New Zealand

  • Thread starter Thread starter franz
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Hi Kite (& XYZ),
I visited Anzed's webpge and it says include "comprehensive insurance" Does this mean insurance execesses is zero?

I believe your 1.6L is a Sedan, right? It says there will be additional discounts from the published prices for early bookings. so, can share what is the rental rate after discount? wonder too if you know how new their cars are?

I see that Anzed's office is very near the airport....v coonvenient. Just a question though, will they fetch you from the airport to the office to collect your car and after you return the car, fetch you to the airport again?

Hi all,
Those who have experience with NZ and other rental co., do you think insurance excesses $750 is reasonable? whether necessary to pay extra $ to reduce to $100 or even $0?
 
Hi yours,

For Excess insurance, u hv to pay extra NZ$10 for per day. For us, he gave us discount n charged us NZ$53.5 per day.

Hi All,

anyone try Shotover Jet boat? i saw on the website it costs NZ$95 per person and NZ$110 per person with photo. Quite expensive. I m wondering how long is e duration for this ride as e website didnt state.
 
Kite,
whadda ya mean? extra $10 to reduce excess insurance to $___?. $53.50 include the extra for insurance excess reduction?

Shotover Jet boat: Allow 2-3 hours for the activity (about 30 mins in the water).
 
hi kite,

Yea, all the activities are not cheap actually.. u shld shortlist a few that you wanna try out. Shotover jet is fun i would say. There's another combo which includes gondola and heli ride.
 
Hey gals,
I'm wondering if I'm fit enough for the full day glacier hike. Someone mentioned about muscle ache for a few days after her hike. aiyo.....makes me worried I cannot take the climb.

Anyone can feedback how "FIT" then can go on a full day? like must be those can run at least 5km type only? if so,
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[sob sob]
I can walk & jog 2.4km lah......

i know got 1/2 day but full day can see more things mah....like ice caves and crevasses......heard these cannot see on the lower portion, true?

BTW, kite, i got the answer to the insurance excess from Teddy. For those who's interested to know, it's standard insurance with excess NZ$1200. Pay extra $10/day and reduce the excess to NZ$200.
 
Hi Yours,

Good that u got e answer from Teddy, meaning anything happened to e car (touchwood), the most we pay up to NZ$200 rite, the rest covered by Teddy? So how much is he charging u for e car rental?
when are u departing?
Btw Shotover jet duration abt 2 - 3 hrs? oni 30mins in water? how abt e rest of the time? on land? thought throughout in water?

I will be doing Fox Glacier Half day guided walk. I very Nuan one, hardly exercise gal. Dunno can make it anot. Thought 1/2 day guided walk can see ice caves and crevasses? think Full day too siong for me.

Hi cin,

Good! Good! finally u booked ur air tix, from air NZ too? promo $899 per person rite? hehe u depart on 14 Jan n when will u be back?
For me, depart on 10 Jan, back on 22 Jan -> 13 days.
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haha maybe we wil bump but i dunno u leh. u join tour or f&e self drive?

Hi ginn,

dont think will do a combo activities bcos of budget. In queenstown, i planning to go to Deer Park Height, Gondolo ride and Shotover Jet.

As for shotover jet, do u think its worth it since u did e ride b4? 2 to 3 hrs duration? how is program like? cos dun wan waste NZ$100+ if not nice. thanks.
 
hi Kite,

how many days is your car rental? $53.50/d is for excess $200 in your case?

hmm....he din give me such a good offer leh. is it because you say that you were recommended by so and so....? My travel will start in Mar. no firm dates yet. Thought that his webpage advertised rates for Mar are lower than for Jan. He quoted based on 14 days and emphasized that if I rent less than 14 days, it will be slightly more expensive. and he cannot guarantee a 1.6L - it's either 1.5L / 1.6L.
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hi kite,

i was so desperate to go nz during that period that i booked with sq. mine is $1511 after tax. goodness, i didnt know air nz is so much cheaper! but they dun have anymore tickets for the mth of jan. i will be going on the 14th n back on 30th. we will self drive there. dun wnat to plan too much since we have so many days and will be going south island only.
can u give me the car rental website? is 1.6l powerful enough for long journey?
 
hi kite,

shotover jet is rather fun to me, i find it quite worth the money, well it's an experience.. it takes about 15min bus ride (complimentary) from queenstown city central to the river. So it may take abt 2hrs for the whole thing with photo taking and waiting time etc. The ride itself will be about 20 to 30min.
 
hi ladies,

we are getting ready for our trip and we actually done some grocery shopping yestreday. can advise if we can bring in the following stuff:

- instant noodle (both packet and cup noodles)
- instant campbell soup
- chilli sauce
- tomato ketchap
- nescafe
- tea bags
- sugar
- oreo biscuits

if any of these are a straight no-no, then we won't bother packing them in. Do we need to declare them in the first place?
 
hi c&c,

why dun u buy these items there? it shd be quite easy to purchase. isnt it going to be heavy to bring these over?

when r u leaving?
 
Hi cin,

heard that it's more expensive there and it don't make sense having to pay for chilli sauce. when we are getting it free here. think we are having it too easy here in singapore! heheh...

we are leaving in 2 weeks time and i can't wait! heheh...
 
c&c, u can bring , as long as it is non dairy. but u have to declare it. if u dun declare, and u get checked, it wont be good.

u dun need to bring tea bags, the tea in nz taste nicer, and damn cheap also. u can get sugar foc from the motel. as for biscuits, NZ has so much variety of biscuits, and cheap also. taste much nicer.
 
Hi kite,

If u wanna to shotover jet, why not take to "Hi Five". It include Shotover Jet, 4 mins heli ride from shotover station to the summit, 2x luge ride, one-way gondola down and a Kiwi movie. It cost NZ$195. The kiwi movie is a 30mins movie introducing NZ.
 
Hi,

What will the weather be like in late Jan/early Feb in NZ ?

Will NZ still be a nice place to go if I can't do all those hikes, do rafting, etc ? Just go mainly for sight seeing ?

Thks.
 
Shane,
it's summer....but cooler in the South. are u going to both N&S?

Sightseeing will be real fun too....The roads themselves are a scenic drive as you get to see mountains and lakes. Oh, don't forget the ice glaciers. You can walk close to the terminal face (free).

There are also tramping/walking tracks that are fairly short and easy at the nature reserves areas.
 
C&C,
the Trident brand rice crackers with seaweed is yummy
happy.gif
. u can get it at the supermarket. and also , as for tea, u can get a huge pack of Twinning brand tea at good price.

not sure if u guys take ham? loose ham can be damn cheap. 1kg just a few dollars.
 
Hi Ladies,

Besides SQ, any other airlines fly to Christchurch directly from Spore?

My colleague told me Air NZ flies direct to Christchurch too. But I went to the website and check, they stated we have to do a transit at Auckland. What is the total hrs of from Sing to CC if I were to take a direct flight?

May I know how much roughly is the accomodation for ten day stays?Do you think 4k is enough for 2?
 
yours2lynn,
thks for replying. likely to focus on the south island. But hvn't really decided to go or not. so doing some background research first.

Are there any promos gg on for air tics to NZ for Jan-Feb ? Or all fully booked and i'm too late ?
 
chin,
air nz will stop at auckland for all the flights before it continues to CHC. Sing to Auckland is 10.5 hrs. i think to CHC is another 1 hr or so .....
 
Hi shane,

I have checked already. For the mth of Jan and Feb, Air NZ is fully booked. But there are still tickets if u book with sq. But of cos sq is much more ex.
 
Hi all,
I've planned my itinerary for my trip:
Day 1: Arrive in Christchurch
Day 2: Travel to Mt Cook (overnight farmstay)
Day 3: Travel to Dunedin (see penguins, albatross, etc, maybe visit cadbury factory)
Day 4 - Day 9: Te Anau (Glowworm caves) + Queenstown (sky dive, shotover jet and whitewater rafting) + Milford Sound
Day 10: Travel to Franz Josef (overnight stay)
Day 11: Travel to Hanmer Springs (overnight stay)
Day 12: Travel to Kaikoura (whale watching + swimming with dolphins) (overnight stay)
Day 13: Back to Christchurch for souvenier shopping; flight next day morning.

My questions:
1. Any other things that are interesting that I missed out?
2. Any recommendations for farmstay at Mt Cook or Lake Tekapo region? Is Timaru worth going?
3. Is my schedule in Te Anau, Q'stown too tight?
Hope to get some good advice...
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Hi all,
I went to read the archive after I posted my first message and realised that I omitted Deer Park Heights in Q'stown. Also would like to visit a vineyard/winery/beer brewery. Where is the best place for this? Where should I go for sheep shearing?
 
Hi yours,

yes i did mention i was recommended by so n so n therefore got discount. perhaps u wld like to try again.
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I have emailed and enquired on accommodation but due to work and wedding preparation (3 more wks to go!), i m too tied up to do anything now! urgghh! very busy.

how abt you, any recommendation?

Hi cin,

oic its alrite since u booked with SQ but Air NZ has lots of seats left starting from 10 Jan (promotion). Just went in n check.

Yours has given u the car rental website.

Hi Ginn & Blur,

wow 2hrs waiting time n photo taking like not worth it leh....thought more than 30mins hehe.

Anyway i wil try the Hi Five as recommended by Blur, very worth it leh. Hmm may i know which website can i book online from?

Hi chin chin & shane,

How come u all keep saying air tix in Jan all fully booked? i went to Air NZ website promotion for from 10Jan onwards still left alot of seats leh! go grab it before it's gone!

Hi mint,

my itinerary is the same route as you but will be covering more places, guess mine wil be abit tight. when are u departing?

How abt all of u, when is ur wedding, going on honeymoon too?
 
hi kite,

yea, the combo i mentioned is the Hi five, NZ195, felt it's not bad as it includes heli ride. Dont worry even if you take the shotover jet alone, you wont feel that the 2hrs is long or waste of time, in fact the whole thing will be over so fast, you wont feel that 2hrs is gone!
 
Hi,

i tried to search for the Hi Five package through the web but couldnt find it. any idea?

thanks.

hi ginn,

so u tried the Hi Five before? cool n worth it?
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Hi kite,
I'm leaving on 12th dec. Ya, I saw your itinerary. Hubby and I dun really like to rush around too much. That's why we are covering less.
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Hi Kite,

dunno what's your budget /plan for accomodation. We are planning to stay at YHA / BBH hostels (doubles), check out www.yha.co.nz & www.bbh.co.nz

To fit into your itinerary, my choices will be:

CHC - YMCA Christchurch / Stonehurst Accommodation / Chester Street Backpackers / YHA Rolleston YHA

Twizel - High Country Holiday Lodge / Mountain Chalets Backpackers Lodge

Oamaru - Empire Hotel Backpackers / Red Kettle YHA

Queenstown - Southern Laughter / Hotel Esplanade / Queenstowns YHA

Fox Glacier - Ivory Towers
Franz Josef - F.J YHA / Glow Worm Cottage

Hanmer Springs - Hanmer Springs Forest Camp / Hanmer Backpackers / Kakapo Backpackers YHA

BTW, u din answer me if $53.50/d is with $200 or $1200 excess. My hubby wonders if it's ok if we stick to its standard $1200 excess. I'm confused too.
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Any suggestion what are the things to do at Wanaka?
 
Hi pple,

was surfing the air nz site for air tics. Is there no direct flight to CHC ? So far all flights land at ACK.

Thks
 
Hi Yours,

My car rental price (after discount) includes GST, unlimited kms and full comprehensive insurance (excess of $1200). We also not very sure, but for precaution wise, its better to buy the NZ$10 per day. anyway, we will decide whether to pay optional NZ$10 per day (excess reduced to $200) when we get the car in NZ.
u?

Thanks for the list of accommodation. Been busy w work, wedding n planning of NZ. settled my air tix n car rental while accom. not settled yet. wil try to do asap. Phew!

As for wanaka, i intend to walk ard the lake and go puzzling world n its maze. If time allows, i feel like trying the "diamond lake-rocky mountain walking track (2 n 1/2 walks). its a very stunning 1/2 day walk according to the guide book i borrowed.

Hi Ginn,

thanks. anyway the high five combo package link is : http://www.combos.co.nz/shotover.html#highfive

Hi Shane,

Air NZ does not fly to CHC directly. Since we booked with Air Nz, we will transit at Auckland, then wil take a 1hr domestic flight to CHC. worth the $ since its cheaper than SQ. But one thing air NZ doesnt come with personal TV
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will feel abit bored during the 10hrs flight.
 
Hi,

Sorry to ask a stupid qs. Gondola ride costs NZ18 for adult is for 2 way ride right? thanks.

btw, the high five package is really worth it. Hmm but i m not quite interesting riding on the luge, abit probia. Look like gokart to me. issnt it?
 


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