weather.
We now live in Nelson, South Island, one of the sunniest places (if not the sunniest)in NZ!!
You really should check out the south! Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:08 am
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Default Main Land

Don't they call it the main land
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:14 am
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Originally posted by bondipom
Don't they call it the main land
Apparently so they also call OZ the west Island!! lol
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:16 am
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I thought it would be a lot worse than that.
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:49 am
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We met a really nice couple from Bradford that were out for interviews and they had been over to the South Island, they said that they couldn't believe how quiet it was. They found the cities to be quiet as well.

I would have loved to go over to the South Island but didn't fancy the ferry crossing and didn't want to do to much driving - my kids are only 3 and 5, with the trip that we did we had at least 3 days that were spent mostly driving and they were very good but did get a bit bored. If I had planned better I would have flown home from Christchurch but I didn't so we didn't go.

bondipom : what did you mean?

Regards,
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 10:52 am
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Kiwis love the Aussies so much that I am sure they would have an affectionate name for Australia.
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 11:07 am
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Could you tell us more about Napier; that is where we plan on settling.

Thanks

Kara and Rick
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 11:33 am
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Napier is absolutely wonderful - it has a really nice feel about the place (reminded me of Brighton somehow, although the places are really very different to look at, the feel was similar). It has loads of character and the buildings are wonderful.

The town center is next to the sea (no swimming due to currents) and there is a walkway along the front with parks, crazy golf, skate parts, a brand new swimming pool. Opposite that is a whole load of motels, hotels and restaurants. It has a nice shopping center, probably 100 or so shops, with lots of different types of shops. Lots of craft type shops and secondhand shops full of artdeco style goodies. Lots of restaurants and pubs. It also has a theatre that has just started to attract national touring companies.

The houses tower above the town, many of them built on hills, it you look at the details for the B & B you will see the sort of thing. This gives you lots of potential to find a seaview. Housing is very reasonably priced. Gardens tend to be either small or steep in the center of town but if you live just outside the average garden size is apparently 1 quarter of an acre. (the B&B owner had a gardening company).

It is just down the road from Hastings which is more of a service town for the local businesses. This gives you a second center for work and shopping.

Apparently the quality of the schools is mixed, there are some very good ones and some not so good ones.

I loved Napier, I would have liked to spend more time there but we had prebooked accomodation in Wellington (because it was much cheaper to stay there at the weekend). If we could move there then we probably would.

What kind of jobs are you looking for?

Regards
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 11:56 am
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Actually, we were slightly disappointed with Napier though it was early winter, the weather was not good for somewhere renounned for sunshine and it was a little quiet. Ok, you don't go to NZ for the crowds, there is only Queens St in Auckland during the day that you could call crowded. No problem with that. However, we said we would definately give it a go during summer. We loved the village of Havelock a few miles out , even on a dark day it looked a great place to live.

I must admit I found everywhere in NZ friendlier than Yorkshire (or my experiences of Yorkshire). My wife is Asain and we are sometimes a little nervous about how we are received. We had nothing but polite and friendly welcomes all over NZ. I would hope that this would stay the same if or when we move there. Can't really say the same about Yorkshire. However, maybe North Yorkshire is different to West Yorkshire. I expect so.

Rob
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 12:21 pm
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> we were slightly disappointed with Napier
it's horses for courses really, we knew very little about it and so were pleasantly suprised. The weather was bad when we were there - our host said that it usually rained for three days in a row and was then sunny. Different people like different places - that is why I think it is good to take a look for yourself if you can.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get a warm welcome in Yorkshire, you would if you came to my house but I can't comment for anyone else.

Regards,
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 1:00 pm
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Husband has a job offer in Hastings (he's a sheet metal fabricator and welder). Application went to NZ House yesterday, with NZQA report. House been on the market for 1 week now.

Kara


Originally posted by icklepickle
Napier is absolutely wonderful - it has a really nice feel about the place (reminded me of Brighton somehow, although the places are really very different to look at, the feel was similar). It has loads of character and the buildings are wonderful.

The town center is next to the sea (no swimming due to currents) and there is a walkway along the front with parks, crazy golf, skate parts, a brand new swimming pool. Opposite that is a whole load of motels, hotels and restaurants. It has a nice shopping center, probably 100 or so shops, with lots of different types of shops. Lots of craft type shops and secondhand shops full of artdeco style goodies. Lots of restaurants and pubs. It also has a theatre that has just started to attract national touring companies.

The houses tower above the town, many of them built on hills, it you look at the details for the B & B you will see the sort of thing. This gives you lots of potential to find a seaview. Housing is very reasonably priced. Gardens tend to be either small or steep in the center of town but if you live just outside the average garden size is apparently 1 quarter of an acre. (the B&B owner had a gardening company).

It is just down the road from Hastings which is more of a service town for the local businesses. This gives you a second center for work and shopping.

Apparently the quality of the schools is mixed, there are some very good ones and some not so good ones.

I loved Napier, I would have liked to spend more time there but we had prebooked accomodation in Wellington (because it was much cheaper to stay there at the weekend). If we could move there then we probably would.

What kind of jobs are you looking for?

Regards
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Old Sep 10th 2003, 1:45 pm
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You'll be there soon then, I'm jealous :-)
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