I am not going via Google flights just direct to CheapOair.com and searching there. I have managed to play around with other dates and stopovers in MEL and AKL (on the inbound) and still pricing out in the $1500's. I am also seeing similar prices (ORD-MEL) using the direct UA flights to MEL with NZ codeshare on the outbound via LAX.
Last edited by Baracus; Jan 3, 2019 at 10:43 am
Reason: improved clarity and spelling