[gpbenton]

I'm flying from London to Auckland and arriving on the 8th, with a whole lot of baggage (hopefully). Then I have an interview in Wellington on the 15th.

I'm planning to spend a few days in Auckland, and then travel down to Wellington, but I'm wondering how to do it. Here are my ideas

1) Train. The overlander takes 12 hours to get there, but I assume I could take all my baggage. It would be great to get a view of the country, but is the service reliable?

2) Plane. This would be quick and reliable, but I'd pay extra for moving it all, unless I stored in Auckland.

3) Automobile. I can rent a car one way. Is this common in NZ? How long does it take to drive? One of the online maps said 8 hours, but this seems quite quick considering the train takes 12. :confused:

Personally, I like the idea of the train, but has anyone done this?

[Trigirl]

8-9 hours is about right for driving - the train is just slow. one way car rental is perfectly normal here. they even do special deals for people going back the other way!

the overlander has luggage restrictions too - 2 pieces of checked luggage with max 30kgs total.

my guess is that train and plane will cost you roughly the same - given luggage restrictions its likely to be a fair bit cheaper to drive.

[sizzlingbadger]

If you drive it will be easier to stop off and explore places. It's definitely a good way of seeing the country. I think if you book an internal flight now you'll pay a lot more than if you had booked it some months ago, it's the school holidays at the moment.

[Ana&Steve]

I vote for driving. More opportunities to explore your new home, plus it's all on your time schedule! Of course, then you'd have to decide on Taupo/Desert Road or the West coast for your route! ;)
Ana

[Nelsonian]

I'd also go for the drive. Plane will be expensive and you won't have any time to get to know the country. The train is relatively expensive with limited baggage capacity and is quite fully booked at the moment (thanks to a media campaign against closing the route) - also limited opportunities to get off and explore.
It's easy to hire a car in Auckland and drop it off in Wellington (though there is a cost attached) and you have plenty of time. I'd allow several days - drive via Rotorua, Taupo and then down State Highway 4 to Wanganui, then Wellington. The drive down Highway 4 from the National Park to Wanganui is incredibly beautiful (and can also be part of a shorter route via Hamilton).
Did it myself earlier this year as part of a longer holiday.
Jane

[wanderingoregonian]

We just did the drive from Auckland to Wellington - and really enjoyed ourselves. We had a bit of trouble hiring a car last minute as everything is so busy around the holidays. Same for accomodations - we definetely should have hit the I sites earlier in the day, the one day we so clever they quickly called around and founds us a room in our price range on a night where every place we drove by had a no vacancy sign!

Also, when I called the rental car agencies trying to find a car... several agencies volunteered that they had a few cars that needed to go from Auckland south... it sounds like if you have flexibility and are going straight through you can get a car for practically free if you are meeting their need for getting cars back where they need them, just call up the company and ask... and if your schedule meets their needs, its a deal!

As for flying - I came through with overweight bags. Air NZ was very straightforward and just charged me a set rate per kilogram. I actually think they only charged me 1/2 of what policy said because their computer was giving them problems. Best of luck!

[NannyOgg]

Hi

We drove from Auckland - Welly - Auckland recently and I certainly would not want to do that journey again. We did have 2 kids in tow and stopped over 1 night each way but it was still too much.

We were thinking we would like to take the train next time and see the country side and relax.

For me driving was just too much like hard work.

Nanny x

[gpbenton]

I wanted to thank everyone who suggested driving. :clap

I had a really good journey last weekend, stopping in Taupo, with detours through Rotorua and Palmerston North, and a pit stop at Wai-o-tapu to see geothermal springs.

It was surprising to discover that NONE of the roads south of Hamilton to Wellington were dual carriageways, just the occasional passing lane. It is even more surprising that it isn't a problem, at least at the weekend. The only time I was held up was in the outskirts of Wellington. I suppose I should have realized that 4 million people don't need that many roads, it just felt strange.

I'm still not sure about this giving way to people turning right when I turn left. I waited at a couple of turnings, but the person turning right just sat there, so I carried on. :confused:

[Marco]

Welcome to Wellington! Hope you will love it around here.
Have you seen the post in Meet ups?
We have a gathering next Saturday 27/1 in Mac's Brewery - you might want to join?

Cheers,
Anita

[gpbenton]

Welcome to Wellington! Hope you will love it around here.
Have you seen the post in Meet ups?
We have a gathering next Saturday 27/1 in Mac's Brewery - you might want to join?

Cheers,
Anita

I must have missed this as I wasn't planning to stay in Welly this long, but I hope to see you there.
:cheers