Trying to line up accommodation for October in Auckland for the Age Group World Championships. Not wanting to stay in a team hotel. Would like to find a house close to downtown that has 4+ bedrooms. Arriving Oct 14 and looking to rent for 10+ days. Arriving Oct 14. Can anyone from the local tri community help me out or suggest a good rental website? Coming from Victoria, BC Canada - willing to do a house exchange as well!
Carolyn Gebbie
I’ve used VRBO a bunch of times in Europe and was always happy. Not sure how it is for NZ though.
Thanks. I have tried VRBO but there’s not that much available (4+ bedrooms) currently. I was trying to look at other rental sites and sent off a couple of enquiries but no-one ever responded so I hit a dead-end there. Have had great success with the ST community in the past so I thought I’d give it a try again…
The best place to look for rental accommodation is probably TradeMe (www.trademe.co.nz). I’m sure some Auckland locals can chime in regarding best location etc.
Great - will check there now!
Checked out that website, but it appears to be “regular” rentals (i.e. unfurnished) rather than holiday rentals…
Thanks. Have emailed the only 4+ bedroom house listed for Auckland. Fingers crossed!
try nzholidayhomes
I’m not sure if they will have much near the race venue, as it’s right downtown, and downtown is mainly cheap, tiny apartments.
I have a real estate agent buddy (and fellow IM geek) I’ll email him to see if he has any leads.
You might also want to check out Barfoot & Thompson. They were the naming sponsor for the recent warm up event in Auckland and Garth Barfoot, on of the owners, (74 year old now?) is still a keen triathlete, having done Kona few times, and several Challenge races, and was a sponsor of Challenge Wanaka a few years ago. I think Barfoot & Thompson has a rental division as well.
You might look into taking over a B&B. Lots of those in Auckland and can be just as good or better than a rental.
Be aware that Auckland is a surprisingly difficult place to get around, at the best of times.
I would suggest that the most suitable suburbs would be
A) Ponsonby, Herne Bay, Grey Lynn and that area (check a map). Plenty o’ handy restaurants as well
B) Along the waterfront, ie Mission Bay, Kohimarama, St Helliers (might be difficult to travel on race morning however). Less restaurants, and a bit further from the race start, but handy beaches for swimming and you can train on the bike course very easily
C) Remuera, Newmarket, Parnell area, more good restaurant choices. New market has a good pool for training tho
Avoid anything in the southern half of the city (low rent to say the least) and too far to travel.
Probably also avoid the North Shore, except maybe Devonport, as the Ferry service runs from Devonport to Auckland. The Ferry terminal in Auckland is on the very same wharf as the pro transition and finish line! There are a range of car rental places within a few hundred metres of the race start too. Or just get one from the airport if you haven’t already looked into that.
The “Tepid Baths” swimming pool is right downtown, only a few hundred metres from the race venue. It’s undergoing a complete rebuild at present (18months so far) and I understand it is due for the grand re-opening in June 2012 so that would be suitable for training too. It’s almost right on the course, so it would be a good base for all your on course training over the days leading up to the race. Lotsa good restaurants right around the “Teps” too.
This is the ultimate link for securing accommodation for Kona, or any World Championship event:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Lavender_Room_F4/Backdoor_brags._P3601517/
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This is sooooo helpful - thank you. I feel like I’m trying to line up things without knowing the big picture. This just provided some pieces in the puzzle. I really appreciate the advice. I have a lead on a place in Howick but I’m guessing that it’s going to be too far out of town and that getting to/from the race via the foot ferry might be a real hassle.
Thanks - will do!
This is sooooo helpful - thank you. I feel like I’m trying to line up things without knowing the big picture. This just provided some pieces in the puzzle. I really appreciate the advice. I have a lead on a place in Howick but I’m guessing that it’s going to be too far out of town and that getting to/from the race via the foot ferry might be a real hassle.
Howick would be too far away for a visitor IMHO. Howick to the race venue would be about 45minutes, not assuming any race day road closure delays.
As tackieclm suggested, try a B&B option. There are several in Devonport, within easy walking distance of the Ferry.
Also try the New Zealand Automobile Association. They have an accommodation section with everything from campgrounds to motels, hotels, B&B’s and all the rest. I use that site for campgrounds a lot when travelling around or motels when going to races around the country.
Remember when looking at an Auckland map, that there are something like 46 small extinct volcanic cones around the place. This means that when they started building roads 150 years ago, they followed very crooked routes easy for horse and carts. They still exist, but now as meandering city streets. I’ve lived in Auckland for 15 years now (came from Hamilton Ontario) and Auckland is a bitch to get around, even now. Getting somewhere close to the race venue, and easy to get to will be a very good idea to keep stress levels low.
Thank you. I wonder if staying in Howick pre and post race and then spending the night before the race at a B & B or hotel might be a possible option. I lined up the house in Howick nearly a year ago (it’s a house exchange - i.e. nil$) In the last couple of weeks I’ve been having second thoughts about being so far away from the race site. Even though we’ll be sharing (with 4 - 6 other peopl) whatever accomodation I come up with, I’d still like to keep the costs down as much as possible. Will check out the automobile assn website. Thanks again!
As long as race morning isn’t your first trip from Howick to the CBD you would likely be OK.
Not to be racist at all, (more, just to let you know) the town of Howick is nicknamed Chowick. You may be one of the few-ish English speakers there. The village of Howick is nice and quaint (based on the 2 or 3 times I’ve ridden through there)
You idea of a hotel downtown for the pre-race night seems like a good compromise, particularly cost wise.
Remember that we have South Pacific Peso’s here in New Zealand and the CDN/NZD exchange is in your favour 
try here
http://www.barfoot.co.nz/Rentals.aspx?gclid=CKvJ99S27KwCFaRMpgod6x25JQ
mainly unfurnished homes for longer term rentals but a good place to start I guess.
I’ve sent Garth Barfoot an email asking about a furnished short term rental. Thanks.
I’m an Auckland resident with relatives in the Howick area. In my opinion it is a boring area - tedious suburbia. Lots of shops, busy roads and a pain to get into the centre.
I recommend trying to get somewhere near the waterfront along Tamaki drive, or else in the city CBD or the apartments that have been built near the yacht basins. You’ll be close to all the action that way.
I live near Auckland’s west coast. Sensational scenery, walking trails and beaches if you like that sort of thing, but it takes 25-50mins to get into the CBD depending on if it is rush hour or not and which part of west Auckland you are in. There is a good train service from West Auckland to city centre right next to the where the race will be. If this sounds like your sort of thing start by looking at http://www.piha.co.nz/ - there are quite a few holiday rentals in that beach community.