Vanuatu and NZ dilemma

tlovatt16:08 UTC05 Oct 2013

Hello helpful people.

My girlfriend and I are going to be arriving in lovely NZ at the end of October. Our plan in to spend 6 weeks travelling round NZ and a month seeing South Pacific islands, particularly Vanuatu.

However, we have arranged a campervan hire for the first 6 weeks starting october 25th, but have since read up about so called "cyclone season" in the south pacific and we have now been deliberating about going to the islands first and NZ in december - jan.

However, this means we will have to sacrifice our campervan booking and because its peak season in nz, we cant get another van at an affordable price. We would have to rent a car instead and stay in hostels.

So the question is this - do we stick with the campervan, visit nz first, and risk cyclone season in Vanuatu (how risky is it in December or early Jan? I have no idea), or do we sacrifice our self-sufficiency in NZ and minimize our exposure to cyclones by travelling to Vanuatu first?

Any advice on cyclones, campervan vs car in nz, or south pacific island climate greatly, greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much all. Also, very sorry if the cyclone question gets asked a lot, I appreciate that nobody can predict the weather, we are just wondering whether the risk is worth drastically changing our plans for. We're British, we love talking about the weather :)

Tim

ozziegiraffe12:58 UTC07 Oct 2013

There is another good reason to do Vanuatu first. December and January are high holiday season in the islands,and all the locals are travelling home for Christmas, making bookings on local internal transport, and in the cheaper accommodation options, almost impossible to get.

budgetkiwi10:23 UTC08 Oct 2013

25th december-6 jan is peak time in NZ, you often get a bit of a lull from 10th jan till end of jan. then feb/ march are also busy.
have you thought of a rental car plus tent? it would give you more flexibility.You would need to book most hostels Jan-March, especially double rooms...

nomoss01:35 UTC11 Oct 2013

Cyclones are unpredictable except they occur during a set season, roughly. There hasn't been one in Vanuatu for 7 yrs, some would say well overdue but it may not occur for another 7. It is a hot and humid time of year

Vanuatu and NZ dilemma. Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Vanuatu
tlovatt16:08 UTC05 Oct 2013	Hello helpful people. My girlfriend and I are going to be arriving in lovely NZ at the end of October. Our plan in to spend 6 weeks travelling round NZ and a month seeing South Pacific islands, particularly Vanuatu. However, we have arranged a campervan hire for the first 6 weeks starting october 25th, but have since read up about so called "cyclone season" in the south pacific and we have now been deliberating about going to the islands first and NZ in december - jan. However, this means we will have to sacrifice our campervan booking and because its peak season in nz, we cant get another van at an affordable price. We would have to rent a car instead and stay in hostels. So the question is this - do we stick with the campervan, visit nz first, and risk cyclone season in Vanuatu (how risky is it in December or early Jan? I have no idea), or do we sacrifice our self-sufficiency in NZ and minimize our exposure to cyclones by travelling to Vanuatu first? Any advice on cyclones, campervan vs car in nz, or south pacific island climate greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks so much all. Also, very sorry if the cyclone question gets asked a lot, I appreciate that nobody can predict the weather, we are just wondering whether the risk is worth drastically changing our plans for. We're British, we love talking about the weather :) Tim
ozziegiraffe12:58 UTC07 Oct 2013	There is another good reason to do Vanuatu first. December and January are high holiday season in the islands,and all the locals are travelling home for Christmas, making bookings on local internal transport, and in the cheaper accommodation options, almost impossible to get.	1
budgetkiwi10:23 UTC08 Oct 2013	25th december-6 jan is peak time in NZ, you often get a bit of a lull from 10th jan till end of jan. then feb/ march are also busy. have you thought of a rental car plus tent? it would give you more flexibility.You would need to book most hostels Jan-March, especially double rooms...	2
nomoss01:35 UTC11 Oct 2013	Cyclones are unpredictable except they occur during a set season, roughly. There hasn't been one in Vanuatu for 7 yrs, some would say well overdue but it may not occur for another 7. It is a hot and humid time of year	3

Vanuatu and NZ dilemma.