Driving Akl to Welly with a 8-9 month old
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37950
Printed Date: 28 August 2025 at 12:05am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Driving Akl to Welly with a 8-9 month old
Posted By: caliandjack
Subject: Driving Akl to Welly with a 8-9 month old
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 12:47pm
|
Has anyone done this.
Would you stop overnight on the way? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Replies:
Posted By: crafty1
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 1:15pm
|
one word - FLY!
haha no i'm sure it's possible. Recently got stuck in the floods for 6.25 hrs with 11 month old. Wasn't much fun tbh, and we were only driving during his sleep times. Which in your case it would take days. And valium perhaps. Seriously i would fly and send hubby down in car. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 1:37pm
|
Its only going to be the two of us, and need car to get to Palmy. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 2:26pm
|
We drove Akl to Palmy quite a lot when O was little....in fact its easier the smaller they are. I would leave a whole day to do it, dont rush it. We just made sure that we stopped every 2-3hrs for nappy change / feeding / stretch out on a playmat.... Have lots of kid friendly cds / music in the car..but hopefully they will sleep a fair bit of the trip. 9mths is prob a bit young for a portable DVD player (we love ours now that O is old enough to sit and watch movies on the trip). In my opinion - stopping overnight just means more angst, trying to organise where to stay, portacots etc and more disruption to the routine. We just try and get the trip over and done with as soon as possible. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Danda08
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 2:29pm
|
I would stop overnight for a couple of reasons.
It's advised babies are only in their carseats for 90mins at a time (to do with their airway) so you need to be taking regular breaks for a decent period of time which is going to make the trip even longer timewise - and you'll be needing the break too. And since the car lulls them to sleep you run the risk of them being up all night cos they have slept all day IYKWIM We did Wellington to Gisborne at NY and overnighted in Napier. It actually made for a really nice trip, we had a couple of picnic stops to do the feeds, got the blanket out etc. The girls enjoyed it and actually it made it seem less of a mission so I enjoyed it too and they stayed in their routine! ETA: Mummyfreckle we must've posted our opposing views at the same time  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: HippyMama
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:09pm
|
We have done it, but we have family in Taupo and so it was easy enough to stop and stay with them overnight. Otherwise as the other posters have suggested, have plenty of refreshments and toys, and stop as often as needed. ------------- Mama to two earth walkers & two angels. Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !! |
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:17pm
|
Not with an 8-9mo, we had a 4mo. We drove from Wgtn - Taupo, stayed overnight and then drove the rest of the way the next day (leaving early to beat traffic). Umm... Basically drove while she slept, when she woke we'd have a stop for feed, change etc! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:29pm
|
The other option is to drive overnight, when they would normally be sleeping. My brother often does long distance trips with his kids, and they either go at about 8pm, or they go to bed early, wake at 2am, jump in the car and drive. The kids tend to go back to sleep ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:36pm
|
That is an option Fliss, DD will sleep from 7pm till 1am feed then go back to sleep till 5-6am.
Or I may end up flying and hiring a car, not sure how I'd get on with taking the buggy, car seat and portacot on the plane. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:48pm
|
Some carseats you can use on the plane but believe you have to buy another seat??
Portacot - check in with your luggage. Same with Buggy. But driving at night is a good idea. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:52pm
|
Wont I have to pay extra for the portacot and buggy as there is only 1 bag allowance on domestic flights. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:59pm
|
I did Auck to Wanganui stopping once with a 1yr old and again with a 15mth old on my own second time. first time she got carsick but was with a friend who was on a mission. I would just plan to take the whole day make sure you get a good enough sleep the night before even if you can get DH to do the wakings that night and just bring bubs to you if she needs a feed. Stop regularly, if you need to have a plan of where you can stop overnight but try avoid it. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
|
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 3:59pm
|
If you're travelling with a child, you can usually take a pram, portacot and carseat in addition to the 1 bag - i.e. no cost. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 4:00pm
|
If you ring AirNZ and tell them your situation they may be okay with you taking the buggy, portacot and the carseat. Thats one of the main reasons we didnt fly much when he was younger, we always needed to take so much stuff that it was just too hard!! We have done the overnight thing too - or sometimes we leave really really early in the morning (ie 5am) and that works quite well too. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Limochick
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 4:10pm
I've done it lots with kids of all ages and I agree with Mummy Freckle  We have done it at night a couple of times like we've left at 6pm and got there around midnight and that works quite well too.-------------  
 
|
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 7:23pm
|
We drove Auckland to Palmy when Bella was about 9 months old, we stopped 4 times I think, and she slept 70% of the way!
*might have been more than that...cant remember lol, but she was fine :) ------------- |
Posted By: Kalimirella
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 8:02pm
|
We have driven from Hastings to Wellington and back in a day trip.
Do take the whole day, leave early, plan lots of little stops, If you have an already active baby make sure you find places where she can have a crawl. Take plenty of easy to eat food for her (and easy to clean up!) and lots of water. Make sure she gets plenty of BF/Formula feeds at regular interviews, travelling can be very dehydrating. We always make sure we leave at her normal first nap time, and if we have to we wake her up a bit earlier so she is up for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before we leave. We have the odd one out, she only sleeps for 1 hour at a time in the car. Most babies are out like a light for 2 - 3 hours. If its just going to be the 2 of you plan for having to stop because she is getting upset from having to stay in the car such a longtime. Basically plan out a stop at towns every 2 hours or so for at least 15 mins (feeding, watering, changing) obviously you won't do all of that every time but both of you getting out of the car will be great. Just a few tips I thought up, I hope they are helpful. ------------- Kiara is 3 and Teagan is 2, now we're expecting our long awaited 3rd! http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 10 February 2011 at 11:28pm
You might find that what you're told on the phone is different to those that are in the airport the day you fly, sometimes it depends on how full the plane is regarding to extra baggage. If you did ring them and they say ''no problem!' then I would be sure to get it in writing also. If you do fly you could probably rent the portacot instead of having to lug it on the plane. Personally I would just drive in 1 day and take your time. Have the car packed up the night before and just up and go first thing. Much shorter, but we drove Welly - Taupo a few times when the girls ranged between 8 -12 months. They slept, we drove. They woke, we stopped for a break. |
MummyFreckle wrote:Posted By: Jess299
Date Posted: 11 February 2011 at 6:47am
|
Writing and running here!
We drove with DD from Auckland to PN last month, DD was nearly one. Made sure we were driving in tandem with her sleeps and then when she woke up stopped for feed, nappy change, play etc. We stopped overnight in New Plymouth on the way there and Taupo on the way back. We would have done the flying option but had the use of a campervan at the time. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 11 February 2011 at 7:49am
|
Time isn't a problem we can take as long as we need to, will stop as often as we both need to and may yet stop overnight in Taupo to break up the trip. Thanks for all the suggestions. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: BugTeeny
Date Posted: 11 February 2011 at 8:19am
|
We drove Tauranga-Welly when Hannah was 12 months, she was as good as gold.
We stopped when she woke so she could stretch her legs and have a snack/drink/play. Worked really well. She slept more than she usually did during the day, so I was worried it would mess with her night sleep, but she was fine. She went to bed a little later, but that was probably more from excitement about seeing family and being somewhere new, and slept just fine. Regarding flying, I've flown with Hannah domestically about 6 times. Each time the car seat and pram were "free" and Hannah also got her own allowance, even though she was sharing my seat. So I packed all our stuff in one bag (my allowance) so, just in case there was an issue, Hannah's allowance was used up with the pram or carseat - leaving only one extra piece of baggage to try to get on for free or pay for, depending on how full the plane was. I've never had to pay excess baggage. ------------- 
|