As I’ve posted before, I recently took a trip to New Zealand. Although this is where I’m from originally and still have several relatives that are living there, on this trip, I had to find lodgings in places where I no longer have relatives that I could stay with.
I wanted other options to standard Hotel/Motel, so I started my internet search. I ended up using a site called Holiday Houses New Zealand (https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/). Through this site I was able to find either an entire home or a home with a guest apartment. Staying in these lodgings gave you the feeling that you were living in a house instead of just a room somewhere. It even ended up being less expensive than staying at a local Hotel/Motel.
There seems someone is renting out their house or apartment for almost any place you want to go to in New Zealand. Some areas have more offerings that others, so check the area you are looking to visit and book early.
On this trip, I ended up in 3 such homes.
In Rotorua we stayed at a home with a separate apartment on the first floor for the guests called Matipo Haven. This house was relatively new and had all the amenities you could ask for in your stay. The home is owned by a retired couple who were very inviting and helpful to us while we were staying with them. It is just outside Rotorua on the south side, but is convent to all the local tourist attractions.
In Te Aroha we stayed at an old farm-house that had been renovated called Aroha View. They even had a hot tub, which we were not able to take advantage of due to our late arrival. This place is in the Central Waikato region halfway between Hamilton and the Coromandel Peninsula. It is not to far from Hobbiton (about 45mins) if that is one of your places on your list to visit.
We arrived pretty late the night we stayed, so we did not have a chance to meet the owners of this house. Despite that, they made sure we were able to get in and were very helpful over the phone even with our spotty cell coverage at the time.
In Dargaville we stayed at a home with a guest apartment attached called Leslie Lodge. The house is located just out-of-town on the north side of town on Rt 12. It is just 5 min to the center of Dargaville and is convent to many of the areas attractions and beaches. The owners are a wonderful retired couple who know the area well.
All the places I stayed at on this trip offered everything we needed from tea/coffee, towels, and sheets, blankets, clothes washer, and more. Not all places do, so make sure to read the description before you book. Not only did we get a “home” environment to stay in, the owners who lived on premises were able to give us many “local” insights and tips for the areas we visited. In our case, we got some great recommendations on where to eat and some free locations to visit that were just as good as the paid tourist sites. One of the other advantages of this type of lodging is that you can cook your own food if you wish as they do offer kitchen ware for cooking and eating. On this trip we just ate breakfast there and decided to take in the local food for lunch and dinner.
If you are looking for a different experience on your travels in New Zealand I would check out the Holiday Homes website (https://www.holidayhouses.co.nz/) to find your home while away from home. If not traveling to New Zealand, I would see if there is a similar service offered for the area you are traveling to as I think it is well worth it.
