Boat travel from the UK to NZ

[Elsmell]

Hello -
My partner and I are hoping to travel to New Zealand at the end of 2007 and, conscious of our carbon footprint, we were interested in finding out if it is possible to travel by boat from the UK. Any advice?

[nickmo]

Not unusual enquiry - have a search for some of the container ship lists that take passengers - most offer passenger accommodation, some of which is really posh - owners cabins etc, most have a pool and dead good food too - as well as taking you to places to stop off at en-route.

Downside is you could have a shipping container in front of the cabin windows......and you are on the sea voyage for more than a couple of weeks, so have a good library.

Couple of links to see:
http://www.cargoshipvoyages.co.uk
http://members.aol.com/CruiseAZ/freighters.htm - this is the site you get taken to from http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk . The freighter site has a stack of lists of freight companies that you can approach for passenger avilability - the sailing is about 40 days UK - NZ, and you could opt to go via Suez or Panama and Tahiti - have a look and enjoy..!

There are UK only coasters you can 'try' before you commit to a long voyage by the way - eg take a trip Liverpool to Orkney (as on the first link above) and see if you like the facilities/experience - might be a good short break anyway, and would give a taste if you haven't been at sea for a long period anyway.

Or holiday at home - train and bike tour? Walking tour ? All very green....

[dzug]

You can also do it as half a round the world cruise which several companies operate - usually only once a year though. More entertainment than a freighter and a greater choice of fellow passengers if that's imprtant to you.

Neither a cruise nor a freighter is cheap - be prepared to pay well in excess of the first class air fare.

[ken c]

just a thought how much fuel does a large container ship burn on that journey