We are leaving tomorrow
We are looking forward so much to our holiday in New Zealand with kids!! Or scheduled time of departure is 02:00PM, destination: Bangkok. Love it!! Everything is packed and checked in. Now we have time for a nice glass of wine while we wait to board the plane. We fly 4 stretches: from Amsterdam to Bangkok, Bangkok to Taipei, Taipei to Brisbane and Brisbane to Auckland. Cheers! To a very special family trip.
Our first days in New Zealand with kids
Finally we are all settled in our mobile home for the coming 4 weeks. The official start of our holiday in New Zealand with kids. With a nice cup of coffee I made some time to write my blogs for you. Lots to share! Let’s start with the journey to get here. As we had 4 stretches it was a very long flight all in total. Nevertheless it went well. The first stretch, Amsterdam – Bangkok, was the hardest as the kids could immediately sleep, even though it was in the middle of the night. We had to leave the plane when we landed in Bangkok and had to take all our hand luggage with us. We concluded we definitely carried to much hand luggage and decided to check in some extra luggage, when we would leave Taipei. Luckily we didn’t have to check in our suitcases again. They were labelled all the way through to Auckland.
The flight from Bangkok to Taipei was only 3,5 hours. As the plane was all empty we could get some sleep, having a whole row to yourself. We landed after a nice three hour nap in Taipei. We had a 10 hours stop here and booked ourself a hotel for the day. Marcel and the kids enjoyed the pool and we all took some extra hours of sleep. Around 0830PM the taxi took us to the airport again. The flight from Taipei to Brisbane took us 9 hours. In Brisbane we only had a 1 hour stop before boarding our plane to Auckland. Our last stretch! The kids were so tired they slept before take off and didn’t wake up till after the landing. We arrived in Auckland 07:00PM . As we booked the transfer from the airport to the hotel in advance we didn’t have to wait on a taxi. Our hotel is located on Queensstreet, in het centre of the city. We had a little snack at McDonalds and went to bed. Hidde slept to 06:00AM, was awake for 1 hour and slept all the way through to 01:00PM. Thije and Mars had some jetlag issues. They were awake till 06:00AM before falling asleep and slept till 01:00PM. We got up and went out to get something to eat. Bummer it was raining outside. Nevertheless we walked through Auckland, visiting the Skytower and were stunned by the view. In the evening we had dinner at the hotel. At ten o’clock we were all sound asleep, until… 01:00AM… what a jetlag. We watched Diego and Dora till 05:00 before falling asleep again. .
Big RV!
Our transfer from the hotel to the RV arrived after breakfast. Thije had a bellyache and had to throw up after we got out of the car. Fingers crossed he doesn’t have some kind of motion sickness, as we have to drive in the RV for the coming 4 weeks. The RV is BIG, really BIG! I have never tried camping in my life before.. I really need some time to get used to this and to our huge vehicle. When we drive you hear the pots and pans tickle. The fact that you definitely need to clear away everything before you start driving, has the big advantage your RV will be tidy and clean at all times.
Our first stop is Coromandel. It’s so beautiful over here! The mountains, little islands, the water, all stunning. Somehow is keeps on raining. It’s hard to keep the RV clean and dry when everything outside is wet and muddy. The car seats aren’t what we are used to back home. The kids fly from one side to the other when we make a turn, not very save. We decide to put them in the regular seat belts.
Today we made a wonderful train ride through the Coromandel mountains. The views are absolutely magnificent. Our kids loved the train ride. Luckily for them we run into several playgrounds as well, where they can enjoy themselves. Good the see they don’t care about the rain at all. Tonight we had a bbq and ate everything in the “family room”. This is a living room on the campground, for everyone to use. Most campgrounds also have a family bathroom, comes in very handy when the kids can’t shower by themselves. Tomorrow we are visiting Rotarua, looking forward to it! Hopefully with less rain. Now its time for our beds again, fingers crossed we will sleep al night.
First impression of New Zealand with kids: beautiful, stunning, friendly people, little too much rain ;).
TO BE CONTINUED..
Tips & Tricks for New Zealand with kids
It can rain a lot in New Zealand, make sure you have the appropriate gear (rain suit, rain boots) with you or buy them over there
The train ride is a must do for the kids
If the possibility is there, book night flights, it enhances the chance your kids will sleep through the flight
Don’t take to many hand luggage when you have to switch planes
New Zealand with kids: Marcel, Thije and Hidde in the plane
