Air New Zealand, Santa & Our Fabulous Trip
The Queen Charlotte Track provides beautiful views of the Marlborough Sounds.
Air New Zealand made it possible for my husband Richard and me to enjoy four wonderful weeks of New Zealand summer. We left Los Angeles on December 24, 2015 and came back on January 21, 2016 – and it was all terrific.
As I’ve mentioned before , I’ve spent a lot of time Down Under writing magazine features and guidebooks, including two editions of Frommer’s New Zealand on $50 A Day. The more time I spent in NZ, the more connected and at home I felt. Along the way I developed some great friendships that proved to be a welcome support system for this itinerant journalist.
This gig – commuting to New Zealand from my home in San Diego – lasted for a couple of decades. In fact, I assumed it would never end. Even when I became the travel editor of Ranch & Coast, San Diego’s luxury lifestyle magazine, I assumed I would still make at least an annual pilgrimage to my home-away-from-home.
However, I soon realized that R&C readers didn’t want to read about NZ in every issue, so I expanded my research to Asia, South America, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond. In lieu of trips Down Under, I encouraged my New Zealand friends to visit me in California, and they were happy to oblige.
Fluffy white lambs are one of the iconic images of New Zealand.
Air New Zealand to the rescue
And then one day I realized it had been way too long since I’d feasted my eyes on pastures full of fluffy white lambs and stretched my legs on trails that wind past towering tree ferns. I needed to go home. But my timing couldn’t have been worse. The cost of air tickets is highest in New Zealand’s summer, December through February. So what’s a homesick Kiwiphile to do? As I described in an earlier post, I discovered that Air New Zealand fares were lower on Christmas Eve than any other day of the year.
Was it weird to travel on December 24? Well, sorta. Let’s just say the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX wasn’t exactly crowded. But when I glanced out the window and saw that handsome Koru on the tail of our waiting Air New Zealand plane, I knew we were doing the right thing.
Air New Zealand provides the most direct flights to Middle Earth.
Of course, the Air New Zealand flight crew were their normal, ever-cheerful selves. I’ve always been impressed with the level of personalized attention that passengers in all classes of service receive. I also appreciate the fact that the airline provides a uniquely Kiwi journey.
On our flight, the safety video featured New Zealand’s rock star surfers , footage of the nation’s best beaches, and a taste of cheeky Kiwi humor. In addition, meals showcased NZ’s outstanding food and wine, including Pinot Gris from Sea Level Winery in Nelson, extra virgin olive oil from The Village Press in Hawke’s Bay, and of course New Zealand butter. In addition to movies and TV, the Air New Zealand inflight entertainment system includes an excellent region-by-region travel guide.
One of the joys of summer in New Zealand: just-picked stone fruit.
Our summer Down Under
In New Zealand guides and blog posts I have often cautioned readers about traveling during the summer school holidays, but my need to get “home” felt urgent. I knew at this time of the year, we’d need to pre-book accommodation and deal with numbers of other travelers, but I decided I could live with that.
In truth, no place – not roads, hiking trails, restaurants, beaches, nor attractions – was crowded. We also never saw another American visitor until we got to our lovely boutique B&B in Auckland on our last day in the country. Instead we breezed along the highway, enjoyed pleasantly warm summer days, and made the most of the exchange rate that is very favorable to Americans right now. (US$1 = NZ$1.54)
Yes. We did pre-book all of our lodging rather than take a chance on not finding a last-minute bed, but that was a small sacrifice to make for being able to enjoy New Zealand during the summer holidays. By the way, Kiwi kids went back to school yesterday, so the “hols” are officially over, but the weather will be wonderful for a couple more months before the days start to get shorter and cooler.
I loved every place we stayed on this trip to New Zealand, especially Birdsnest Glamping.
Our fabulous trip
Our styles of accommodation varied from a modest farmstay to a small luxury lodge and included our first-ever NZ glamping experience. We also stayed in some “self-contained” lodging, including two Airbnb properties. I can honestly say I loved everywhere we stayed and would go back to any of them in a heartbeat. Watch this site for future posts including details on each place.
Favorite experiences included picking raspberries at Berryland near Nelson, “discovering” Waikanae Beach and walking around the Waikanae River Estuary, and dining on abalone (called paua in NZ) at Le Café in Picton. We also got up early to watch the sunrise on the East Cape – the first place in the world to great the new day during the Southern Hemisphere summer – and it was gorgeous.
Two museums blew me away: stunning Te Papa in Wellington and the completely renovated Auckland War Memorial Museum. The Auckland Museum is hosting an excellent Air New Zealand 75th anniversary exhibit through May 22, 2016. Savvy travelers won’t miss either of these.
Some of our new friends from this trip: Judy Newell is the host of Rangimarie Beachstay on the East Cape and her neighbor Lehman Davies is a professional rugby player.
The real Down Under wonders
I’ve often said that the people of New Zealand are the real Down Under wonders and this trip confirmed my belief. Over the course of four weeks, we were able to spend time with friends and pick up right where we left off…as if no time had passed since we were last together.
We also made new friends – and you will, too, when you go to New Zealand. So ask the Easter Bunny for some Air New Zealand tickets and start planning your fabulous trip. I’ll do my part by writing about places to stay and things to do in future articles on this site. You are welcome to subscribe so you don’t miss any posts.
Cheers,
Category: New Zealand
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Awesome. Also we are making a plan for New zealand trip
Thoroughly enjoyed this post, Elizabeth!! We haven’t been to New Zealand (yet!) but your
description certainly whets our appetites to map out a grand trip using your recommendations.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
We can’t recommend Air New Zealand enough.
We traveled from London Heathrow -> LAX -> Auckland, then from Christchurch -> Auckland -> Singapore -> London and every flight was faultless.
We were travelling through the Rugby World Cup so had the All Blacks carrying out our in-flight safety video!
So what’s your favourite spot in New Zealand?
Oh my, Paul – That’s a tough question. I have so many “favorite places” in New Zealand. I feel most at home in Christchurch because I have some really good friends there, but it’s not necessarily my favorite place.
Dear Elizabeth and Richard, we enjoyed sharing breakfast with you at Ascot Parnell, and have been looking forward to your article on the B and B. It was a wonderful stay, and do hope to go back one day. I’ll be following your website from now on. Warm wishes to you both. Nice pictures, Richard!
Hi Elizabeth,
Always a good read and I am fortunate to travel to NZ a little more frequently than you. Another good date to travel to NZ is New Years eve, the fares are also excellent, and I came back this year 4 weeks later on Jan 28. Of course with American and United now providing direct flights to NZ, the prices are falling, so there is no better time to plan for that NZ trip.