Is child/booster seats mandatory in NZ for travellers ?

[nms.sun3]

We are going to stay at Te Aroha to be exact and not in Hamilton....not sure if thats gonna make any difference.

[Hagabel]

We are going to stay at Te Aroha to be exact and not in Hamilton....not sure if thats gonna make any difference.

Te Aroha is a pretty very small(3000) people about 45 mins north of Cambridge, I am guessing 35-40 from Hamilton. That is a long way to base yourselves and drive back to Taupo etc from each day, and frankly makes no sense, lots of extra petrol and driving esp with little kids. If you are based in Te Aroha I would look at Waihi and maybe the Coromandel.


Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,768. It is 53 km northeast of Hamilton and 50 km south of Thames. It sits at the foot of 952-metre Mount Te Aroha, the highest point in the Kaimai Range. Wikipedia
http://tearohanz.co.nz/

[nms.sun3]

While i do agree with your point on Taupo being distant from Te Aroha but rest of the places are close by and can be covered in a day trip. We wanted to have a central base to cover all major attractions rather than staying one night at each places as we are travelling in a group with small children.

We have planned to set aside one day for drive to Taupo and cover the other places in 3 days time.

[kiwieagle]

I think everyone has a different style of travel and should do what suits them. Depending on whom I'm with, I have different goals while travelling. So, I'm not trying to tell you that you are wrong to do it the way you are planning but have you travelled with little children before? When my kids were small, staying in a different place every night wouldn't have worried them as much as spending heaps of time in the car. By day 4, you might find your children completely over getting in the car twice a day. If you stay in each place, you're eliminating half your travel time. I don't know your children, maybe it's more important for them to stay in the same place every night, but I know that in my experience, less time in a vehicle means happier kids. You have to remember it won't be two hours on a straight motorway; it'll be windy, twisty roads with locals driving on your tail and few places to stop.

[Hagabel]

I totally agree with kiwieagle.
But it is your holiday and if you like seeing the same scenery over and over and like traveling on Hwy 1 for hrs then have fun. Not sure how much fun it will be for your kids but I do hope you have a good time.

We wanted to have a central base to cover all major attractions rather than staying one night at each places as we are travelling in a group with small children. Te Aroha is not centrally based.

[Hagabel]

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/dir/Te...37.8108803!3e0

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/dir/Te...38.1368478!3e0

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/dir/Te...425906!1m5!1m1!
1s0x6d6cb7b215429a03:0x500ef6143a316b0!2m2!1d175.1 145451!2d-38.2615305!3e0


Just putting these here to help you.

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/dir/Te...38.6856924!3e0

[nms.sun3]

Thanks Hagabel/Kiwieagle. We thought it was central but you are in a better position to judge as you are based in NZ.
We have booked our holiday rental via bookabach without any booking fees. I am guessing we still have time to cancel if we find any alternate accomodation. Which place would you suggest if we intend to stay at one location to cover Taupo/Matamata/Waitamo/Raglan/Rotorua etc. We have 4-5 days time.

[girlwithanewf]

I am with everyone else who suggests staying in different places. It's going to be hard with little children whatever you decide but I do agree that the less time you spend in the car the better. We always try to avoid travelling the same road twice on road trips and would do this by going to a different place each night to minimize driving time especially with lots of people in same vehicle and to maximize time spent seeing different places.

[Hagabel]

Presuming you are driving from AKL and returning there why not try Matamata-Rotorua(stay in Rotorua overnight) to Taupo- Waitomo(stay o/n in Taupo or Waitomo, probably Taupo- Raglan(stay o/n in Raglan)and the back to AKL, slot another night in there somewhere. Someone else may have a better route suggestion. No where is really central for these places.

[Norgal]

The ONLY way to travel with small children s to strap them in properly and then have at it. Wails, crying, fit throwing be damned! Just drive to where you are headed and crank the radio! Enjoy, be safe and take lots of pictures!