New Zealand or Bust

[Silver-Fox]

I saw that but didn’t bother, should I ?

No need, plenty of seating

 

[Silver-Fox]

If you have a wetsuit you can

We booked the trip to swim with dolphins, wet suits and snorkels provided

 

[Silver-Fox]

For sure rentals are silly money, I think you can find plenty of low cost parking though and there are dump stations scattered around, well that's what I am hoping anyway, Joining the NZMCA seems to open up some really slow cost camping areas.

I’ve said it before, a motorhome is the only way to see NZ.
IMHO

 

[nicholsong]

I’ve said it before, a motorhome is the only way to see NZ.
IMHO

Maybe the best way, but not the only way. as travelling in a car it is easy to find self-catering chalet accommodation, as I posted above, and in some nice spots.

 

[nicholsong]

Maybe the best way, but not the only way. as travelling in a car it is easy to find self-catering chalet accommodation, as I posted above, and in some nice spots.

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[Two on Tour]

I’ve said it before, a motorhome is the only way to see NZ.
IMHO

O'dear, we are going to be sooooo disappointed seeing all the sites and views from our hire car for twelve weeks, but hey ho, never mind, we will try to make the most of it and not be too disappointed. Lucky we all don't think the same and have the same views.

 

[gpat]

O'dear, we are going to be sooooo disappointed seeing all the sites and views from our hire car for twelve weeks, but hey ho, never mind, we will try to make the most of it and not be too disappointed. Lucky we all don't think the same and have the same views.

A motorhome is definitely not the only way to see NZ. Some might consider it to be the best. I would say it's a good way. The only way? Silly talk. IMHO of course.

You might say it's the least safe way to see NZ. Theft from campervans is rife. My daughter and partner got theirs broken into twice in 3 months...and they were being careful. Paradise it ain't.

 

[Silver-Fox]

O'dear, we are going to be sooooo disappointed seeing all the sites and views from our hire car for twelve weeks, but hey ho, never mind, we will try to make the most of it and not be too disappointed. Lucky we all don't think the same and have the same views.

Different strokes for different folks.

I do know if you use car hire etc you won’t travel some of the roads we traveled and you definitely won’t be sleeping in areas we did

I’m not one to have a rigid schedule and need to be at the next place at a certain time to check in, or out as others may be booked in to use the room your in.

We had to over night for three nights at Franz Joseph so as to get the helicopter flight.
Probably wouldn’t have done so if using b and b etc.

Still hope you have a great time

 

[Silver-Fox]

You might say it's the least safe way to see NZ. Theft from campervans is rife. My daughter and partner got theirs broken into twice in 3 months...and they were being careful. Paradise it ain't.

Maybe times have changed since we were there.
We had no issues at all but maybe we are more careful, who knows.

 

[gpat]

Maybe times have changed since we were there.
We had no issues at all but maybe we are more careful, who knows.

I guess it depends when you were there. We lived there from 2010 to 2013. Maybe it's got better.....or maybe worse. There are sadly scumbags all over the world and NZ is no exception.

We got our car broken into in the first week we lived there. It was a reality check that's for sure. I always used to put a card in the car window saying no valuables left in the vehicle whenever we parked in remote places. Like everywhere, it's a lottery.

If we go back I'll be hiring a car and staying in hotels. Just personal choice of course. We did a week in our daughter's van when we lived there and yes it was great fun. But we enjoyed visiting places in the car and staying for a week at a time better. Saying that we are not into remote camping anywhere so we have a biased view. We always stay on sites in the MH that are close to where there are bars and restaurants and stuff going on.

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[Langtoftlad]

One could argue that being driven in a coach affords the best view
As the driver you miss so much by keeping your eyes on the road/traffic.

 

[Silver-Fox]

I guess it depends when you were there. We lived there from 2010 to 2013. Maybe it's got better.....or maybe worse. There are sadly scumbags all over the world and NZ is no exception.

We were there in 2016 so don’t know.

We spent a total of 3 nights on commercial sites.
Then the rest was a mix of wild or NZMCA park ups.
We don’t particularly like commercial sites, even here in the UK.

Maybe we were that wild no one knew we were there

 

[nicholsong]

We were there in 2016 so don’t know.

We spent a total of 3 nights on commercial sites.
Then the rest was a mix of wild or NZMCA park ups.
We don’t particularly like commercial sites, even here in the UK.

Maybe we were that wild no one knew we were there

I take the view that wild spots adds to security, as scumbags don't drive miles on the off-chance that they may find a MH. Also if you are away from civilization you are certainly at the MH and not gone out to a pub/restaurant.

That attitude has not lead us to any trouble in 15 years all over Europe. from Scotland to Pyrenees to Greece.

 

[FEC]

Agree with most of the highlights above -we spent a month there 20 years ago -one of our best ever holidays nd our first experience of hiring a van. (hard suitcases -Doh!)
Depending on your energy levels I would def recommend Queenstown for some adrenaline rush activities. Its a
good complement to all the sightseeing. We did the original bungee jump over the river -amazing experience -shot over jet was fine but did it the day after the jump so it seemed tame.
The scenery is breathtaking -almost constantly. We have also done several great trips in Australia but found there that there was lots of nothing between the great stuff while in NZ it seems to just be great in between too.
The South Island is wilder than North as you probably know and less people -but we liked both.
Not sure how much is left of Franz Josef glacier -we walked on it (was brilliant) but I believe it has melted back significantly over last 20 years.
Do the glow worm caves too
Milford Sound spectacular.
I actually preferred Wellington to Auckland (great museum) and yes it was windy -but a young city and lots happening there.
Also visit Kaikoura (wonderful).
It also can rain a fair bit there (...and I'm from Ireland). We went in their summer but there were still some hefty downpours all the same.
Wasn't too fussed on Dunedin -it's way down south and pretty cold and wet.
Christchurch -meh.
Food amazing
Drivers can be a bit aggressive (tailgate you at 80K) but are lovely people all the same -and could have been because we were in a jalopy and going pretty slow up the hills!
But we loved loved loved it.
Have a fab time!

 

[jongood]

One could argue that being driven in a coach affords the best view
As the driver you miss so much by keeping your eyes on the road/traffic.

One of the things we really like about motorhoming is the flexibility, if we see somewhere that looks interesting we're able to pull up, have a look, if we want a coffee afterwards we click the kettle on, if we're ready for lunch, if we decide we want to stay the night by the lake, beach etc etc we can mostly just do it.

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[Carol]

Sounds wonderful Martin and Jen I look forward to following your trip virtually enjoy making lots of special memories.

 

[Langtoftlad]

One of the things we really like about motorhoming is the flexibility, if we see somewhere that looks interesting we're able to pull up, have a look, if we want a coffee afterwards we click the kettle on, if we're ready for lunch, if we decide we want to stay the night by the lake, beach etc etc we can mostly just do it.

Oh I agree, I was just commenting that other options have their positives as well.
With limited time, in my case, the trip was always going to be a 'highlights' tour.

 

[KiwiKampers]

Oh I agree, I was just commenting that other options have their positives as well.
With limited time, in my case, the trip was always going to be a 'highlights' tour.

Langtoftlad I see you smuggled a Kiwi out of the country!

 

[Silver-Fox]

Oh I agree, I was just commenting that other options have their positives as well.
With limited time, in my case, the trip was always going to be a 'highlights' tour.

Have to say I found most of both North and South islands highlights

That’s why we spent around 9 weeks there and that wasn’t really enough time

 

[funflair]

Sounds wonderful Martin and Jen I look forward to following your trip virtually enjoy making lots of special memories.

Thank you Carol

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[Silver-Fox]

funflair i just had a thought.

If you’re overwhelmed by all the information and feel the need to drop out of the trip.

I can stand in at the last minute if you’ve paid for everything

 

[Fidge]

Well the foundations have been laid, flights are booked and a motorhome has been hired for 7 weeks touring North and South island, we land in Aukland at the end of January and have a few days acclimatising in an apartment before picking up a sub 7m motorhome, not a lot of storage, no inverter, no coffee machine, microwave only on hook up ah well I am sure we will cope, oh and a cassette toilet so that will be a "blast from the past" after nearly 5 years with a black tank.

We don't have much of a plan at the moment, we have joined the NZ motor caravanners association and have several apps for parking places, we have booked a ferry North to South after 10 days on North island, we have 5 more days on North island on the way back to Aukland, one snippet I picked up on another thread was to travel Clockwise so unless anybody can offer a good reason to do the opposite that will be part of the plan.

There are a few obvious thing that we know we want to do/see,

Rotorua
Coromandel peninsula and I fancy a Kayak trip
Bay of islands

Dunedin and Otago peninsula as it seems to be the place for penguins
Franz Josef and Fox glacier
Milford Sound
A vineyard and wine tasting I am sure

Any suggestions and advice gratefully received

Kaikura for a whale watching trip. There is also a campsite there.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Langtoftlad I see you smuggled a Kiwi out of the country!

Actually, Kevin is a UK Kiwi... I took him there & back

 

[funflair]

funflair i just had a thought.

If you’re overwhelmed by all the information and feel the need to drop out of the trip.

I can stand in at the last minute if you’ve paid for everything

Keep it coming i'm not at overload point yet oh and Jen would still be going unless you buy her a ticket for a Penguin Zoo here

 

[Silver-Fox]

Keep it coming i'm not at overload point yet oh and Jen would still be going unless you buy her a ticket for a Penguin Zoo here

Give me your trip complete and I’ll buy her a Penguin

I’m not supplying the fish though.

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[Carpmart]

“I would like to do what you are doing but I know what a killer the flights are, even if one does a layover, because then you have two consecutive night flights.”

I don't get the people who do a couple of hours stopover then on the next flight. On our last trip, we spent six nights in Singapore on the way out and three nights on the way back - Premium economy out and business back.

I used to do Sydney (Aus) and then Wellington (NZ) then back to LHR in a one week trip (away from UK) every couple of months for a few years in 2005/6/7. Purgatory!!

 

[LittleGreyCat]

The first time we visited NZ in 1987 we hired a camper for 3 weeks and stayed at sites like Top10.
We looked at the cabins and worked out that a hire car and a cabin cost much the same as a camper and site fees.
Since then we have always hired cars, apart from our 4.5 months stay when we bought a car at auction bought a tent and sold up when leaving.
If you are going the hire car route then I recommend an insurance policy to cover the excess.
This makes car hire much cheaper.
Also we had an overnight boat trip in Doubtful Sound which was magical.
The skipper told us about his insect repellent - Dettol and baby oil. This works for us and we've used it ever since.
Have a wonderful time.

 

[nicholsong]

I used to do Sydney (Aus) and then Wellington (NZ) then back to LHR in a one week trip (away from UK) every couple of months for a few years in 2005/6/7. Purgatory!!

I hope you had sympathy for the pilots who probably had to do it quicker.

 

[Carpmart]

I hope you had sympathy for the pilots who probably had to do it quicker.

Of course, but my job was not flying!

The pilots I’m guessing also only did one leg, so their shift was finished at KL or Sing, definitely by Sydney.. I then often walked around to the Air NZ desk and checked in for a flight to Wellington… bloody nightmare!

 

[Riverbankannie]

funflair , don’t miss the hot springs around Rotarua. I remember our campsite near the lake shore provided spades to dig your own hot tub on the beach. We also spent a relaxing couple of hours parked up by this bridge sitting in the warm river waters, toohot in places so move around for your perfect temperature. Many locals using it and we had some interesting chats there with some.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/phRWZPbSXtjmtMMr9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

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