[nd293]

Hi Everyone,

We are thinking of travelling to NZ during July or August. I know this isn't an ideal time, but we *really* need to escape the summer heat here in the Arabic Gulf.

Our rough plan is to keep to the North Island (presumably warmer). We will be travelling in a 4-berth camper van with our 6yr old daughter and 5 month old son (currently our 8 day old son :) ). We have been thinking of travelling during the July holidays, mostly so our daughter will be able to interact with Kiwi kids - she is very sociable, and it would make our life *so* much easier if she has other kids to play with.

Now the questions...

1) Is the temperature difference between N. and S. Island during winter enough to warrant focusing exclusively on N. Island. We were only aiming to go as far as Christchurch on S. Island, anyway (when the plan was to travel in October).

2) Will roads on N. Island be OK in a 4-berth?

3) Do kiwis travel in campervans? And do they do so in July school holidays?

4) Will holiday parks be too busy during July? Will we have to book ahead? (We'd rather not).

5) What sort of things should we be adding to our intinerary for a winter holiday? We will need more indoor activities, I guess :( And obviously we will have to be more flexible to account for bad weather...

6) Should have asked this first ... is it crazy to consider a camper van in July - will we be miserably cold? We will be escaping temps of 45-50 degrees C in the Middle East...

7) Does anyone know of holiday parks near wineries or hot springs? Or better yet, a winery or a hot spring area that incorporates somewhere for camper vans to park? And the same for a farm - are there farmstays where you can park a camper van? These are a few of the ideas I am working on. I have to admit the park-and-drink winery option sounds *very* appealing - hope it exists ;)

Sorry this is so long - still running of post-baby adrenalin and excited at the thought of firming up our holiday plans, I guess!

Nikki

[pinkpiggy]

Nikki,

We will be travelling in a 4-berth camper van with our 6yr old daughter and 5 month old son (currently our 8 day old son ). Congratulations on the birth of your son. Don't know where you've found the time to write such a long post. ;)

Will roads on N. Island be OK in a 4-berth? We did it in a 6 berth. You just have to take it a little bit slower on the windy roads.

Should have asked this first ... is it crazy to consider a camper van in July - will we be miserably cold? We will be escaping temps of 45-50 degrees C in the Middle East...
We visited in April 2006 and it was starting to get very cold at night and if you're coming from 45-50 degrees C, I would imagine you will find it freezing! Not sure I would want to do campervan in July, even coming from Scotland. ;)

Not sure about the other questions as i'm still in Scotland but hopefully somebody will be along shortly to answer those.

[nd293]

Thanks Paula,

Baby was 4 weeks prem - despite the 5 days in hospital, there are some advantages, literally all he does is feed and sleep (and dirty nappies, of course)!

Reading your post, I wanted to ask whether (and how, and how well) the camper vans are heated.

Apart from escaping the heat for a few weeks, going during the summer holidays is easier as it means we don't have to take our daughter out of school early in the new school year. But we can if we *have* to - our Residence Visa expires 7 November, so as long as we enter NZ by then, we're OK.

So difficult to balance all the options and pros and cons...

NIkki

[nippa&pippa]

Congratulation on baby riley(?)

Same as other, i went in april 2006 and it was freezing at night time in south island and little warmer in north island....We did had heating running in campervan in morning and night (mostly in south island) as got 9weeks old baby with us that time and they are so noisy but did keep you warm but not very warm.

Good luck

[gil]

Hi Nikki and huge congratulations!
I haven't been here through a winter here yet, but one thing you mention

We have been thinking of travelling during the July holidays, mostly so our daughter will be able to interact with Kiwi kids - she is very sociable, and it would make our life *so* much easier if she has other kids to play with.

gave me pause for thought. Are you assuming it's school holidays here? There's a hol from June 29 to July 16, but the rest is school time. Here's a link to school holiday dates in NZ:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=3767#P185_6007

I can't answer the questions on camp sites, but will read replies with interest, as what you describe sounds idyllic!

Hope it works out the way you want,
Gil