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Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

Old May 15th 2008, 6:26 pm
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Default Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

We will be making the move to NZ with our 2 year old daughter, thought leaving her behind would be harsh ! Can anyone give us tips for the journey, best to stopover enroute, fly non stop etc. Any experiences etc. thanks
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Old May 15th 2008, 8:00 pm
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Default Re: Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

My kids were slightly older when we last travelled to NZ but the kids programmes on the inflight entertainment kept them amuzed much more than we thought. We also used 2 airlines (Virgin then AirNZ) which was great as it meant they got different selections on the planes. San Francisco airport was brilliant - a free driverless monorail kept them amused just going round and round past the freeway!

We took some crafts we got from www.bakerross.co.uk but your daughter may be too young for some things they do.

A small etch-a-sketch thing from woolworths was great - no mess but endless drawing. Also making rings and things from tin foil or even 1 small tub of playdough was used a bit.

We also had a travel DVD player with us which we used in the airport lounges while waiting to board.

One thing that I used to do with my kids on long journeys anywhere was wrap up small presents and got them out every so often. The excitement was great and lasted a few minutes.

Lastly take snacks/biscuits and even food that they like instead of airplane food. Even with pre-ordering kids meals they didn't want to eat the food, but on the way back we had crackers/rolls/crisps etc which worked a treat.

I don't think you can avoid jet lag whether you stop over or not, but I did find the kids coped better than we did with it. They also have the advantage of being small enough to curl up on a plane seat.

Good luck and enjoy yourselves!
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Old May 15th 2008, 9:23 pm
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Default Re: Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

Another thought:

There's a picture book called "You Choose" by Pippa Goddart, available on Amazon/book shops. It's brilliant and should keep a 2 year old (and upwards) entertained for ages. Basically it's full of pictures and you choose where you would go, what to wear, what to do, what to drive etc etc. so you end up with endless stories/use of imagination.
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Old May 15th 2008, 11:38 pm
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Default Re: Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

Some threads have previously covered this... have a look at these...

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=523309

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=480291

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=299390

My biggest tip is to choose a night flight, they'll sleep at least 8 of the 12 hours to the first pit stop and then let them run like hoons once off the plane. We chose to stop overnight at an airport hotel and again, let the children go crazy in the hotel grounds/pool. Then another nightflight the rest of the way. I think my kids were only awake for the first hour after takeoff and then about three hours before landing.

Some recommendations are to drug the child with cough remedies. I seriously would not advise this - and I flew with a 4yo, 2yo and a babe in arms. If I can manage with three ...
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Old May 16th 2008, 9:15 am
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Default Re: Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

Originally Posted by Richard H
We will be making the move to NZ with our 2 year old daughter, thought leaving her behind would be harsh ! Can anyone give us tips for the journey, best to stopover enroute, fly non stop etc. Any experiences etc. thanks
We went to NZ in April for 3 weeks with a 5 yr old & a 10 yr old...both boys who tend to fight a little when bored!!
Therefore I was worried about the flight too. We travelled with AirNz & went via Hong Kong on the way there & LA on the return journey. Only stopping for 2 hours!
My oldest doesn't tend to sleep when travelling (like me) but was kept amused by the on flight entertainment!
The first 'leg' of the journey was overnight, so after an hour or so on the plane, I took my youngest to the toilet where he had a wash, brushed his teeth & got into his pjs....ready for bed! He then slept right through, until they came round with breakfast!
We took absolutely loads of hand luggage filled with snacks, nintendos, reading books, puzzle books, colouring books, travel games etc etc etc! & didn't use any of it!
On the way home, all we took on board (apart from Mum's handbag!) was toothpaste & brushes, pjs, favourite toy to sleep with, a small book for a bedtime story & sweets for takeoff & landing! Nothing else was needed!
To be honest, I was absolutely dreading the flight, but it was no where near as horrendous as I had thought...thank goodness!

good luck....I'm sure it'll be fine
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Old May 17th 2008, 2:38 am
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Default Re: Travelling from UK to NZ with young child....advice please !

when we did our recce trip our son was just 1 and when we moved he was 3 and our daughter was 15mths - both times we expected nightmares and they were great - without use of any medication!!
they both slept a fair bit - we made sure we had 4 seats together and they curled up on the centre 2.
we had snacky bits and a few toys but not massive amounts. We went non stop on all 3 journeys - via LA on the recce trip and via Kuala Lumpa on one way - both were fine.
good luck with it - i'm sure you'll be fine
Vicki
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