hallii Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 We are renting a small campervan and since this is our first visit to NZ and being aware of the well travelled experts on this forum I thought I would ask. Any tips, hints, things to avoid, places to visit / avoid etc? Thanks Hallii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Chodkowski Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Spend as long as you can there, we did six weeks there last Jan/Feb and then two weeks Fiji and four days Santa Monica, in hind sight we would have spent nine weeks in New Zealnd. Use Department of Conservation campsites, many are in stunning locations and cost next to nothing - you can collect details from any DCC office. Make sure you visit the Kauri Museum near Matakohe, you can free camp outside for the night and spend the morning in the museum and then drive up to the Kauri forests in the afternoon (there is a DOC site there) South Island is stunning! You will have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Hi Hallii, you will love it. NZ is built for motorhomes. When you pick up your 'van ask about "right turns" at road junctions, very important, as not the same as UK. If you don't know about rugby, learn something about it before you go, they all talk about it all the time. Don't miss a helicopter flight over Mount Cook at Franz Joseph, includes flight up and down the two Glasiers. Franz Joseph whistling frogs whistle from sun set to sun rise, so camp some where else. I think South Island is the best. Buy jade while you are there at Hokatika. Bungie jump at Arrow Town. Check for Sand Flies before getting out of your 'van at beaches. Watch out for Kias (Mountain Parrots) they eat rubber off the 'van. If search back posts you will find loads of info about NZ. If you fly out and back west about you don't need injections, plus a stop-over in LA, and Pearl Habour Hawii Islands. PS some hire companies will pat your ferry fare if you pick up your 'van on he South Isalnd and drop of on the North Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Try the Shotover Jet in Queenstown - a must! Sky City (Aukland) Kauri Museum. Hot Water Beach. Rotorua. Napier. Wellington. Christchurch. Hanmer Springs. Mount Cook. Whale watch (Book day before) Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks) Moeraki Boulders. Hire vehicles are banned from some roads in NZ. I think that 90 Mile Beach is one of them. Food is usually confiscated at customs when entering NZ. NB If parking at the side of the road you must park on the side in the direction you are travelling. Take cases which fold. There may not be much room in a motor home for big rigid cases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Yes JohnP you are correct, 90 mile beach is one place where hired motorcaravans are banned, also any road that is not tarmac. Moeraki boulders beach was where we were swarmed by sand flies. Milford Sound is another MUST, and Doubtful Sound. We have family 'down under' there, and in Australia. I saw the 'Shotover jet' but being an ex Air-Sea Rescue Coxswain I did not trust them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raindrop Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 See Mutton Birds at Oamaru, you will have to wait till darkness descends then you just might be lucky as the birds live in burrows, while you're waiting the sand flies will bite. Penguins in South Island Remember you are a foreigner, check your charges and change in Cafe's!! Many NZ drivers will not let you out of side roads, they consider the road they are ON is THEIR road, the same applies when walking in towns. The police can be firm, do not speed! The ferry from Picton to Wellington or reverse travels among islands and is scenic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomag Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Hi Some DOC campsite you must be self contained in your van [toilet water] as there are no facilities and a warden will come round to check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 On the subject of NZ drivers........If they flash their head lights at you they are not letting you through, they are being rude, or disapproving of what you are doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ranger You must have been unlucky. We were there when it was windy. No sandflies to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 My tip is to go for as long as you can ! We had a month on each island, and would have liked more time. As it's a long tiring flight ( especially if you don't sleep well on planes) I would suggest that you spend the first night in a hotel. As the campsites near the airports get quite busy we booked one in Christchurch for first couple of nights while we stocked up on provisions. Didn't book any other sites and had no problems finding a space ( Feb / March). As someone else mentioned take crushable or foldable luggage as you will need to store it somewhere while travelling. ( If you are arriving and departing from the same place I understand that some van hire firms will store your luggage). Get a map showing the Dept. of Conservation sites ( DoCs) as we found these extremely useful - very basic but almost always very well maintained. Many of the places to see already mentioned but if you like a good 'walk' I would suggest the Tongariro Crossing on the North Island ( up and over an old volcano - great day out). In the thermal areas on the North Island we thought the best area was Wai-O-Tapu - which is about 15 miles or so south of the town of Rotorua. Abel Tasman National Park another great place to visit on South Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ladies and Gentlemen, What a wonderful response, just what we needed. I have printed the lot off and put it my folder marked "New Zealand". I welcome any further contributions and suggestions. Thanks all Hallii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Went 20 years ago! (doesn't time fly) south island is great, Milford Sound, Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, Albatros's and Penguins near Dunedin. Sand flies can be realy bad, much worse than scotish midges, they drew blood from gf, she had to have antihistamine and pain numbing gel :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raindrop Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 If you are a person who often drives by the position of the sun after map reading, remember the sun is NORTH. Wellington is known as 'The Windy City' and it can be very, at times. Travelling on Route 1 north of Wellington you will be travelling along the edge of Zealandia” one of the planets tectonic plates, it hasn’t moved for 100 million years so not to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 It’s always good to read favourable comments about our little country! As a born-and-bred South Islander, I think that’s where visitors should spend the most time, but I have to concede there are also wonderful places in the North, especially the Bay of Islands, Coromandel and the geothermal area around Rotorua. The DOC campsites mentioned in some postings are great. Some have full facilities and some have very little except their surroundings and a water tap. Their website is here: http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/, and you can navigate to campsites and other attractions from there. For commercial camping grounds, the “Top 10” chain is hard to beat for consistently good standards. You can sign up for a small fee and save 10% each night. Here’s their website: http://www.top10.co.nz/ . Ranger’s comment about the road rules is worth noting. We have a stupid rule that if you’re turning left at an intersection, you give way to a vehicle turning right the street you’re entering. It causes a lot of confusion and is a potential hazard for visitors. Our road rules bible is here: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/road-code-index.html. As also mentioned, our driving standards are often poor. We get away with it because traffic densities are low, but some of us are often impatient and aggressive on the road. Flashing your lights to signal “after you” rather than the more traditional “get out of my way” is slowly coming into our road habits, but can’t be relied on. We have only a few motorways, and they're all short and in or near cities, and dual carriageways outside towns and cities are rare. And yes, our traffic police are heavily into revenue-gathering by rigidly enforcing speed limits. Not many fixed speed cameras but lots of mobile versions. Traffic police cars are all equipped with speed radar, and they use hand-held devices as well. Queenstown is the bungy jumping centre – choose the venue that suits your level of bravery. There are also a number of jetboat rides. Shotover was mentioned, but there are also Kawarau and Dart River operations, among others. I’ve been told the Dart is a good option as it takes you into the foothills of the mountains and you can walk part of the way back through an area of native bush (our version of woods) if you wish. The Keas mentioned above are a native parrot. They are very entertaining, until they steal YOUR lunch, shoelaces or windscreen wiper rubbers. They regard any humans who venture into their South Island high country habitat as their playthings. And yes, the sandflies are awful, more of a pest than mosquitoes. They live near moisture and the South Island’s West Coast is probably the worst place for them, but they are common elsewhere as well. They can spoil a day out so go prepared with repellent. Ranger commented that rental vans are not allowed on non-tarmac roads. I don't think that’s necessarily so as it would be very limiting - we have a lot of gravel roads, although all the main roads are sealed (as we call tarmac). Rental vehicles are not insured on the Skippers Road near Queenstown or on 90 mile beach, and are probably others, but I doubt that it's a general prohibition. Lord Raindrop, I’m not aware of mutton birds near Oamaru, but there are little blue penguins that live in burrows. Well worth watching them return to shore each evening. Here they are: http://www.penguins.co.nz/. They, Oamaru’s heritage old town built of local limestone, and the nearby Moreaki Boulders make Oamaru worth a stop. Look here: http://www.visitoamaru.co.nz/. We’re not a cheap destination for you Brits anymore, especially at current exchange rates, and many of our attractions are expensive. But, fuel and camping grounds are cheaper than UK, and the outdoors is free! When you rent, check to see if diesel road tax is included in your rental. We have a stupid system where road tax is not paid at the pump and you have to pay per kilometre, in advance, at a post shop or other agency. The rental company will give you details about the options. Enjoy your visit, Hallii! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 As someone else mentioned take crushable or foldable luggage as you will need to store it somewhere while travelling. ( If you are arriving and departing from the same place I understand that some van hire firms will store your luggage). Yes, Apollo were happy to store our luggage, in fact they had a special room full of people's cases and boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raindrop Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Allstar, Now thats very interesting regarding Oamaru. It was many years ago. Recently I was telling friends and looked up Google Earth and could not find or see where it was, what ever I tried. I must be very misplaced, I believe there were Yellow Penguins nearby where I was also. I recall I went past some building then towards the sea and sand dunes. There was a wooden walkway over the sands where visitors could watch the birds return to their burrows (?) but of course they arrived after dark and were unseen !! I was told I must go and see the Mutton Birds, I did and saw nothing, only felt the sand flies. I was there with a Penny Farthing cycle group riding from Ch-Ch. there was a competition of riding up a steep hill. Also nearby there was an event where large stone blocks were sawn through in a competition. Also steam engines and an accordion band. Looking at the maps means little after time. I will seek for more info. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Mike, The place you describe sounds like where you view the little blue penguins returning to their nests after a hard day's foraging at sea. They surf in on little waves, chat on the beach, then go home. Wonderful to see. The viewing area is developed now with tiered seating. If that's where you were, you were unlucky not to see any. Numbers vary through the seasons but there are usually at least a few tens, and can be hundreds. Yellow-eyed penguins also feature in other places in the area and elsewhere, especially the Otago Peninsula. I've not heard of viewing mutton birds (sooty shearwaters) but it could be that locals know about them. Oamaru has an annual Heritage Festival in which penny farthings feature, among other things - sounds like that's what you attended. Those who do the long-distance penny farthing events are a special breed of human - I couldn't think of a worse way to travel! Alistair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Be ware of the odd single track bridge with railway and road. If the lights are red better to stop than have a head-on collision with a train. Maybe they are no longer there???????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 They are still there ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 And they don't all have traffic lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Owner Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Bump - Just thought that you might like to see this curly -- will post on your thread later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Owner Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Owner Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Owner Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Hallii -- you may wish to take a look at 'Curly's' post on this same subject -- I have 'bumped ' this so that they are together on the same page. Cheers, Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Symbol Owner Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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