And on the other hand I m sure there s lots of people out there like me who probably would prefer to

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For those of you who have been spending too much time on the blog, I just wanted to quietly let you know that summer is coming. And if the early spring weather patterns are any indication then it s shaping austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar up to be a cracker, which is quite a relief given last year s disappointingly wet affair.
As a car-free household summer holiday travel plans are always a challenge. My main objectives are to try to save money and carbon and try to have a bit of fun along the way. Today I just finished booking my summer holiday travel plans and what a success. I ve also learnt some things along the way that have, well, pleasantly surprised me about bus travel in New Zealand.
First some context to this year s challenge: My lovely mother has rented a bach at Oakura Bay from 23 December all the way through to 4 January. For those unfortunate enough not to have visited Oakura Bay, it s located about 2.5 hours drive north of Auckland on the wondrously spectacular east coast of Northland, between Whangarei and Russel. Plenty of fun to be had in these blue waters!
But from here things get decidedly trickier, because I needed to get my blessed behind from Northland austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar to the Southern Alps (for a friend s wedding) and back again, in the space of 4 days and without a car. I was able to grab some cheap flights from Auckland to Christchurch and back. The Christchurch end was sorted austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar by car-pooling with other people who were headed for the wedding. But then came the trickier question austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar of how to get from Northland to Auckland, and vice versa?
First port of call is the Naked Bus  or InterCity websites . I was thinking that a bus fare from Whangarei to Auckland would cost around $40 each way, which was about what I paid 10 years ago when I lived/worked in Kerikeri for the summer. Quite simply, austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar I was astounded at how cheap the bus fare from Whangarei to Auckland was: Approximately $40 for a return trip. That s approximately 320km at a costs of $0.13 per km. You would pay almost twice as much just for the fuel to drive that far. And it s cheaper than when I last used buses to travel north, despite 10 years of inflation and higher fuel prices.
All this got me thinking: If it s basically cheaper for two people to catch the bus rather than drive long distance, then why don t more people do it? I suspect some of it is just people not liking austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar buses and/or car-habit. The primary austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar downside is that you need to deal with last leg connections from where the bus drops you off and where you are staying; not usually so much of an issue if you re staying with other friends and family, who in my case will come pick me up.
And on the other hand I m sure there s lots of people out there like me who probably would prefer to let someone else drive through the crazy summer traffic austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar while they kick back and do some work, read, and/or snooze. Speaking for myself, I know that I ll be that much more relaxed travelling by bus rather than driving myself through all the traffic and heat.
So aside from whimsical dreaming about summer swimming, the main point of this post was to point out that if you re making summer travel plans over the next few weeks then just check whether you can leave the car at home and travel by bus. This is particularly cost-effective if there s only 1-2 of you, plus you save some carbon. The best place to start is one of those two websites, and the best place to finish is somewhere like Oakura Bay.
P.s. Bravo to Naked Bus  and InterCity  for making the booking austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar process so easy, and bravo to the bus operators who are providing such an efficient and well-priced travel option for car-less households such as myself. I wish you the best of business over the summer austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar break; hopefully some of which stems from this post .
Funny I needed austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar to make that very same trip a while back and ended up renting a car, but will think again in the future. Yes, the trip from Whangarei to Aucks is about 2.5 hours for $20 too; I think it s a good deal too.
Naked Bus is a very good option, however the tricky part is if your summer destination is not so populated, quite common in New Zealand, the last part of the trip is not very easy to make, unless your fortunate enough in having a ride at the other end. If you want to taxi you would be paying twice as much!
Stu. I generally try to do something similar, but with two basic differences. 1) there will be several of us travelling (family group), austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar and 2) my aim is to avoid long car journeys and any prerequisite of car-ownership. However I accept that a rental car for local travel at the destination may be necessary. And perhaps I should mention a third difference: my overwhelming preference is to use trains for the long-haul, not buses or planes if I can help it. Unfortunately KiwiRail s (=National government s) passenger rail policy in recent years has largely screwed this, both in terms of cutting travel options to a mere vestige, and of failing to cater for a budget-travel market.
This year s travel plans are quite simple: A return trip Wgtn to Kaikoura, and then another Wgtn to Hamilton. The latter may not work out because of the 3-days-only-per-week constraint of the new Northern Explorer. And of course there are some scary costings for these sort of trips. 5 return fares Wgtn-Hamilton austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar will set you back $1400-1500, even taking the best deals on offer. Gone are the days of backpackers carriages which used to be slung on the backs of certain Tranz Scenic trains offering no-frills, cut-price travel.
But I am reminded of a lovely trip we did many years ago (one of many) when the children were in their teens. Here was our itinerary: Leg 1: Wellington-Hamilton (Overlander), Hamilton-Tauranga (Kaimai), rental car waiting at Tauranga Station for a week s use around the Coromandel Peninsula; Leg 2: Tauranga-Hamilton (Kaimai), Hamilton-Ohakune (Overlander), rental car (available in Ohakune back then) for a week in the Tongariro area; Leg 3: Ohakune-Wellington (Overlander). Even then the price was high: train fares came to $900 for 5 of us (may have included a couple of child fares, I can t really remember), and yes, it would have been far cheaper for us simply to rent a car from Wellington for 2 weeks and drive all the way. But we had a great holiday and thoroughly enjoyed being able to integrate travel austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar by train into it. Sure beats being cooped up in a car for hours on end.
Unfortunately since then, successive owners of the railway in New Zealand have openly declared their lack of interest in running a passenger rail service and have allowed it to wither away. Now the message is that our kind of travel is not the high-value sort that Tranz Scenic is interested in providing and anyway, locals do not want to travel by train anymore or so they say.
In common with the South American countries, we in New Zealand have lost the plot when it comes to passenger rail, the most civilised and environmentally-benign means of transport that there is. Shame on all responsible.
If you are in a hurry then planes austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar obviously win over trains, at least at the speeds ours travel. If you want to travel by land there is no question in my mind that rail travel beats road, provided you are comparing like with like, and not expecting a clapped out, run-down, rail-service to out-perform luxury cars or coaches running on trillion-dollar highways. I seek to use rail instead of making long-distance road trips which I do not particularly like, neither physically nor ideologically. And of course there are places which air travel just does not serve like Ohakune! And keep in mind that from a global and environmental perspective, air-travel for the masses may not be sustainable beyond austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar the next major oil price hike or climate-change austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar scare. In spite of its low ebb at the moment, I believe rail has a bright future and may ultimtely be the mode that rises to the top in a post-cheap-oil world.
Also ATM when comparing other travel modes Air travel is actually quite environmentally viable. That is when comparing the amount of miles per person for the fuel used, Also have to note that airline fuel is cleaner than regular as well. But agreed austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar it depends on what you want, for me its air travel.
I m fairly ambivalent between trains austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar and buses for distances of up to 3 hours. As someone who does a lot of cycle touring, I ve usually found that buses are more accommodating, but I do understand the value of being able to walk around like you can on a train for long distances. And there s definite economies of scale with trains that you don t get on a bus, e.g. onboard cafes.
But you know, as some of these other people have commented: If I sat around waiting for rail to somewhere like Oakura Bay I d never get there . So bus it is, and I m not too bothered especially given the price.
The downside of the very cheap intercity bus fares is the corners that sometimes get cut. Naked bus outsources some of their services. Last time I travelled with them (Palmerston North to Wellington), the bus was old, in poor condition and dirty. Also, as the previous austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar bus had failed to turn up it had about 5 more people than seats. (As i was being picked up outside Massey, waiting austin hotel 305 malvern avenue hot springs ar by the side of the road for 2 hours ata night wasn t really an option either). I spent about half the trip sitting on the floor in the aisle of a very hot bus, before someone kindly swapped places with me.
My experience was complete when I lodged a complaint and received no apo