Book early tip for holidays

Press, 20 December 1985, Page 4

Book early tip for holidays

People who want to get out of Christchurch by K* i, train or bus should early to be certain of a seat. Plane, and coach seats are still available for the Christmas and New Year period, but some railway services are already booked out

Mr Derek Howie, the Christchurch Stationmaster, said yesterday that there had been a steady stream of people wanting to book on the Picton ferry and this had caused some delays at the counter. He said that it was already difficult to find room for cars on the Picton ferry

from before Christmas until the early New Year. Even passenger seats were sold out on certain sailings. Trains to Picton and Invercargill were filling rapidly, with some already sold out, and intending passengers should book as soon as possible, preferably at a suburban station, he said.

Railways buses over the Christmas-New Year period were also filling quickly, especially the overnight service to Invercargill. However, people who book at least three days before they want to travel should get a seat. Both Newmans and Mount Cook Line said they

were putting extra buses on their busiest routes, and said people who booked had a good chance of getting a seat

Air New Zealand reported that although some flights were full there were still seats available to all main destinations throughout the holiday period. Mount Count Line said there were some heavy days, leading up to New Year, with Queenstown, Rotorua, Auckland and the Bay of Elands being especially popular. Visitors to Christchurch over the holdiay period will have little trouble finding accommodation.

Most of the larger hotels report a large number of vacancies between Christmas and New Year, but fewer in January, when some nights are already booked out

Mr Wayne Arnold, president of the Christchurch Motel Association, said he could not remember any year in which motels had not been able to place everyone who wanted a bed over the Christmas holiday period. Even more beds would be available this year because new motels had been built recently. Only three of the 12 motels approached by “The'

Press” reported heavy bookings throughout the school holiday period. One motel owner said that the New Zealand bowls championships, which begin in Christchurch on December 27, had caused his motel to be booked out in early January. It will be particularly difficult to find accommodation in motels near the coast, especially if more than one night is required. Motor camps round the city said that they were already fully booked. Most had few cabins or caravan sites left, but said there were a number of tent sites available.