[Jackie&Ian]

Hello to all,
Could any one tell me if they have travelled, to NZ by boat, from the UK...I do have a fear of flying...may be I am taking the easy options, if any one has
could they advise the fors and against, cost, time and routes...

Thanks.

[katandbob]

ooh wierd - I tried 3 times to reply - must have been that you changed the title

here, read this link - http://www.ecoknight.co.uk/australianzbylandsea.htm


this should have some information, as I used to work for a shipping agent and some of the cargo shipping companies do have cabins that you can book

best of luck

Kat

[Jackie&Ian]

Thanks for your help I will ask some questions and get some leaflets....:roll

[dharder]

Could any one tell me if they have travelled, to NZ by boat, from the UK...I do have a fear of flying...may be I am taking the easy options, if any one has could they advise the fors and against, cost, time and routes...

I looked into this for my sister, who doesn't really want to fly (for various, mainly ecological reasons), but the cost was prohibitive. Even if you have the three months it takes, it was 3 to 4 times the price of a flight. This was not a cruise ship but a cargo ship.

The cabins looked okay, but they took only about 12 guests (and had one common room and a mini pool), and I suspect after 3 months, you know rather more about those other 10 people than you ever wanted to...

Daniela

[bartons]

We looked into alternatives to flying and were taken aback by the prices of going by container ship. For us as a family of four it would have cost around £12000 from UK to NZ. We would have been prepared to spend 40 days on a container ship, even with two small kids (in case we found a shipping line taking children under 6), but the price was ridiculous.
We then looked into the Transsiberian alternative but found that it involves an expensive trip from Japan either by plane or by ship. Again: too expensive.
Then OH suggested to sail to NZ (he worked as a professional sailor for years and crossed the Atlantic a few times - he knows what that suggestion means and would be up for it).Now that would have been ideal as it's the most environmentally friendly and cheap. We would buy a yacht in the UK and sell it in NZ. But: we might not be able to make it within a year, and the visa might expire while we're becalmed somewhere in the Pacific...
So for us the conclusion is: there's no real alternative to flying (unless you're rich and have lots of time and no kids). At least it's a one-way trip...

[renew]

another alternative would be a bus trip. A company has recently started a service to australia

I cant find a good link but have seen it advertised in TNT magazine

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=344382007

then you could go for the shorter australia to nz trip

[renew]

okay i have dug up a link. I like the idea but....

http://www.oz-bus.com/index.html

[katandbob]

okay i have dug up a link. I like the idea but....

http://www.oz-bus.com/index.html

That looks like a really cool way of getting there, if you don't have a time limit to get here.

but the OH hates travelling on Buses - so I guess he'd not be so keen doing the trip back to the UK on a Bus:laugh

Kat

[Debbie P.]

It's a shame it's so expensive these days. My dad's cousin still has very fond memories of emigrating to Perth from the UK by ship in the late ' 60s - she loved every minute of the trip (maybe her memories have softened since then though!).

[lockstock]

My sister-in-law met her future husband on the trip over to OZ in the 60s. She was then 14 and they're still together (they had to wait a while to get married even in those days - and even in Australia!) She's got fond memories of the trip too; but remember it was 'assisted passage' back then , £5 or something equally ridiculous. I'd spend weeks at sea for a fiver if it meant I could get to NZ!

[StevieD]

Bloomin' heck, NZ by bus!!! It is bad enough being stuck in a plane for 20+ hours. let alone on a bus for weeks.
Imagine you would end up walking all funny and crooked, knees seized up and sores on your behind. :laugh

And if you have a National Express driver, probably out of your mind by the end of the journey. ;)

[Chiba]

A relative of mine claims that she's going to come and see us in 2009 without flying. She's apparently gone quite a long way with the logistics, but it's a :eek: long way. Just look at Google Maps! It'd be the trip of a lifetime though, going by sea or land.

Can't you spend the money on some kind of therapy to help with the fear of flying (hypnotherapy? Didn't BA also used to run a course?). It'd far cheaper, and you'll get to NZ about a hundred times quicker than by sea. and be able to go places on holiday, or even just get around inside NZ.