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Im heading to New Zealand for 1-2 travelling. Want to hire a campervan + bikes - any good advice from anyone ? |
Travel Info Basically, exatcly what i said in the title! ;-) Im heading to New Zealand for 1-2 travelling with my other half. Planning on hiring a campervan so we can make the most of exploring. Want to hire some bikes also ... been searching a million web sites but its all too much ! Has anyone got any good advice, experiences, tips to maybe save money and do it cheaply ? Thanks in advance to everyone who reads this and responds ! Travel Tips Travelling in a campervan should be great fun. You could try www.spaceships.co.tv. These are station wagons that are kitted out for you to sleep in. It'll be easier for you to truly explore in one of these, they're less bulky than a campervan so you can travel on routes where campervans are not recommended to go. Whatever you do though, please stay in an appropriate campsite when you stop for the night. Many people think it's ok to just stop by the side of the road, but in many places this is illegal. The reason is, there is a bit of a problem at the moment with visitors not disposing of their waste and rubbish properly. Some popular tourist places do not have that many ratepayers so its tough for the councils to fund picking up tourists litter! Most towns I've stayed in seem to have a bike hire place if you don't want to carry them along with you. Others I spent a couple of months in NZ and honestly think its the most beautiful country in the world (I have travelled). Firstly, apart from Auckland (nice city) and Rotarura (intersting sights), the north Island isn't worth too much time. Head straight for the Sth Island. (don't bother with the capital - Wellington - nothing much going on) Milford Sound (boat trip), Christchurch, Queenstown (extreme sports), Franz Joseph (the most beautifukl glazier) - all beautiful.... NZ isn't really expensive so you shouldn't have too much trouble. Enjoy NZ - it's amazing!! If your staying in hostels they tend to have notice boards up and backpackers moving on will sell cars/bikes etc to fellow backpackers at a reasonable price. You could even pop into the YHA/Kiwi Experience and check out their notice boards. Have a fabulous time - I went out their and ended up getting engaged to a maori!!! Emigrating now! I am pea-green with envy. You lucky thing! If you check out the Real Journeys web site, you will find them very helpful. If you do hire a campervan, don't get a very big one as, I've been there, and some of the roads are tight and I mean TIGHT. I live in the Highlands of Scotland and thought I'd seen some tight roads, but none here are a touch on the ones in New Zealand. A trip to Milford Sound on South Island is a MUST as it must be one of the most beautiful places in the world. You are such a lucky person. Christchurch and Queenstown are fabulous places. If you go to Queenstown, treat yourselves to a stay at the Waterfront apartment complex. Expensive by NZ standards, but cheap by UK standards. Live like lords for very little money. Remember to go on the TSS.Earnslaw for a ride on Lake Wakatipu - brilliant. I just got back from a month in NZ with my family, it's a BEAUTIFUL place. We hired a car, but we saw loads of people driving Wicked Camper Vans - http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/... They're all painted weirdly, they all made us laugh! Check em out. You're going to have a brilliant time!! The best time to go is in the summer. If you are going cycling between May and September its going to be pretty cold. Especially in the South Island. Good idea hiring a camper van. That would be the best thing to do. You can take more stuff with you and you'll have a bit of comfort. The hostels I've seen in NZ have been pretty clean and nice. There are helpful information centres in the main towns/cities and all the tourist destinations. Queenstown is definately a great place to go. I would recommend spending a week there at least. You will need a bit of money here though as it is a very touristy place and things can be a lot more expensive than other parts of the country. Go to Gibbston Valley winery for lunch one day. It is right near the Bungy jumping bridge on the road between Queenstown and Cromwell. Make sure you visit a few of the wineries. A lot of them do tasting and have lovely meals. Also visit Arrowtown. Its a lovely little settlement town near Queenstown. Heading into Milford Sound is an absloute must! And make sure you go out on the boat. I went when it was pouring down but it was still good as it made the waterfalls more spectacular and kept the mosquitos away. Also make sure you do the whale watching in Kaikoura and I think you can swim with the dolphins there too. Other great parts of the Sth Island are the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and Malborough sounds. In the North Island check out Wellington. Its a lovely city. Rotorua is great too, as well as Mt Maunganui and of course the Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Islands. A lot of New Zealand is cheap as the scenery is what makes it. Just remember to put aside a bit of money to do some of the touristy things as that is well worth it too. I could go on for ages, but I wont. I will say one thing however. The people are very friendly. The customer service is really good. Poeple fall over themselves to help you in retail stores. They pack you things for you in shops. You don't have to ask for a bag, and get it thrown at you, as i experience all the time in the UK. On the other side of things though, don't be too trusting of everyone, as tourists have from time to time ran into trouble. I think a few years ago a family was attacked in a camper van that they had parked in a secluded area by a lake. So best to stick to designated camper van parks, or where you feel safe. Apart from the minor problems all in all tourists usually don't get into problems if they are sensible. Have a lovely time. From NZ |
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