New Zealand, anybody?

[e9999]

Goody! may spend a week in NZ. Always wanted to go there. Kiwis seem to be particularly nice blokes and the scenery seems unsurpassed.

Advice on where to go for a nature/hiking/camping type enthusiast ? (Won't be able to do actual camping off a travel bag, unfortunately, but that's what I would do if I could and would still like to see the places.)

Incredibly cheap rentals of incredibly well-equipped Diesel cruiser campers?

 

[Grolar]

Hey mate (or is that from the other island on the left?)
I found this and it looks yummy.
4WD Rental Cars in New Zealand for Skiing and Summer travel
You have to liveblog your trip and take pics, such as those:

 

[hoser]

Just got back from the South Island. It is truly a beautiful country. Exchange rate is good right now. The economy is down and business noticeably slow. Good for tourists though. You can rent a nicely equipped 105 or 70 series camper from Britz/Maui campers. Do not miss the Glaciers and Doubtful (or Milford Sound).

 

[e9999]

good to know, will start looking more seriously into rentals...


(how come there are so few Kiwis on Mud?)

 

[hoser]

There just aren't that many Kiwi's in the world. I bet there are more sheep on the South Island than there are Kiwi's, haha!

Population 2007:
NZ 4.2 Million
AUS 21 Million
US 300+ Million

 

[hoser]

Here's a fully equipped 105 for rent at Britz. RTT, fridge/freezer, stove, sleeping bags, pillows, and all.

 

[e9999]

it would be hard to rent a 105 like that and not take it to where one should not take a rental that does not have full complete super duper no deductible no fault helicopter recovery and evac insurance...


actually, I'd probably rent a 7x before I'd do a 105. Former more exotic for me... I want noise! I want diesel fumes! I want clatter!

 

[Grolar]

Damn this Britz 105 is zexy.
I might have missed something, but it looks like the night setup involves people sleeping at a 90° angle on the rear box?

http://www.britz.co.nz/adx/aspx/adx...&MediaID=938&Filename=CV_Adventurer_large.gif

 

[hoser]

Yes, you would sleep to the side rather than over the back. If you notice the hump on top, that is the ladder.

Maybe I noticed them more but there seems to be more 70's than 100's on the South Island. Mostly trayback's, then troopies, then SWB 70/71's. And most of the 100's were TD 100's rather than 105's.

 

[dieseldan]

I did twelve days two months back on the south island, two for business and the rest tourist.. depending on where you're going the advice will be pretty different. Our destination was Invercargill so we focused on the southern lake region to Milford Sound. A few observations from where we were;

Milford Sound- nice but a long day and at this time of year full of tour busses, visit the BC coast instead when you get back.

Spates; good good beer.

Lamb or Beef- can't go wrong either way, all we did was eat and drive and between the food and the scenery you'll have a great time.

Jet Boat trips- I'd stay off the beaten path here and avoid the major tourist destinations.. we went as far south as you can go on the main south island and took a day trip with Hump Ridge Jet Tours - flippen' unreal day and I sell jet boats for a living.. full day from a georgeous lake down one of the steepest elevation drops per mile rivers in NZ - wicked destination where the river comes out to the ocean, crashing surf and all - awesome bbq lunch- our guide had fresh venicen which he hunted the day before. (you can hunt deer in NZ 365/yr and no limits!) All this was about $250pp and one of the highlights of the trip!

Grabba Yabba Card and it'll cost you pennies to call home...

I'd say you'll have a great time wherever you go and if you find yourself in an area unsure of what to do, ask a local - the Kiwis are truly hospitable and proud of where they live..

Have a great time met.

 

[e9999]

good info, thanks

still trying to figure out where to go.

Seems like it'll be pretty crowded the next 2 or 3 weeks... And some rain too dammit. It's supposed to be the summer... what's with that?

Campervans not that inexpensive, sadly...

with a week, maybe 10 days, should I stick to one of the 2 big islands? which?

 

[dieseldan]

I'd highly recommend the Otago Lakes region, south island. We flew to Christchurch and rented a car from there ($30/day and fuel is roughly the same as here after currency conversion).

.02

 

[e9999]

is a car trip from Auckland to the pretty parts of the South Island worth all the driving? I imagine it's a real nice trip. Except you gotta deal with the ferry of course - which strangely they don't seem to want to do with rental cars... Maybe flying is in order. Only got a week there.


Another great part of flying to NZ from the West Coast: you can stop on the way... Hulalaaa... (sic)

 

[hoser]

Driving from Auckland to Queenstown can be done in 10 days but you'd be driving a lot. Check Google maps for driving times. I would prefer to stay a couple days in Auckland and then fly to somewhere in the South Island.... or skip the North Island altogether.

 

[e9999]

OK, so everybody is saying to go to the South Island first and foremost, then?

 

[dieseldan]

We drove a little over 2,000 km return from Christchurch - the scenery changes alot so just driving is entertainment enough.. a day or two in Auckland is great too.

 

[e9999]

Back.

Well, that was a great trip. Stayed on the South Island, as suggested here.

We flew into Queenstown, hightailed it to TeAnau (pretty touristy), spend 2 or 3 days in the Fjordland area, did Milford Sound (gorgeous, lucky we had sun), then drove up the West (Wet) Coast. Very nice too, the glaciers are interesting. Did rain a fair amount there, of course (they have something like 20 ft (!) of rain per year over there...). Then crossed over back to Christchurch and flew out of there.

Landscape and scenery down South is amazing. Nice mountains, wonderful lakes. Practically nobody living there. Some tourists of course, but except for the buses, mostly the adventurer types.

Lots and lots of Toyotas. My god, they own that island. Lots of 100s, fewer 80s, quite a few 70s. Practically no 40s that I saw.
Lots of rental campers, a few like the Blitz shown above, but mostly the camper van type. Not so obvious that there is a lot of wheeling to be done. Not sure.
We stayed mostly in backpackers and motorcamps. Interesting crowd. Except for the drunks in the bunkroom next to us on New Year's Eve, who were yelling all night...
Mostly nice friendly folks.
Gorgeous country. The south part of the South Island is very picturesque.
Stayed a week, wasn't enough, and spent a lot of time in the car. Takes a long time to get anywhere in NZ. We were hoping to make it up North to Nelson, but would have taken too much time.

Spent a day in Auckland. Pleasant enough city.

Highly recommended. Will go back.

thanks for the info!

 

[dieseldan]

Really enjoyed the roads there - skipping the car rental next time and going for bikes. Did you enjoy a Spates?

 

[hoser]

Thanks for the report back. How about some pictures from your trip?

 

[Grolar]

Thanks for the report back. How about some pictures from your trip?

Yes please. Or else.