Exchange

Travelling from Australia to any of our near neighbours generally means we get a little bonus in the exchange rates. This is also true in New Zealand and one of our Kangas will net you about 1.2 Kiwis.

This looks pretty good and only improves when you start looking at the prices of items such as iPods - it'll cost you less to buy an iPod retail in Auckland than duty-free in Australia. That's not a bad indicator of how good we Aussies have it on a New Zealand holiday - accommodation is also a real bargain but bizarrely there seems to be not too much difference in the price of a room in a 4-star hotel and a cabin in a holiday park. I haven't quite figured that one out but low priced accommodation is possible if you are willing to sacrifice some comforts - like an en-suite.

Mrs Grendel has veto authority on accommodation so we are only staying in places that do not require exposure to the bracing early morning outdoor air in order to pee.

However I did canvass a number of options under NZ $60 a night for a family of four, all of which looked quite comfortable. On my last New Zealand trip I spent some nights sleeping in pretty rough conditions and managed to survive quite well, however when you are 18 your tolerance for such accommodations is substantially higher than at - well more than 30 anyway.

Still, while booking each accommodation I consoled myself with the exchange rate between our fair lands and thanked the central banking gods that we have never seen fit to link our countries more closely.