New Zealand

  • Thread starter Thread starter franz
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Hi piney,

It's winter in July if I am not wrong because read from previous postings. It'll be cold, trees will be bare and days are short.
 
hi diamonddust,

shall look forward to see ur pics.
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Hi all,

I am going NZ this Oct for a self-drive HM.

Can anyone advise whether I should book hotel/motel in advance? I was thinking to look for motel as my wife and I drive along.
 
hi thunderfury,
we have just returned from NZ in feb. personally, i feel that it is not essential to book motels in advance cos NZ has plenty of motels at almost all the places we went. if we go to NZ again, we will probably do what you are intending to do - drive along and then look for motels when it gets dark.
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Hi Thunderfury,

Me and hubby also went for honeymoon in NZ in Nov 02. We did not book motel in advance from Singapore, but what we did was to call a few days ahead to each place when we were in NZ. They have a book (free of charge which u can pick up when u get to NZ) which list the accomodation available in each town and the price range, so just call ahead and book. May not be very advisable to look for accomodation only when u get to that town tho, becos some of the towns have limited accomodation so u may not get what u want and waste time looking (that was what happened to us in Dunedin).
 
Hi Pidduck and Sputnik,

Thanks for ur tips. One thing, I saw in this thread lots of complains about National Car Rental. Is that true?
 
Hi Thunderfury,

We rented our car from National when we were in NZ. The free and easy package that we took came with a few days rental from National, so we decided to extend with them as well. When we reached NZ, National upgraded us to a Suzuki Grand Vitara at no extra charge (ours was actually supppose to be a 'normal' car) and they gave us the extension at only abt NZ$60+ a day! Driving the Grand Vitara very shiok indeed!!

No complaints abt the car, but when we got back and received our credit card bill, realised that National charged abt $15 to the card, but we did not know what the charge was for since they did not inform us. But we just disputed it with the bank and it was reversed out.

Not sure what were the complaints abt National were about though since I don't follow this thread closely.
 
Hi Thunderfury,
I am not very sure about National. We rented our car fom Budget. No problems with this rental company.
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Hi Pple,
is it ok to travel with a tour in NZ? I think planning is really tiring and with a tour is it true that we'll get to see more things?
 
hi rebecca,

We just back from NZ south island last week.
We book the air tixs with Ken Air & joined the NZ land operator "Kiwiway" there. Everything is arranged by Kenair here. We kinda lazy type, so forgo all those free & easy planning.We only spent 3 F&E days over at Queenstown which I think is pretty enuff for us.

The land operators there are pretty good. The Coach drivers are also the tour guides, especially the Great Sights Coach.
Everything is well taken care lor.
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Of cos the total amt is much ex compare to F&E lor.
 
Hi twinklets,

Just wondering how many days were u there n how much did u spend and where are the nice places to recommend n worth it to visit?
Thanks.
 
hi kite,

Spent 9 days at south island, excluding the flight hrs.
Air tixs with Kenair is $1050.
Kiwiway Land Operator is aprox $1500+-
Think total we pay is around $2540 per pax.
Think not cheap lor, as compare to F&E ..

We went to Christchurch,Mt Cook,Queenstown,Milford Sound,Fox Glacier,Tranzapine etc. Some other places are along the way of the coach rides.. cant really rem the names.

Ehh I personally enjoyed myself at Queenstown cos we skydive,bungy & rafting. heee
The other places are basically sightseeing, very beautiful & fresh.
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Oh ya .. if u opt for F&E, & u only want to book their motels when u arrive, I scare u wont able to get any..cos seem like during our stay there,alot of motels no vacancy liao..

Btw hor, I suggest u opt for F&E, but do your booking & research on where u wanna go first.
My package very exp cos of the hotel stay, i guess.
Think u can just buy the tixs, book motels from here & plan where u wanna go.
Over there they will have those booking agents. All u need is juz go there & book with them. Very easy 1.

You can try those backpacker motels, think quite cheap, or those motels tat come with kitchen.
U can try this budgetchain motel. Their rates quite all rite. We book with them during our F&E days. Much cheaper than the Kenair one.
 
hi twinklets,

oic so $2450 is for per pax, does this amount includes air tic?

if $2450 includes air tic, it's quite worth it.

thanks.
 
hi kite,

$2450 is included of air tix.


Hi BabyG,

Think July is winter in NZ.. think shd be very cold, since their summer already very cold liao.
They snow quite alot in NZ, i guess.
Heard got thick snow 1..
 
hi twinklets

i thot NZ has v mild winter temperatures? r u sure they snow quite a bit n has thick snow?
hmm...coz i m planning a trip to NZ in july....
 
hi happy,

I heard from the coach guides that some parts have very thick snow. Hmm but cant really rem where are the exact locations.. Heard that 1 of routes to Milford Sound got thick snow though..

1 of the guys at my motel told us during winter days at Queenstown, they wont really walk abt 'cos relly damn cold...
So I think u better check carefully if u wanna go during winter time .. Btw is July wintertime?
Btw, this year the pple in NZ told us their weather very weird.. usually summertime not tat cold 1.. this year exceptionally cold .. we gotta wear like winterclothes during our stay there.
 
hi twinklets

nt sure man but i guess we hv more or less decided on NZ in july...wat was the temperature when u were there?
 
Hi Happy,

I think it gets pretty cold in NZ during winter and the winter is not mild. They have snow and think sometimes the snow will block the roads so you can't access those roads. Even when we went in Nov, it was pretty cold. When we were at Mt Cook, the wind at some places was so stong that you literally get blown off your feet and can't even walk. Better check out the NZ website for the weather there during Jul before you decide to go.
 
Hi Happy,

It snow a lot in the south island. it can easily snow until its 1m deep. hence, roads closure is quite common. its a perfect condition for skiing trips. I'm planning on doing tht within the next 2 yrs.
 
hi every1...
i'll be gg to NZ tis June for HM...
i was there in June too in 2002...
the snow ain't tat bad...we self drove..but so blessed..sis no meet wif any snow fall..
really hope tis time there will not be...
is there anyone who wen to NZ during winter and drove thru the Arthur's Pass area? Can tell me if it was difficult to drive during tat period during winter? thanks..
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I just returned from NZ over the weekend. It's not that cold in South Island. Most of the time, I just used a warmer or a wind breaker. The only place I used warmer and wind breaker was at Milford Sound..as the wind from the cruise was rather strong. It's end summer approaching Autumn currently.
 
Sigh... i thik the exchange rate for NZD really sucks now. Wanted to go to NZ, but looking at the exchange rate.... When I went in Nov 02, the rate was abt SGD86 to change to NZD100. Now it is the other way round - SGD120 to change to NZD100. Hope the exchange rate will get better....
 
Hi Janz, kite

I was there for 8days..excluding the flying time. We self-drove and booked the accommodation and car via emails using the "where to stay" guide book from the NZ tourism board for accommodation.

The cost for air and accommodation and car was below S$5k for a family of 2 adults and 1 toddler.

We went to:
Christchurch
Dunedin
Tae Anau
Queenstown
Lake Takapo

Dh is experienced in mt rd driving. So, the drive ard was very smooth. The lowest speed limit we encountered was 25kph ard the curves. New Zealander likes to speed..and the police has increased their efforts to catch them.

Get a small car and drive up the steepest rd in Dunedin..very exciting for me since I am afraid of height..at one pt, the rd was so steep that I thought our car would turn. We have a big car with a small engineer..was crawling like tortise up. You must be good in driving to try it. Dh not afraid at all.

Tae Anau is like a resort place...We stayed there for 2 days facing the lake.

Pray hard that it rains before you take the cruise in milford sound. The seasonal waterfalls only appears after heavy rain. It's a 2 hrs drive from Tae Anau...the rain just stopped before our cruise, so we had great views. The wind was so cold, so make sure yr wind breaker and warmer is on. I forgot to put a warmer on my dd..only a pullover and a windbreaker...she was cold and had to stay away from the wind at times.

Queenstown is beautiful. Take a helicopter up and try the luge..my dd love it so much..

Mt Cook view is magnificiant...if you have the budget, go for the the flight ard Mt Cook.

Lake Tekapo did not have much to see beside the church. We rest a day there for dh dun want to drive all the way back to Christchurch.

We rented our car from a Singaporean that has migrated there. He is very helpful. He rented us his hp(only pay for whatever rates we used) and even offer rice cooker for asian customers.

I tried Mac Donald once...the fries taste diff..ketchup a bit salty. KFC chicken taste like herbal chicken and the mashed potatoes has taste of soy. B King taste the same. I like their fish n chip from the takeaway shop. The food I like best was Mexico one. At Tae Anau, for dinner, once I had a cod fish and dh had the steak. The steak was tasty but the fish was too fishy. The food was in their original taste.

Our trip was a bit short, so did not cover the south island fully. If have the chance, might go backt here again.

As for pics, I have not send it for developing.
 
Just a Note...at the airport transit area bank, I walked past and saw the rate at 115.**. I changed for 118. So, maybe you can try changing before going for yr plane.