Re: Oz/NZ basics

I'm planning on spending a month wandering around in NZ and I'm not sure
how I'll make it round both islands in that amount of time. However, I'm
not too bothered. I have no itinary planned - I'm going to fly into
wellington, take a ferry over to south island, then go in a big circle
around the south island. Then whatever time I have left, I'll take a look
round north island.

I see no point in planning an itinery when I don't know how I'll react to 
the heat if it's boiling in north island (I am from scotland after all), 
how long I may want to spend in any town or area, etc.

I'm sure there are plenty of tourist trails but I can't really be bothered
with them - I just want to get a feel for the whole place, and if I like
it, I can always come back for another holiday to catch any fun things I
miss on the way round. I will make sure I see a few of the traditional 
tourist attractions on the way round, but I'm not going to make a point of 
trying to see as many as possible.

Some people see a holiday as being a chance to explore the detail of 
another country or culture. Other people want to chill out by the beach 
and do sod all and just get a break. I'm somewhere in between - I want to 
see the NZ land, people and lifestyle, but I have enough choreographed 
routine in my life already, and I don't want to have that when I'm on 
holiday too.

It's possible your son is not choosing an itinery because he feels the
same way and also doesn't seek a holiday that is preplanned/choreographed. 
I'm in my twenties myself, incidentally.

re: cheapest ticket; the cheapest ticket will probably restrict you to
certain paths and certain times - again I don't want that so I'll just pay
whatever I need to, to get around as I want. I'm fixing the start and end
times and locations for the trip though so that my flight costs (the most
expensive bit for me) are minimal however. I'd suggest you consider doing 
the same so that there is as much money as possible freed up to actually 
move around while there.

Remember this isn't necessarily a once in a lifetime trip for your son - 
travel is cheap and getting cheaper every year.

Graeme.



On Tue, 2 Dec 2003, a.spencer3 wrote:

> My lad is planning to spend a month or so moving around Australia/NZ in
> February.
> He's happy with cheapish accomodation - hostels etc.
> He expects to bus most of it but is willing to use internal airways where
> useful.
> He's essentially aiming at the south, east & north-east Oz coast, plus
> Ayer's Rock & Barrier Reef, then up (or down) both NZ islands.
> He'll fly into wherever and out of wherever back to UK.
> To me, he seems to be struggling to sort out a sensible itinerary.
> I would imagine that, for such a well-trodden path, there must be well-worn
> answers to:
> 
> 1/ Cheapest/best round-trip airline ticket
> 2/ Best proven route to cover these places.
> 
> Any advice appreciated!
> 
> Surreyman
> 
> 
>