'Unruly' travelling family sent packing from Wellington motel after allegedly misleading staff

Thursday, 17 January 2019

The 'unruly' group of tourists attracted attention around New Zealand in 2019 (video first published January 2019).

The travelling tourist family who have become famous for their escapades in Auckland and Hamilton have been accused of telling lies to talk their way into a motel in northern Wellington.

Have you seen the family? Get in touch at newstips@stuff.co.nz

A duty manager at the motel in the suburb of Newlands, who did not want to be named, said a woman she believed to be one of the family members showed up at her motel reception on Thursday afternoon claiming the group had a booking.

Hamilton Police talking to a member of the family believed involved in several incidents across Auckland. (File photo)

The rest of the tourists 'hid outside in their dark grey people mover' while the woman claimed her brother had made a booking for the group of ten.

* 'Unruly' family travelling in NZ known for 'scary' antics in UK

* Unruly travelling family checks out of Hamilton hotel

The travelling family have become infamous in recent days.

* CCTV shows travelling family taking Christmas tree from Auckland Caltex**

But the duty manager was having none of it. The motel was fully booked and she knew the group had not made a booking, so she 'sent them on their way'.

'I saw a vehicle coming up the drive, and I had a sneaky suspicion they'd be making their way to Wellington,' the duty manager said.

'With us being out of the city [centre], this would be the sort of place they'd want to come to [to avoid attracting any further attention].'

The woman trying to check in, who appeared to be in her 20s, was not rude and was 'quite sheepish', the manager said.

A member of the unruly travelling family makes her way into the Hamilton District Court before the appearance of another member of the group on theft charges earlier this week. (File photo)

Had there been any space at the motel, the manager would 'definitely not' have let them stay.

'Hopefully they don't make a mess wherever they end up.'

The motel referred them on to a motel nearby.

Newlands Court Motel manager Wayne Xuan said at first one person from the group came in and wanted to book a studio room, which can accommodate one or two people.

'Then I saw they lied. They had like six people with them. I said it's not allowed, you have to book a family unit.

'But they didn't want to, it was too expensive. They weren't rude but they did try to trick me.'

He said they then left but he saw the car go 'up and down' the road a few times.

Earlier on Thursday, Bart Blithe was at the Z Tawa service station in the northern Wellington suburb about 2.10pm when he spotted a member of the family.

'I would swear on oath [it was them]. I was here and warned staff before they even got the fuel nozzle in their car,' he said.

'I advised staff who they were and to keep an eye on them.'

Blithe said they asked the staff to charge a flat cellphone, bought a coke then 'had a smoke'.

'[They] got their phone and left without stealing anything.'

Blithe followed the family around 'keeping an eye on them', pretending to be on his phone while doing so.

He believed the group, which included another man and woman and 'at least' one child, headed south towards State Highway 1, after collecting the recharged phone.

The tourist family have caused controversy across New Zealand recently after they left beer boxes, bottles and baby wipes at Takapuna Beach in Auckland at the weekend.

The group were also labelled 'rude' and 'ready to fight' after they threw food on the ground at an Auckland hotel and cafe.

The family caught the attention of police in Hamilton on Tuesday when they started causing problems at Burger King on Te Rapa Straight.

'They were walking through the drive-through,' the manager said at the time as police spoke with family nearby.

It was unclear whether the family intended to board a ferry in Wellington, but Ahleen Rayner, head of tourism and marketing for KiwiRail, which owns the Interislander, said the safety and comfort of its passengers and crew took top priority.

'We won't tolerate any unruly behaviour that disturbs or puts them at risk.'

Interislander was a key part of many summer road trips, and it was possible the tourist family may have booked one of its services as part of their holiday, Rayner said.

'We're aware of the reports around the family of tourists that is currently travelling New Zealand,' she said.

'Our staff will be keeping a close eye out for any disruption, including by groups with small boys in large hats.'