:thumbup: My first Just You holiday.
Met our Tour Manager, Trish Ward in Servis Lounge at Heathrow – a great facility. Trish was great, providing us with lots of information, an invaluable printed summary of wake up call, breakfast, luggage, departure (see later). She sorted out problems efficiently and with a smile.
Eight of us in Hong Kong. Hotel Cosmopolitan even provided a smart phone with which you could phone the UK for free! Allow more money than you might expect as evening option took for most of us a good proportion of our money. The student demonstrations were just beginning, so hotel shuttle buses limited on our last day – spent the afternoon sitting in the hotel foyer waiting for transport to airport.
We were joined by 2 from the Australia holiday, in New Zealand. As a result of the coach companies forward planning, 11 of us had a 50 seater coach for North and South Island. No need for seat rotation.
Highlights – I could say everything. Sky Tower in Auckland, glow worm caves, Napier, geysers and mud pools etc. in Rotorua, Tranz Alpine Express, small plane ride around Mt Cook and jet boat at Queenstown – members of my family had persuaded me to do it, great fun. Introductory tours by coach of cities/towns were a great way to get your bearings. The trip around Christchurch almost four years after the last major earthquake was a real wakeup call as to the amount of damage done.
Scenery reminiscent of our scenery but not the fields of arable, and with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Most of the roads were better than our roads, but into the mountainous areas – I was glad I did not have to drive a car, yet alone a coach.
Real star of the holiday was our driver/guide in New Zealand – John. He was full of information; nothing was too much trouble for him, always cheerful. When we discovered he was not included in our final dinner, we did a whip round for him to be included – he was one of the group. Ten to ten will never be the same again.
Weather in New Zealand – variable, this meant no helicopter rides to the Glaciers, Milford Sound we saw in cloud and rain, Cessna flight round Mount Cook took place on Sunday afternoon, as weather forecast for Monday morning was not good. A bit cloudy round Mount Cook, Monday morning we were told the company was offering us another shorter flight round Mount Cook for free as the weather was better than expected!!!!
A great experience. Lots of coach travel between places, but also be ready for lots of early mornings (and I do mean early – trains, planes and ferries do not wait for you). Wake up calls arranged, but especially if need to get luggage out for collection, need to be up earlier than the wakeup call. As Trish said to us, wear elasticated waists. Evening wear – smart casual, so no need to pack skirts or dresses, if you don’t want to. (I am talking about the ladies)
When the others left I stayed on for another 10 days to continue exploring New Zealand whilst visiting family. It was then I really realised the professionalism and knowledge of John and Trish – where could I stop to see that view, where was the best place for a break.
After all the experiences the downside is the incredibly long journey home flying from Christchurch to Auckland. Auckland to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to the UK. I felt like a zombie when I arrived at Heathrow, a week later hopefully my sleep patterns are sorting themselves out.
For me it was a once in a lifetime trip, younger members of my extended family who had either travelled or were now living in New Zealand had looked at the itinerary beforehand and were amazed at how comprehensive it was, having spent time now with Kiwis as well as them – we covered much more of New Zealand than most of them, with the advantage of other people doing the work for us.
Anne
