Hi Riders, I can now share the firm details of the travel within New Zealand, so that you can start to book your flights. You can also decide if the accomodation suits you and choose to upgrade at the same establishments or make your own bookings elsewhere. If you want to do either of these just let me know, so I don't overbook.
Also let me know if you're extending your trip before or after the official dates or if your entry or exit airport isn't Christchurch.
Travel schedule
Plan your own flights to arrive in Christchurch on Saturday 7th and depart from Christchurch from 2:00pm on Sunday 15th.
Please send me your flight itinerary once you've booked so I can track everyone's arrival and departure times.
|
Date |
Day |
Place |
Event |
|
7 |
Sat |
Christchurch |
|
|
8 |
Sun |
Christchurch |
Bottle Lake |
|
9 |
Mon |
Wanaka |
Travel day |
|
10 |
Tue |
Wanaka |
Roxburgh |
|
11 |
Wed |
Wanaka |
Alexandra |
|
12 |
Thu |
Wanaka |
Rest day |
|
13 |
Fri |
Wanaka |
Wanaka |
|
14 |
Sat |
Lake Tekapo |
Snow Farm |
|
15 |
Sun |
Christchurch |
|
Christchurch
Our first 2 nights will be at the NorthSouth Tourist Park in Christchurch. It's close to the airport and a short drive to the first warm up event at Bottle Lake. We've booked their Bunkhouse, but check out their
website for other options.
We'll also have a bunkhouse booking for the last Sunday night for those that need to catch a Monday flight home.
Wanaka
For the next 5 nights we'll base ourselves in Wanaka at
BASE Backpackers and drive to the next 4 event sites. Wanaka is a reasonably sized town that should provide everything we need and this will save us relocating each night.
Lake Tekapo
A new backpacker lodge at
Lake Tekapo Holiday Park on the shores of the lake will allow us to split the long journey back to Christchurch after the last event.
Mini Bus and Trailers
We've secured mini buses and trailers that have bike racks on top. Where possible you'll be collected from and dropped off to the airport.
Costs
At this stage I'm waiting on the pricing for the Lake Tekapo lodge, but have refined the initial estimate to a range of $420-450, depending on the final numbers of travellers.
This covers the transport and accomodation and does not include the 'race' insurance, but more on that option later. Costs you will need to meet yourself are your flights, meals, upgrades to accomodation, event fees and entertainment expenses etc.
Booking Your Place
You can secure your place on the bus and accomodation (as described above) by paying a deposit of $100 to Orienteering Australia using the bank details below.
Use your surname as a reference, so the OA treasurer can match up your payment. Your place is not secured until you make this payment. Bookings close on 15 October.
I expect that I will know the final costings following the closure of bookings and the balance will be due by 15 November.
Name: Orienteering Australia Inc
BSB: 062005
Account No: 00906687
Bike Packing
More on this in the next bulletin to help those who haven't flown with a bike before.
Jerseys
...have arrived and can be purchased for $40 at the Oz Champs in Beechworth, from Craig Steffens in QLD or Peter Cusworth in Victoria.
Event Entry
If you haven't already entered the events, you can use the link on the top right hand side of this message to enter at the official event site.
Bike Hire
For those of you not wanting to take your own bike, check out these sites:-
City Cycle
Natural High
If you have any trip queries, please contact me. Cheers, Craig.
