I will be going on the Grand Explorer leaving Auckland feb 20. I am 29, male, from NY, travelling alone (this is my first contiki trip). I just planned this trip so its kinda last minute... Im going to arrive in Auckland on feb 19th... ive looked on a few message boards and it seems people mention the mecure for a hotel but i cant seem to find it in any of my guidebooks... well... i just wanted to make this post and see who else is going on this tour and if anyone wants to try to meet up before... drop me a line! phil

Hey,

I'm from Melb,i'm 35,this is my 4th Contiki and i will be travelling by myself aswell.The hotel(Mercure)is on 8 Customs St.All of my other tours have been a blast.

hey... thanks for your reply... seems like there arent that many people posting on the forums for our trip (vs other dates) unfortunately... ive been looking at hotels and am considering the rendezvous hotel or the mercure hotel windsor since it looks like the mercure is completely booked... do you know if there is much difference for the mercure vs the mercure windsor?

I'm not too sure but on my map they look like they just around the corner from eachother.Yer i only know of 3 other people apart from yourself and me that are going on this tour.

im getting really excited about going on this trip now, it will be great to meet up the night before as im too going alone and breaking the ice before the tour starts will make it so much more fun

and claire - im from Melbourne too

Yer its really good to see who is going on the tour the night before aswell.Suz where in Melb do you live?I'm getting really excitied aswell i cant wait to have heaps of fun

Im from Tullamarine, so really dont have that far to go to get to the airport

Im so looking forward to the waitomo caves my friend went a couple of years back and said it was the best but havent really decided on any of the other extra "optional" excursions, well maybe except for the jet boat and helicopter ride, im so scared of heights but it will probably be the only chance i get to go on a helicopter oh well not long to go now

hey? wats the weather like down there? what kind of clothes should i bring? also, the mercure was booked so i ended up booking a room at the new president... we should try to arrange to meet up... cant wait

Hey explorer1088898,

The weather here is beautiful and sunny,wat about you?I'm mainly bringing jeans,tshirts and a jumper and some 3/4pants and some good shoes.Yer we should try and meet up maybe the night before for drinks that would be great.I'm so excitied only afew more days to go yah.Cant wait to meet you.

Hey Suz,

I'm from Ferntree Gully whixh is about an hour from the airport.I cant wait to have so much fun,am going to try and do blackwater rafting(ive done white water rafting in Austria) and it was so much fun,i'm willing to maybe try anything once.You only live once

so true hence why im going on this trip man i am counting down the days till this trip, even my co-workers are counting down for me asking me when my last day of work is before holidays, which is thursday by the way

only a week left

Hey Guys,

Cant wait to finally meet you all.We are going to have so much fun.Not long now huh,see you all on Wednesday the 20th of Feb.