Questions about driving in New Zealand

[Skylarr29]

We are not doing a cruise but are planning on spending 3 weeks on the North Island and 3 weeks on the South Island. We are just now in the begining stages. Is this a good choice or should we allocate more time in general or redistribute our time amongst the Islands? Is it easy to drive in New Zealand if we rent a car?? Will we be able to follow maps and relativly easily drive across the islands??? Do we need to rent a car?? or are there other forms of public transportation that make this uneccessary?? Thanks to anyone that can offer help or advice! -Melissa

[Jane110]

We've only been to the north island, so not qualified about how to divide your time. We spent 8 days there and barely scratched the surface. It's very beautiful and interesting.

We were in Auckland, Rotorua, (fascinating), Napier (gorgeous city) and Tauranga (don't miss the glow worm caves).

 

Driving is your best bet. Hardest part is avoiding the sheep! :)

[Aussie Gal]

We spent a week driving from Auckland to the tip of the North Island. We spent a couple of days at Doubtless Bay staying at Coopers beach and then we spent a few days in Russell which is part of the Bay of Islands. We also had a night before and after in Auckland. We felt we covered that area well but that is only a small tip of New Zealand.

 

Don't be fooled by the size of New Zealand. It is much bigger than what it appears on the map. We have also been to the Rotorua area on another trip but that is as far south as we have ventured.

 

It is a great place to visit and we have barely scratched the surface. I would allow plenty of time to see it all otherwise you will be missing out on a lot.

 

I believe the South Island is the most beautiful, therefore I would allow plenty of time down there.

 

We are hoping to return again and again in the next few years and see it all completely. As for the sheep, yes it is wall to wall sheep but so different from over here where you get one to the acre!

 

 

 

Jennie

[Skylarr29]

Thank you. It is so difficult to figure out what we want to see on this trip. It will be four months long and include Austrailia, NZ, Japan, China, Thailand, India, Tahiti, and bali. I must be crazy to try and plan this!!

[Aussie Gal]

Skylarr29,

 

What a wonderful trip you are planning with so many different countries and cultures.

 

I wish you luck as I wouldn't know which places and areas to choose to see in each country.

 

Bali is a wonderful relaxing island. I am not sure how long you are planning to be there but I would allow a week. You will be able to see most things in that time.

 

Tahiti is my favourite destination. We have been to quite a few islands and Moorea and Bora Bora were my favourite though the smaller unspoilt islands are lovely too. Are you going to do a cruise there or stay on different islands?

 

I have been to Thailand quite a few times. Bangkok is a very polluted city and you won't want to stay there more than a few days. The resort areas are lovely like Patong and Koh Samui.

 

I have also been to China but only the southern part and hope to get to Beijing and Shanghai one day.

 

India is such a big country so where would one start. I would love to see the Taj Mahal but other than that I am not too fussed about not visiting there.

 

Japan is one country I would love to visit. One could spend a few weeks there just sightseeing.

 

What months do you plan to visit these countries. Remember you are going to be both in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres so you will have the opposite seasons in each. It is going to be very hard to work out the best time to visit. eg. The South Island of New Zealand starts to cool down in March whereas April and May are great months to visit Australia especially if you want to visit the Great Barrier Reef as the first 3-4 months of the year are when our cyclones hit the far north coast and it is also very hot and humid up there then.

 

Good luck and please let us know of your itinerary as it sounds a dream holiday.

 

Jennie

[Parapara]

Being a New Zealander I can possibly be some help with your plans. I was born in the North Island but live now in the South Island so hopefully can be unbiased! I would suggest you spend longer in the South Island. The North Island has some great places to visit (some have already been mentioned) but the most spectacular scenery is in the South. With 6 weeks in NZ you have time to visit the usual tourist places and perhaps some not so well known. Depends on your interests. Driving in NZ is very easy- perhaps not so easy in Auckland at busy times. We drive on the left side of the road. South Island roads are very quiet. There are only about 1 million of us in total with 3 million in the North Island. Motor homes are a very popular way for overseas people to travel. As for the sheep! No worries- I have never hit one yet ( they live in paddocks (fields) and are quite safe!) No dangerous animals in the country but you do need an insect repellant in parts of the West Coast (Sth Island). The sandflies are a menace. Takd a trip from Nelson over to Golden Bay ( very top od Sth Island). You won't be disappointed.

[KiwiIan]

We are not doing a cruise but are planning on spending 3 weeks on the North Island and 3 weeks on the South Island. We are just now in the begining stages. Is this a good choice or should we allocate more time in general or redistribute our time amongst the Islands? Is it easy to drive in New Zealand if we rent a car?? Will we be able to follow maps and relativly easily drive across the islands??? Do we need to rent a car?? or are there other forms of public transportation that make this uneccessary?? Thanks to anyone that can offer help or advice! -Melissa

Hi Melissa

 

Where to start.

 

Driving in NZ is pretty easy but if you are from the states then you will be driving on the other side of the raod to usual, so it would be best to hire an auto and not have to bother with a manual [stick shift].

 

Other ways to travel could be train [very limited choices] Auckland to Wellington [NI] Picton to Christchurch [sI] Trans Alpine, Christchurch to Greymouth [sI]. If you want to jump distances quickly theres a good network of comuter airlaines from all major cities,.

 

NI to SI is by the ferry at Cook Straight [Passenger and vehicle] and is about 4 hours, a great trip in fine waether.

 

Hire a camper van is fun [but not cheap] it usually works out the same as a B&B or motel plus small hire car [for 2 persons] but does give you flexibility and the cahnace to save money by home catering if budget is an issue. Plenty of companies, Maui and BRITZ are in fact the same CO, others are KEA, Pacific Horizon.

 

As to split of time, both islands are great but the SI does have the more spectacular scenery, though the NI is also pretty amazing.

 

Places not to miss would be [with a suggested time in each place]

North Island [NI]

Auckland 2 days

Rotorua 2 days

Mount Maunganui 1 day [where we live]

Waitomo 1 day

Russell [bay of Islands] 2 days.

Napier 2 days

Coromandel 2 days

Taupo 1 day

Wellington 2 days [thats 15 days so have allowed 6 days for getting between places]

 

South Island [sI]

 

Picton and the Sounds 2 days

Nelson and area 2 days

Blenheim 1 day

kaikora 1 day

Christchurch 2 days

West coast route [greymouth and glaciers etc]2 days

Dunedin 2 day

Queenstown 2 days

Wanaka 1 day

Thats 15 days so again 6 days for getting around.

 

If you need any specifif info please post here or let us have an email account, would be pleased to assist. If you check out my other posts you will see a heap of info i posted a while back about driving in NZ. Suggest you get a good map and a copy of our road code, if you wish i can arrange this for you.

 

Regards

 

Ian [Mount Maunganui]

[Bob and Peg]

We visited NZ in Feb 2006, renting a car from Apex and driving ourselves (my husband did the driving). We started in Christchurch on the South Island, so had time to get used to the roads before hitting the cities. He even managed to parallel park on the "wrong" side without any problem.

 

We spent 3 weeks total. Most of the car companies allow you to leave your car on one island and pick up another at the ferry landing for no additional charge. This saves the cost of ferrying the car across which was pretty steep. Ferry tickets are also available in advance; luggage is checked the same way that airlines do it.

 

We booked a few motels in advance, using http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/index We were quite happy with the accomodations we chose. After we were in NZ, especially on the N Island, we stopped at information kiosks on the highways to book a hotel for the evening. Maps for each area and AA tour books for accommodations are available at airports, motels and many tourist locations - free. Jason's is another chain that has many accommodations (don't have the web address, but google Jason Travel Channel).

 

It does take longer to get from one area to another than you might think. Speed limits are not as high as we are used (in Texas) and we tried to stay within the posted limit. We didn't really see that many sheep; but there were a number of deer farms on the S Island.

 

We chose to do Australia as a separate trip (this November) and are doing a guided tour because of all the internal air flights.

 

Enjoy your trip - it sounds wonderful.

 

Peggy

[SheilaNC]

One other idea...we bought a bus and rail pass and used it for a 12 door tour of both islands (note: our next trip will be our 3rd and I may have a 4th for business - we LOVE NZ and, especially, the people). We found the public buses wonderful. Not crowded, drivers acted like tour guides (one stopped for us to walk down a trail to a waterfall and for us to take bungy jumping videos) and it was fun, in the South Island, to see our bus used to transport school children as well as to deliver newspapers and mail!). The schedules were convenient for our relaxed itineraries and, if needbe, we used taxis or local buses in cities to get around. Began to feel like we lived there without the hassle of looking for a parking space or remembering how to get back to where we left a car. Whatever you decide, you'll love it. Six weeks sounds like heaven to me - we spent a month on our first trip split between Australia and NZ and wished we had had more time in both!

[uktog]

We willbe on the Celebrity trip in January 08 and are just starting our planning. Our time is limited (although this is our first trip to NZ it will NOT be our last!) after 50 years of promising to visit family the excitement is huge. Anyway, we will be in Wellington for about a week and then have to get to Aukland to join the ship. We could fly, but as we have excess luggage - 2 cases each and carryons - we are going to get stung. We probably will have a car some of the time in Wellington and I have confirmed we can easily do a one way car rental. We also discovered the train will cease this Autumn so that option is gone

NZ drives on the same side of the road as us so that is no issue

Initial plan is to drive over 2 days stopping at Lake Taupo - is this sensible ( we will be at Tauranga and Napier before returning to Wellington on the cruise). It looks like about 5 hours driving each day which we are well used to. Have we misjudged this - I am assuming relatively light traffic - am I correct. I would get rid of the car at Auckland airport and get a taxi to wherever we stay overnight in Auckland to save any grief there

Should we think of anything else