So holidays have generally involved camping, and even then not going very far. Last year we pitched a tent in Paekakariki, about a half-hour drive from our house. Two years ago, we spent three days on Somes Island, a 15-minute ferry ride away. Three years ago we took the ferry to the South Island and stayed at a friend's bach (pronounced "batch," it is a small holiday house) at the top of the south island. Four years ago, the kids did something with their dad, and we didn't do anything at all.
This year was our last opportunity for a proper family holiday before the eldest goes to Israel for a gap-year programme. In addition, where my partner and I work both shut down over the holidays, forcing us to take some of our annual leave over the period. (Yes, this is legal in New Zealand.) So we were both on holiday for two weeks, between December 22 and January 6, whether we liked it or not. Staying at home, or taking the kids camping right before summer camp, both seemed like a waste of time.
I sharpened my pencil and decided we could afford about $5,000. (Mind you, this is on top of paying $15,000 for the gap year programme, $5,500 for the middle child to go on a school trip to France, and $8600 for the youngest to get braces, which their dad has already said he's not going to contribute anything towards.) We looked at an island resort -- Fiji, Bali, Samoa -- but they started around $7,000 for five people for a week.
I still haven't seen most of New Zealand, so we talked about a driving vacation which would have been affordable, but I hate driving so it wouldn't have been a holiday for me. (Plus we still had memories from last year, when we drove from Wellington to Auckland to visit the kids at summer camp, and I developed shingles in my eye and was in excruciating pain the whole time and ended up being hospitalised for four days...)
In the end, we decided to visit Christchurch, the third largest city in New Zealand and the biggest in the South Island. In February 2011. a 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch, causing 185 casualties and destroying hundreds of buildings. (This was actually an aftershock of a 7.1 earthquake from September 2010, but that was located outside the city and not nearly as destructive.) The photos are absolutely devastating, but over the past seven years the government had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help rebuild. The kids had never been and my partner hadn't been since the earthquake, so we were all keen to see it.
One thing working in our favour is that the kids always go to summer camp in Auckland. To encourage participation from non-Aucklanders, the camp charges a set price for everyone and then pays for the return flights. This year the camp was starting on 4 January, so we got them to pay for the kids to fly from Christchurch instead of Wellington. Of course this had a logistical impact, as the kids now had to pack for 19 days instead of ten!
In November 2016, a 7.8 earthquake struck Kaikoura, about 100 miles north of Christchurch. It is a rural town, so there were only two casualties, but the seabed rose between 3 and 7 feet, and the infrastructure damage was extreme. There were more than 50 landslips along Highway 1, and the town was completely cut off for over a month. The train tracks looked more like a roller coaster ride, and and it took over a year to get freight trains moving, and two years before it was deemed safe for passenger trains. Of course I didn't realise any of this until I was researching this trip, and stumbled upon the Coastal Pacific train re-opening in December. For roughly the same price as flying to Christchurch, we could take the ferry and the train! (And we could stopover in Kaikoura, which was a tourist destination in its own right.)
So the plan was set. The eldest, who'd finally started a job in November, gave notice at the beginning of December. I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching and booking hotels, activities, shuttles, car rentals and even a family-friendly Irish ceili (dance) for New Year's eve. When I was all finished, I tallied up my expenses and found it came to *almost exactly* $5,000! I was quite proud of myself, until my partner pointed out I'd forgotten to feed the kids...
* Based on his past income, the IRD assessed him at NZ $3,058 per month -- about $680 USD per child per month -- which is already on the low side, but he then claimed that he was unemployed and the IRD reduced his child support to $74/month. That's USD $17 per child per month!! Can you imagine telling your bank you lost your job and them reducing your mortgage to $74/month? Of course not, but the IRD sees child support as completely discretionary, and thinks we should be grateful for any money he deigns to give us. Had they maintained the $3,058/month payment, he would owe $96,000, but it's a moot point because he still wouldn't pay and they still wouldn't care.
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