New Zealand Anyone?

[Stevewheel]

My wife and I are motorhomer's in the UK and Europe but fancy doing a MH tour of New Zealand. Does anyone have any experience of doing either of the tours currently offered by the Caravan And Motorhome Club? First reaction is that they don't seem the cheapest (surprise , surprise) but have the advantage of everything being under a single booking with some of the tedious aspects (like researching and booking individual campsites) taken care of. Pro's and Con's as always I am sure but would be really interested to hear the views of anyone that has done these or indeed any independently organised tours of NZ. As always, grateful for all input.

 

[spitfire]

Sorry can’t help remotorhoming only to say have seen lots and sites easy to find and we weren’t looking lol We have done 2 times a month on motorbike and sure is a beautiful country .

 

[Stevewheel]

Oops! Didn't see the other post about New Zealand before I uploaded mine...sorry! However, would still be interested to hear if anyone has used the C&MHC Tours

 

[rangi]

I can guarantee one thing if you do go!

You'll have never seen so many shades of green in your life before, and around every corner is a WOW!

These scheduled tours are a bit rush rush rush, they have a time table to follow.
It would be a bit more easy on you , less stressful, if you made your own way, followed your own time table.
The South Island is the best for scenery, and wilding. The North of the north Island, Bay of Islands, Keri Keri & Cape Reinga too.
If you are into Golf, the views from the Bay of Islands Golf Course will take your breath away.
Rotorua and Whakarewarewa the geo thermal place boiling mud scolding water etc, can be a bit of a tourist trap if you are not careful.
Lake Taupo, formed by the biggest explosion known to mankind in about 900AD, and the NZ Army Museum at Waiouru is worth a stop too, both near and on the central Plateau, and if you want a drive that you will have nightmares about for the rest of your life, try "Gentle Annie" the road from Waiouru to the Napier Highway.
Napier for Art Deco Buildings and Tania of the Reef, and Wellington, the view from the lookout on top Mount Victoria,of the Harbour area, and if you look south the Alps and Mt Cook (Mt Aorangi) in the South Island can be seen on a clear day, is spectacular.
(Wellington has about 6 days like that a year , the Southerly Winds come straight from Antarctica! )

Any way which ever way you'll go I'm sure you will enjoy it tremendously, tiz a place everyone should go to at least once in their life

 

[Stevewheel]

Thanks @spitfire and @rangitira really appreciate your advice. As far as the trip is concerned I think we have moved from "if" to "when"...exciting! Thanks again.

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[Polar bear]

We went a few years ago,booked flights with Qantas, telephoned Maui motorhome hire then picked up van in Christchurch and toured South Island put van on ferry also booked by phone toured north island and dropped van of in Auckland. Quite easy to do and probably a lot cheaper than an organised tour.

 

[robnchris]

Our daughter and her friend toured New Zealand a few years ago in a campervan, like us Laura says New Zealand is the best country she has ever visited.

If two young ladies can enjoy that freedom I dont know why anyone would want to go with an organised tour.

 

[Stevewheel]

Thanks @robnchris and thanks @Polar bear ....sounds like a plan. Maui seem like quite a big operator.

 

[Pausim]

When I visited New Zealand I explored without a fixed itinerary and stopped when the mood took me. One local said “you should take the trip out to Doubtful Sound it is the most beautiful place on the planet”. No doubt there are many who might contest that statement but I have not yet found the evidence to prove him wrong.

 

[Stevewheel]

Thank you @Pausim

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[glastry]

I can guarantee one thing if you do go!

You'll have never seen so many shades of green in your life before, and around every corner is a WOW!

These scheduled tours are a bit rush rush rush, they have a time table to follow.
It would be a bit more easy on you , less stressful, if you made your own way, followed your own time table.
The South Island is the best for scenery, and wilding. The North of the north Island, Bay of Islands, Keri Keri & Cape Reinga too.
If you are into Golf, the views from the Bay of Islands Golf Course will take your breath away.
Rotorua and Whakarewarewa the geo thermal place boiling mud scolding water etc, can be a bit of a tourist trap if you are not careful.
Lake Taupo, formed by the biggest explosion known to mankind in about 900AD, and the NZ Army Museum at Waiouru is worth a stop too, both near and on the central Plateau, and if you want a drive that you will have nightmares about for the rest of your life, try "Gentle Annie" the road from Waiouru to the Napier Highway.
Napier for Art Deco Buildings and Tania of the Reef, and Wellington, the view from the lookout on top Mount Victoria,of the Harbour area, and if you look south the Alps and Mt Cook (Mt Aorangi) in the South Island can be seen on a clear day, is spectacular.
(Wellington has about 6 days like that a year , the Southerly Winds come straight from Antarctica! )

Any way which ever way you'll go I'm sure you will enjoy it tremendously, tiz a place everyone should go to at least once in their life

 

[glastry]

Agreed, I was in the Rose Irish for about an hour before I stopped shaking. -i still have Gentle Annie on my mind.
We have had two goes at New Zealand and I do not think
You will need group travel!

 

[olley]

Daughter and hubby hired a motorhome a couple of years back and went from south to north island, they had wedding to go to and completely misjudged the time they needed to get there, spent most of the first week driving. Not impressed with the motorhome, said it was dirty.

 

[rb62]

When I visited New Zealand I explored without a fixed itinerary and stopped when the mood took me. One local said “you should take the trip out to Doubtful Sound it is the most beautiful place on the planet”. No doubt there are many who might contest that statement but I have not yet found the evidence to prove him wrong.

Couldn't agree with you more,as we we were there for 10 weeks we did both as we may not be able to go back
Milford first then Doubtful,both on small boats,about 20 on each,the Doubtful sound boat was owned by the chairman of the local lobster fishermans organistion.Glad we did Milford first otherwise we would have been dissapointed

 

[DaveandJen]

If thinking of touring New Zealand - you best make contact with the Funsters who can be viewed here who I'm sure will point you in the correct direction.

The link below is to their YouTube uploads but more comments can be found on here.

Wishing you the best of luck during your travels.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZImlCbPDXXJtrrjC7LGkgQ

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[Silver-Fox]

Don’t think you will need an organised group personally.
Just organise your own flights, we had a few days in Hong Kong on the way out.
Followed our noses when in the North and South Island’s.
Had a week near Perth Australia on the way back.

N Z is the easiest Country to get around and wild camp if that’s your thing.
Join the NZMCA they have some cracking small sites on both islands.

If you are a member of a working mans club or similar you can use affiliated clubs for meals and entertainment. Park in their car parks as well if you want.

Good luck what ever you decide to do.

 

[spitfire]

I can guarantee one thing if you do go!

You'll have never seen so many shades of green in your life before, and around every corner is a WOW!

These scheduled tours are a bit rush rush rush, they have a time table to follow.
It would be a bit more easy on you , less stressful, if you made your own way, followed your own time table.
The South Island is the best for scenery, and wilding. The North of the north Island, Bay of Islands, Keri Keri & Cape Reinga too.
If you are into Golf, the views from the Bay of Islands Golf Course will take your breath away.
Rotorua and Whakarewarewa the geo thermal place boiling mud scolding water etc, can be a bit of a tourist trap if you are not careful.
Lake Taupo, formed by the biggest explosion known to mankind in about 900AD, and the NZ Army Museum at Waiouru is worth a stop too, both near and on the central Plateau, and if you want a drive that you will have nightmares about for the rest of your life, try "Gentle Annie" the road from Waiouru to the Napier Highway.
Napier for Art Deco Buildings and Tania of the Reef, and Wellington, the view from the lookout on top Mount Victoria,of the Harbour area, and if you look south the Alps and Mt Cook (Mt Aorangi) in the South Island can be seen on a clear day, is spectacular.
(Wellington has about 6 days like that a year , the Southerly Winds come straight from Antarctica! )

Any way which ever way you'll go I'm sure you will enjoy it tremendously, tiz a place everyone should go to at least once in their life

And what a wonderful round up of NZ. Brings back great memories

 

[Decaf]

Another vote for Maui motorhome rentals. Very well organised company. Great website and helpful people who are very used to dealing with visitors from the UK.
Fantastic country and extremely motorhome friendly. Loads of sites and places to see.
We picked our van up as soon as we landed and headed off. Next time we'd probably have one or two nights in a hotel before getting the van, just to get body clocks sorted.
Brilliant country to visit, gorgeous coastline, forests, mountains, good roads, helpful people, nice towns, amazing 'Punga's growing wild and of course the fascinating Maori culture.
I'd forget the organised trip and spread your wings, you'll have a great one.

 

[jongood]

My wife and I are motorhomer's in the UK and Europe but fancy doing a MH tour of New Zealand. Does anyone have any experience of doing either of the tours currently offered by the Caravan And Motorhome Club? First reaction is that they don't seem the cheapest (surprise , surprise) but have the advantage of everything being under a single booking with some of the tedious aspects (like researching and booking individual campsites) taken care of. Pro's and Con's as always I am sure but would be really interested to hear the views of anyone that has done these or indeed any independently organised tours of NZ. As always, grateful for all input.

You really do not need any help to tour NZ. Very little planning is required. Either join the NZMCA or use the Rankers app and you will find thousands of aires type stopovers. Some are like little campsites others are basic parking, they are usually in great places.

Deciding how much you can see is the biggest challenge and this is linked to how much time you re prepared to spend in the seat.

My adivice is be careful which camper you pick, NZ can get cold even in summer and the sandflies in the bottom of the South Island are a real pest if you dont have screens. Be aware that the rental is expensive and they have some cheeky extras.

Jon

 

[jongood]

Oh look here are a few

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[Delboyarapaho]

I am here (in NZ) now 5 weeks into my 10 week tour. The place is simply amazing!!!!!!! Every day we see several WoW settings that we weren't expecting and we have only done the south Island so far! As others have said it really is so easy to organise your own tour and you will save so much money with a little research.

I looked at hiring a MoHo but the cost was prohibitive. It was going to cost us £15K to £20K for 10 weeks and I felt that was ridiculous, particularly since we are used to a 9metre Elegance and that was for a small vehicle. Instead we hired a car (Hyundai Santa Fa) that cost £2600 through rental cars.com and so far that has turned out to be a good move. We paid (£45) for membership to "Top 10 campsites" and get 10% off all bookings we make and stay in Motel or units which have en suite facilities and kitchens. buying what you want in NZ is easy, decent supermarkets in every large town and prices are very good generally. we pay about £130 to $175 per night for en suite facilities which compared to the cost of a MoHo is nothing for very good facilities. And with the car we have visited so many bays and small attractions that we may not have wanted to risk "can we turn around" had we hired a MoHo. That said we see hundreds of motorhomes here every day so many for people that works for them. Just not for us

I would not consider the CC offers they appear really expensive and too crammed on time but it does depend on how long you have to plan and organise your own tour and how long you can spend here. You cant do this place in a few weeks sensibly but if that is all the time you have you better plan to come twice at least

good luck and if you want more details PM me

 

[Stevewheel]

Thanks to everyone that has responded. Very helpful indeed....can't wait to get to NZ, just need to do a bit more planning. Thanks again.