Rugby fans heading to the World Cup in New Zealand are planning all sorts of extended trips, as they tell FIONN DAVENPORT
THE GENERAL consensus is that it’s the trip of the lifetime. It’s the other side of the world, it takes lots of planning and Ireland has never had a better chance of . . . well, maybe not winning, but coming close.
But for the 1,000-or-so Irish fans or so who are making the trip, as well as the Australasia-based Irish who will join them, it’s not simply a case of going to see Ireland play in the World Cup, it’s about using the tournament as a framework upon which to hang a visit to one of the world’s most beautiful countries.
The length of the World Cup – most assume that our interest will be maintained until at least the quarter finals, played on October 8th and 9th – justifies the travel involved and it fits nicely into the length of time it’ll take to do New Zealand any kind of justice.
For speech therapist Edel Kearney (31), who’s making the trip with her sister Margaret (28), six weeks is enough time to see Ireland play (three of its group stage matches are on North Island) and explore the South Island where, besides seeing the usual scenic highlights, they plan to take in a bunch of food and wine festivals.
To get around, they’re renting a car from a local operator who specialises in two- to three-year-old vehicles, which works out cheaper (around €900 for the six weeks) than if they’d gone to one of the big hire companies who only deal in cars up to a year old.
For accommodation, they’ve plumped for hostels, which they’ve pre-booked on the nights bookending the Ireland games but have left open for the rest.
The drive-and-sleep alternative is to hire a campervan, which is the preferred option of many, including Sarah-Jane Hannon (35), a software product manager, who’s travelling with three (female) college friends who are treating it as a reunion and their “last great trip together”. They’re paying NZ$4,700 (€2,726) for the privilege of making a campervan their home for just over four weeks, which saves them a fortune in hotel bills and gives them the freedom to travel when and where they like.
The freedom of the open road also appeals to sound engineer Killian Keating (25), who’s heading off on a six-month travel adventure and is treating the World Cup as a holiday. Once it’s over, he and his travel buddy are going to look for work so that they can keep travelling. Where will they go? “Who knows?” he shrugs. “Definitely Australia, and maybe South America. It all depends.”
They’re going to buy a second-hand campervan and sell it when they’re done.
Niamh Kinsella (28), manager of a leisure centre in Courttown, Co Wexford, started saving for the trip a couple of years ago, but only started planning properly in early June. Thanks to hostelworld.com, she’s booked all of her accommodation and has an activities-packed itinerary that will keep her busy between games and help her meet plenty of people. She’s a solo traveller but doesn’t think she’ll be alone for long. Niamh’s taken two months off for the trip because she wants to see lots of the country and doesn’t want to miss the buzz of the latter stages of the competition, whether Ireland are involved or not.
Trainee accountant Stephen Manning (25) and his girlfriend Aleesha (25) have managed to pry three weeks’ break out of their respective employers to make the trip, where they hope to meet up with friends who are currently travelling around the world.
They found everything they needed online, including campervan rental, from britz.co.nz; they've also done extensive research into the kind of intra-game activities they want to pursue: a parachute jump in Rotarua (where they'll also indulge in the thermal spas), blackwater rafting in the underground caves of Waitomo and hiking on the Fox Glacier outside Queenstown. Much to Stephen's embarrassment, one of their group also insists on the Lord of the Ringstour in Wellington, where much of the trilogy was filmed.
For reasons of budget and flexibility, most of the Irish travelling to New Zealand are doing so under their own steam, booking flights and figuring out their own itineraries. Not so Colm and Alison McFadden, who’ve entrusted their Kiwi adventure to ex-Irish international-turned-travel-agent Trevor Brennan (trevorbrennanrugbytours.com), who’s organised trips for 140 people. This is Colm and Alison’s honeymoon so they didn’t want to worry about the hassles of transport or accommodation – they like a bit of comfort, but aren’t too fussed about being too fancy and will happily live without the bridal suite at an overpriced five-star resort. For them it’s all about the experience and, as they’re both big rugby fans, the opportunity of visiting with All Black legend Colin Meads and watching a provincial match – just some of side activities that a Trevor Brennan tour provides – was too good to pass up.
The easiest way to get to New Zealand is to fly, of course, usually a two- or a three-stopper in the Middle East, South-east Asia and Australia. For John MacDonald, though, getting there is half the fun: he and his partner are travelling by cargo ship from Dubai, where John lives and works as a business writer. His preferred carrier is the French-owned CMA-CGM, which operates container ships throughout the world’s ports, including Dublin: John likes them because they’re French, which means the food and wine on board are plentiful.
“It works out at around US$120 a day,” he says. “You couldn’t find a decent hotel for that, and it comes with three great meals a day and as much wine as you can get down your neck.”
The 10-day trip to Singapore is conducted in the same comfort as you’d find on a cruise liner, but it’s much more interesting because you can mingle with crew, visit the engine room and have access to the bridge, which John enjoys no end. Scheduling is a little tricky though: his commitment to the rugby means that he can’t afford to wait for a container to take him from Singapore to New Zealand, and so he’ll fly the rest of the way. With the World Cup only weeks away, there are concerns at how many tickets remain unsold. The Christchurch earthquake has affected the expected numbers, but so has the global economy, which is largely responsible for keeping Irish numbers lower than expected.