Everyone enjoys the snow. Wheather it is hitting the slopes & showing off new tricks, falling over and going down the mountain on your backside, making snow angels or building the best snow man ever. Playing in the snow = FUN TIMES no matter how young or old you are!
For the 5th year in a row JUCY has brought back our amazing SKI 4 FREE deal. That’s right folks, you’ll be skiing for free in 2011 thanks to JUCY & Treble Cone! There is no trick – you will receive 1 FREE adult all lifts day pass to Treble Cone Ski field in Wanaka for every day you hire a JUCY Ride (up to a maximum of 14 consecutive days).
We have taken it one step further this year and ontop of our awesome SKI4FREE deal we have also put together some pretty sweet South Island ski packages for you guys – some JUCY Wheels, skiing at Treble Cone & accommodation all in one! So if your looking for a winter holiday package that has it all covered then JUCY Holidays might just be for you!
JUCY Becca & JUCY Gary (or JUCY G as we like to call him) were out spreading the word on JUCY’s awesome SKI 4 FREE Deal which is back again this year! They had some JUCY Wheels set up at the Snowcentre in Newmarket as part of the University Ski & Snowboard sale and were talking to keen skiers and boarders who where there to get a bargain!
Over the duration of the weekend they ran a competition for a lucky person to win a Winter SKI4FREE holiday package! We did the draw today – so check here to see if you are the winner. Thanks to the lovely JUCY Becca who did the honours!
A big JUCY thanks to everyone that stopped by our stand to say hi and enter our competition - our team loved it. Hope you got some good bargains on gear so you look the part on the slopes this year!
Nothing makes us smile more than hearing about the adventures of our happy travellers!
Last month we launched “Little Lucy’s” (which are “mini me” cut outs) which went out in some JUCY vehicles around NZ for our travellers to take photos with and share with others as you travel around NZ. Last week we got our first photos through with the Little Lucy’s and they were definatley worth the wait. So very cute! Here is what the Lias Family had to say about their JUCY Experience. Love, Lucy xx
Thanks Lucy
We had a wonderful family trip with you around New Zealand’s South Island. We were so happy to be able to take our young family safely and comfortably around New Zealand and experience it up close. We also found the atmosphere you set up with the Jucy Lucy campers travellers was just great. We felt we had so many friends travelling with us. Every Lucy van would honk or wave to us and if we bumped into a Jucy Lucy Van on our travels everyone was just so happy to talk. Jucy Lucy gave us that connection.
As for NZ, There was just so much to do along the way. The scenery was just supurb and many times took our breath away with it’s pure beauty. We will defiantly be back to see Lucy again!
We love you Lucy! Keep having Fun, The Lias Family. Let the Sun shine in!
Some of the crew from JUCY HQ went on a weekend roadtrip to White Island and by the sounds of things and the look of their pics they had a ball! Love, Lucy xx
On a Saturday we picked the JUCY car up from our Auckland City Branch which was a very fancy red colour. Our journey should take us to White Island where we booked a White Island Volcano tour for Sunday.
We all were very excited to see the Island and couldn’t wait. Our first stop was in Matamata for lunch - a big feed and a coffee. After refreshment we started our ride again because we had a couple of hours still to go to get to Whakatane.
The weather was beautiful so we decided to stop on a beach where we introduced Jucy Lucy to a local fisherman.
Finally we arrived in Whakatane – Phew what a long drive! We took ourselves off for dinner to a fish and chips restaurant (Of course a MUST DO for Kiwi’s) and it was classical served in a wrap paper on a big plate. Yummy!
The next morning we woke up early and started our trip to White Island by boat. On the boat we learned that the Island volcano is calm one and has ‘only’ a level 1. If it would have been level 5 no one would be able to go on that Island. The environment is absolutely incredible like a moon landscape apart from the clouds of mist. On the Island we had to follow our guide strictly because the steam is dangerous and was everywhere on the Island. The crater is a big green lake and you wouldn’t believe that this is an active volcano crater. The rocks have different colours (red, brown and yellow depending on the different minerals). After a while we had to take off our jackets because it was so hot and humid. At the beginning of the tour when were given gasmasks we didn’t believe that we would actually need them but sometimes you could hardly breathe and you were happy to have them. The hot pools remind you how hot the ground is and you can feel it in your shoes as well. WOW!
Check out this video clip that we took to give you an idea of what the island is like…
Back on the boat we enjoyed our lunch before we started the journey back home. We all agreed this was an amazing experience and a Must Do for everyone!
In support of Blog4NZ our JUCY Crew have put together a list of 60 things we think you should to do while you are NZ, the Land Long White Cloud. They are not in any particular order but they are things that we have done, experienced and can personally recommend!
1. Walk the Tongariro Crossing – so rewarding
2. Enjoy fish & chips on a beach (must still be wrapped in the paper)
3. Hug Tane Mahuta – the MASSIVE native Kauri tree in Northland.
4. Go for a high speed jetboat ride
5. Tramp & Kayak the Abel Tasman
6. Take a Lord of the Rings tour & visit one of the sites
7. Visit Cape Reinga and stand at the tippy top of New Zealand and take in the view
8. Take a photo with you and a sheep (or many sheep – they are everywhere!)
9. Visit the Matakana Farmers Markets on a Saturday morning
10. Carve up the slopes on your snowboard (or skis) at Treble Cone in Wanaka
11. Go for a Surf at the Mount (Mount Mangonui)
12. Enjoy a Hokey Pokey ice cream in a cone from a dairy
13. Do a bungy jump – go on, don’t be chicken!
14. See the glow worms at Waitomo Caves
15. Be adventurous, go Black water rafting
16. Give the “Hole in one” Challenge in Taupo a go. Good Luck!
17. Get a “Jump Shot” in every city you visit for your album
18. Go up the Sky Tower in Auckland. And if you are game enough jump off it. Or even walk around it!
19. Enjoy real Bluff Oysters from Bluff, NZ
20. Visit the cuuuute Yellow Eyed Penguins on the Otago Peninsula
21. Go Zorbing
22. Drink L&P – world famous in NZ
23. Enjoy a sunrise in Gisborne, New Zealands place to see the sun
24. Visit one of Auckland’s West Coast black sand beaches
25. Have a good old kiwi steak and cheese pie drowning in Watties tomato sauce!
26. Spot a whale in Kaikoura
27. Try NZ’s tasty and delicious fresh food and produce – so yummy
28. Crayfish from Kaikoura in white bread on the beach
29. Do some “mean as” bomb (jump) off a jetty!
30. Attend a 7s Weekend (or game) in Wellington
31. Visit Orakei Korako thermal island & then take a jet boat down stream
32. Outdoor ice skating at Lake Tekapo.
33. Visit Tiritiri Matangi
34. Drive over the Crown Range in Southland
35. Kayak on the Wanganui river
36. Visit Stewart Island
37. Eat a lamington, oh yeah – you wont look back!
38. Visit NZ vineyards as you travel the country & do some wine tasting (and purchase the products!)
39. Picnics. Everyone loves a good old picnic.
40. Spend a day hiking on a glacier in the South Island – anyone can do it! Breathtaking!
41. Puzzle World in Wanaka – crazy stuff
42. Walk the Milford Track – one of the worlds most famous walks
43. Catching waves anywhere at dawn in NZ!
44. Eat Pineapple Lumps. ALOT of pineapple lumps
45. Jump out of a plane – Skydiving is a thrill
46. Go white water rafting
47. Swim with dolphins
48. Have a beer in a small town pub and chit-chat with the locals
49. Visit the Te Papa museum in Wellington
50. See bubbling mud in Rotorua, experience the culture (and the smell)
51. Visit Russell – New Zealands first capital city
52. Pamper yourself at Hamner Springs Thermal Pools – you deserve it!
53. Attend a Maori Culture show
54. Take a day trip to Waiheke Island by ferry
55. Experience a “Burger Fuel” Burger
56. Go “off the beaten track” and experience some rural NZ
57. Visit Hot Water Beach in the Coromandel and dig your own bath in the sand
58. Hike to Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel
See a “Kiwi” bird
59. Attend an All Blacks Rugby match (or any other rugby match for that matter!)
60. A guided horse trek through the Southern Alps starting in the small town of Glenorchy.……..memories for a life time
JUCY Kerri and JUCY Scott from our Sydney branch came over to NZ and after spending time with the JUCY HQ team headed off in some JUCY wheels for a bit of a roadtrip up North all the while testing out one of our new campa designs! Here is a summary of their adventures & some amazing photos to match! xx
We are Kiwi’s and after not being back home for two years we were only craving one thing, yes a good old feed off fish and chips! So the first stop out of Auckland was only 2 hours up the road in Leigh to settle our craving before arriving in Whangarei to catch up with my sister showing us the sights and night life entertainment.
In the morning we started our adventure again driving through Hokianga up to Cape Reinga which is as far north as you can drive in New Zealand and where the Maori spirits begin their final journey. A must do for all wanting to feel and experience a beautiful part of New Zealand.
On the road again we drove in to Mangonui (to have another feed of fish and chips) and set up camp in our JUCY campa for the night.
The next morning we had an early start to make it to Paihia (Bay of Islands). This place is beautiful and all is true what you read in the travel brochures, a definate must do on your NZ itinerary. A highlight was catching the ferry from Paihia over to Russell (for $12 return) – a great activity if you are on a budget! Russell is a pretty town with lots of history – it was the first capital of New Zealand. Our next visit was Waitangi. This was a moving experience as you learn all about the Treaty of Waitangi, the history of the Maori people and what makes New Zealand the country it is today.
Heading back into Auckland Scott decided to take a detour to Pariki and Goat Island, which was totally a detour worthwhile – on our way we were happy to see 6 JUCY Campas in a row and give them all the JUCY wave!
Thanks to the team for giving us the opportunity to test the new vehicle. A trip we will never forget.
Sharing this amazing video clip as part of #blog4NZ which will pull on your heartstrings, make you all warm & fuzzie inside and make you love NZ even more than you did before!
Enjoy. There is not much more to say, I think the clip says it all! A big thank you to Peter Harding & Allison Wilkey who travelled around New Zealand, filmed their adventure and sent it into us to share with everyone.
In support of #Blog4NZ I started thinking to myself – why should people visit New Zealand? What is it that people love about this place that we all call home, why when they come they don’t want to leave, and when they do leave NZ always has a special place in their heart?
Not that many people need their arms twisted – but incase some people out there are in two minds if NZ should be on their list of countries to tick off the list here is why you should come to NZ………….and yes, we are open for business!
We have something for everyone. If you want a ski holiday or a city break, an adrenaline packed adventure holiday or a surfing holiday, weather you just want to take in the sights and enjoy the NZ culture or party till the sun comes up, have a camping trip and get off the beaten track or hit the tourism spots, want to explore the national parks and experience some of the best walking tracks in the world or want a full on roadtrip with mates, camping, hostels or 5 star hotels – we have it all!
To add to all the stuff you can do here, all the places you can go, and the different type of holidays you can build for yourself you have to consider the people, culture and food. You will experience Maori culture, traditional food and meet some amazing locals along your travels – it is all of this that combines with the sights that creates a receipe that has all the ingredients for a trip of a lifetime.
You will be surprised what you can fit into a NZ holiday. You can visit loads of places easily without thousands of miles to travel – we are one neat package – all you need is to decide your transport option of choice, a map, great travel companions and NZ is your playground…………..you just need to get going!
Taupo De Bretts is an amazing campground. You can’t even call it a campground – it is a resort and it is fantastic!
After letting reception know we had arrived and they told us our site number we made our way to our camp site which was surrounded by trees (check out our campa – you can only just see the top……spot the JUCY!), clean & spacious.
A quick stroll around the grounds will uncover a BBQ area, kitchen facilities, playgrounds, laundry, very clean bathroom & showers – needless to say we were super impressed!
Everyone loves hot pools in the rain, and since the weather was a bit on the average side we decided to check out the hot pools. Yep, that’s right folks – they have their own hot pools too! AWESOME! There is just something about it being cold & rainy outside that makes sitting in piping hot pools that much more enjoyable. Although my adventurous side didn’t lead me to it, there are also water slides if you feel so inclined, along with loads of different pools at different temperatures. Even private pools available.
To sum it up the Taupo DeBretts Spa Resort is amazing. The staff are friendly, the facilities are clean & the sites are tidy and surrounded by trees. Great stuff Taupo DeBretts – JUCY loves you & will be back!
This is no ordinary holiday park – it really is a resort.
After talking up a good game since arriving in New Zealand nine months ago, the moment was upon us and the realisation of what I was about to do hit me as I watched the pair before me fall out of the plane door at 15,000ft.
There’s something quite unsettling about being strapped to a complete stranger and hanging halfway out of an aeroplane door, your feet tucked firmly underneath the aircraft and your own personal cameraman hanging onto the edge of the fuselage waiting for the all important signal. One last pull of the head back onto the tandem-masters shoulder and you’re away. Then, as quickly as the realisation dawns, it disappears, as you fall hurtling towards the ground at terminal velocity – 120mph! A quick tap on the shoulder as discussed earlier and you are free to spread your arms. For 60 long seconds you plummet back towards the earth, the wind rushing past preventing anything other than a grimacing kind of smile from engulfing your face – but there’s nothing else you’d rather be doing than smiling as you try to take in every last awe inspiring moment.
When the parachute finally opens, your harness is loosened and you can sit back and really enjoy the rest of the ride as you glide gently down towards the drop zone. Its a fairly surreal moment when you realise that the only thing between you and the ground 5,000ft below is a few buckles and a great colourful sheet!
A few minutes later and its a safe touch down and its all been too fast. I can understand fully why people do jump after jump, its just phenomenal!
A big thank you to Skydive Lake Wanaka – professional from start to finish and made a fantastic experience truly awesome! To anyone considering doing a skydive in New Zealand, this place is the business, and even though the weather on our jump wasn’t perfect, if you catch it right, I can’t think of a better place to do it!”
The above post was written by Liam Browne from our fleet team. He took a JUCY Rental for a bit of a roadtrip around the South Island, stopping in to experience a skydive with the amazing crew from Skydive Wanaka! Thanks Liam, by the sounds of things & the look of your photos you had a ball!
