Here comes the sun For a good, reasonably priced dose of rest, recreation and vitamin D, head to one of these sunny destinations this winter, writes
Josh Martin.
As the New Zealand winter begins to bite, there are plenty of places to escape the dreary grey weather and enjoy some much-needed sunshine.
Tropical North Queensland, Australia
Thanks to some competition on the Auckland to Cairns route, flights to North Queensland can be nabbed for about $600 return for dates in August. That month sees the lowest average rainfall around Cairns and Port Douglas, with daily temperatures staying near 26 degrees Celsius and the sea temperature still warm enough for a dip (and you’ll avoid pesky box jellyfish season). Although hiring a car would let you explore the coastline and Daintree National Park at your leisure, you could just take a shuttle transfer to tourist town Port Douglas from the airport for AU$68 return (NZ$71) and use it as a base to explore the Great Barrier Reef. Rooms on Booking.com or whole apartments on Airbnb around Port Douglas in mid-August come in at $900 for the week, putting your flight and room price just over $1000 per person twin share. Fly with Philippines Airways or Air New Zealand.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Australia
This is a slightly more-risky option regarding sunshine, but even one grey day won’t cloud the tourist hotspots of the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Almost unbelievably, you can still nab winter school holiday flights from Auckland to Goldie and back out from Brisbane for only $447 a person, flying Air Asia to Coolangatta and back with Emirates. You can then hire a car to tick off the theme parks and wildlife parks of the Gold Coast. House of Travel’s Dave Fordyce recommends the family resort of Turtle Beach resort as ‘‘one of the best family resorts on the coast, and families flock there. It’s affordable, too – seven nights in a two-bedroom apartment will cost around $1100 per family, based on two kids under 11 and two adults’’. Heading north, foodies can tuck in to Brisbane’s Gauge from chef Jerome Batten or walk riverside or through formerly grungy Fortitude Valley, Brissie’s oldest entertainment district. Family Airbnb properties, with free parking and near to the CBD, can be snapped up $151 a night during the school break.
Alice Springs, Australia
You want sun? Well, you can’t get much sunnier than a large desert town in the middle of the Australia’s Red Centre. Late August and early September are a great time to lap up the rays, with the first month of spring offering the lowest rainfall and temperatures pushing 30C. There are amazing and largely untouched national parks to explore, not to mention the iconic Uluru to check out. The downside to this guaranteed week of sun? Flights from Auckland (about $850 return with Qantas) would need at least one stop-off in an East Coast Australian city – maybe two. Also, as you’re around 1200km from the sea and the town’s Todd River is often dry, your stay will require a pool. However, the remoteness of Alice also means it’s a prime spot for hot air ballooning and stargazing. Budget accommodation (double room, private bathroom, pool) for a week in spring is only $500, with something nicer at the Ibis Styles at around $800. Three-day camping trips to Uluru with transport and meals are $390 per person on Expedia.
Cruising the South Seas
P&O Pacific Jewel’s 10-night cruise of the South Pacific in September, calling in at Fiji and Tonga, offers great value at $1570 per person for a twin cabin and meals included (careful on the buffet!). You’re still in time for the dry season in the South Pacific and can lap up the rays near the ship’s pools. Having sailed on this ship before, it’s a solid three-star family favourite for a reason, a budget-conscious couple would find the right mix of value inclusions and optional extras, but it’s easy to rack up additional costs. The ship calls in briefly to Suva, Port Denarau, Vava’u (a hot spot for whalewatching) and Nuku’alofa – it only docks for about 10 hours at each port, but that’s enough to give you a taste of island life.
Nuku’alofa, Tonga
If you did want to linger in the backto-basic beach charm of Tonga then flights from Auckland in late July can be as cheap as $410 return with Virgin Australia or Air New Zealand – even better, they aren’t at the ridiculous departure and arrival times that often hide behind the on sale airfares. In Tonga, particularly the main island of