I remember when we settled down in Malaysia for a long time and tempted other family members to come and see us and relax from work. I do not know why, but whenever we like it somewhere, we need to show it to our friends ….. The offer of Malaysia was used by two of my cousins and a neighbour. For the others, the 14 hours on the plane were incredibly long. And what about our offer to see New Zealand and spend one of the longest flights on the plane from Dubai (about 17 hours and another 6 hours from Prague to Dubai). This is a challenge! But to our great joy, two travellers have been found 🙂 This time, Martin’s mother and sister visited us.
In the beginning, we arranged accommodation in our hostel Brown Kiwi because, after a long journey, girls needed some time in the new time zone. Even my boss wanted to know, how to say “Mrs and Miss” in Czech language, so he could welcome both of them. It was really nice from him, and on the contrary, we got a little criticism for the fact that Martin didn´t have a new haircut, didn´t shave his face and didn´t buy a flower for his mum. He was a little comparing the same situation when his mother came to him … He was well shaved, neat and with a big flower and picked up her at the airport. He had a little heart attack when we said that we found only a bus for the girls and we will wait at the bus stop in the centre. No airport pickup. According to Martin, it was such a test for travellers to get from point A to point B. And the girls did it!
The first moments in Auckland
The meeting after more than half a year made us really happy. Especially me because girls brought me a few things I needed. Luckily, our families live in one village, know each other well, and I thank social media for video calls because we can be in touch. In addition, Christmas gifts flew with them too.
We didn’t stay in Auckland for long. We were lucky that the girls were fine after changing time, and as they said, they came to enjoy it and they can sleep at home: D We showed our favourite places, we could not miss the highest peak of Mt Eden, where there is a beautiful view of the city. After then we went to the harbour and the traditional Fush and Chups tasting. We visited my favourite zero waste shop and Ice-cream parlour. And in the evening, we walked in Freeman’s Bay.
For lovers of Eco shops
How will we travel?
The biggest dream of most travellers is travelling in a campervan in New Zealand. That is why we caused a small shock to most of them when we announced that we will rent a car at the rental and we will have the accommodation through Airbnb or in the hostels. In short, I can confirm that it is not easy with your own campervan. But everyone has a certain style of travel and if it’s someone’s dream …. why not….
We stayed in the hostel long enough to meet a lot of people desperately looking for a van in good condition (eg from 1995 ) at the best price. Of course, it was usually 2 times more expensive than they originally thought, and if they made a cheaper deal, they came back with the fact that during the checking, they found a few defects, so the repairs went to the next several hundred or thousands of more dollars. You need to have the right insurance and good technical stuff of the van, parking is no longer free, petrol, etc. And then we saw the other side when everyone tries to sell their van quickly and they think that they sell it with higher price), but mostly they were happy to get rid of it at all. It is a typical vicious circle …. on the contrary, through the rental service, you don’t need to worry about anything. In addition, you have full insurance during the loan. Just for the sake of interest, we calculated if buying a car could be better…We counted travelling by train from Auckland to Wellington, renting a car, petrol and hostel accommodation + via Airbnb and the price was the same, maybe lower.
So the most common argument of all travellers that they want a custom van because of the cheapest option of travelling and living at the same time is no longer true.
Travelling by train from Auckland to Wellington
It is interesting that the train is not as usual in New Zealand as in Europe and even Europeans (long-term residents of NZ) wondered that it is possible to travel here by train. We found out, it is also a very expensive journey. But we did not want to lose the experience, so our journey began with a train journey from Auckland to Wellington with Northern Explorer. To get an idea, the ticket cost us approximately 200 NZD per person.
While driving, you will experience the extremes of New Zealand scenery, from the fertile Waikato farmland to the volcanic peaks of the central plateau and the sparkling coastline of Kapiti. The road leads through Tongariro National Park, where there are 3 spectacular volcanic mountains – Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu. Not surprisingly, you can see snow-covered fields, ancient lava flows and dense beech forests.
The departure of the train from Auckland was at 7:45 in the morning and arriving in Wellington at 18:25 in the evening.
For some, it may be a big minus, but during most of the trip you don’t have a signal on your phone …. but who would need to look into your phone when you are driving through such beautiful nature.
Also, do not worry that you will die of starvation along the way, the dining car is part of the train set, but you can have something “from home” too. And if you want to stretch your legs and breath some fresh air, you can go to the opened waggon, where you have the unique opportunity to have perfectly blown hair: D
