New Zealand Holiday Dec-Jan

[anniecooper]

Heading over to NZ with my best friend over Christmas & New years.

Hiring a car and just travelling around. Plan to sleep in it a fair bit if it helps with hotel costs and/or we can't find a hotel with openings...... :P
(not booking anything except the first and last night)

Has anyone done this in NZ before?
Any tips on how to keep costs down and where to go?

Thanks

[Harald]

That sounds like a great plan to me. I lived in New Zealand for a year, and traveled around the country a whole lot - as much as I could, pretty much. It's a very, very beautiful place, with super friendly people most places. The atmosphere is really terrific, and the scenery can be absolutely breathtaking. And it's not like it's lacking in activities... There's so much you can get up to down there (so bring money, heh!)

To bring costs down, stay in hostels / guesthouses as much as possible instead of hotels. Sleeping in your car should be fine most places, but do know that even in a relatively safe place like NZ doing stuff like that is not totally risk free. I personally wouldn't be worried about it, though, but then I've slept on park benches, roof tops etc - stuff I wouldn't necessarily recommend. I also stayed at people's places quite a lot - Kiwis are very hospitable, but I would think it's easier to do that sort of thing when traveling alone. I also traveled alone in Brazil, and spent more time in people's homes there than in hotels. That stuff saves you a lot of money, and it's also a superb way to experience the country and its people on a totally different level. CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time could be worth looking into - you'll probably meet some cool people that way.

Getting a decent but still fairly inexpensive tent (if you don't have one already) could perhaps be a good option. I stayed in tents a few times in NZ, which was an enjoyable experience for the most part. NZ gets a lot of rain, so don't buy the cheapest tent you can find.... There are no snakes or dangerous critters on NZ, though (except, perhaps, for the little Katipo spider which likes to hang out in grassy areas by the beach), so in that sense tenting is quite safe. I would not hesitate to do it again.

How long are you going to be there for? There's lots to see, and if you only have like a couple of weeks you're going to have to come back later for more. Good places to visit: Auckland (city of sails - most people prefer Wellington, but I've always had a soft spot for Auckland personally), Wellington (beautiful, cool city, great nightlife etc), Rotorua (geysers and indigenous culture), Queenstown, Christchurch, Central Plateau (although skiing on Mt Ruapehu is something you're going to miss out on as you're only there for summer) and perhaps North Cape (and I'm sure you'll get a few other recommendations too).

I would probably make Rotorua and Queenstown my main priorities if you're short on time. If you're flying into Auckland you could get a car and drive down to Rotorua, then to Wellington (possibly via Central Plateau or one of the beachy places on the east coast - Napier is worth a visit), catch a ferry to Picton, and then drive down to Queenstown either on the west or the east side of the island. You can do whale watching and shark cage diving in Kaikoura on the east side of the island (and you can sometimes even see whales on the ferry from Wellington to Picton). When you get to Queenstown you can do TONS of stuff like jet boating in the canyons (AWESOME), rafting, bungy jumping, treks etc etc etc.

Damn, just writing this makes me feel sad. I miss NZ so much, and haven't been there since the early nineties... I REALLY should go back there soon - I'm even open to settling down there (always have been). While the place is not totally problem free and has its share of social problems (like most countries), it is certainly one of the places I would be most happy to live the rest of my life in. The place is tops. You'll love it, I'm sure.

[brendannz]

if you ever come to Wellington I throw some killer parties

[anniecooper]

Originally Posted by Harald

That sounds like a great plan to me. I lived in New Zealand for a year, and traveled around the country a whole lot - as much as I could, pretty much. It's a very, very beautiful place, with super friendly people most places. The atmosphere is really terrific, and the scenery can be absolutely breathtaking. And it's not like it's lacking in activities... There's so much you can get up to down there (so bring money, heh!)

To bring costs down, stay in hostels / guesthouses as much as possible instead of hotels. Sleeping in your car should be fine most places, but do know that even in a relatively safe place like NZ doing stuff like that is not totally risk free. I personally wouldn't be worried about it, though, but then I've slept on park benches, roof tops etc - stuff I wouldn't necessarily recommend. I also stayed at people's places quite a lot - Kiwis are very hospitable, but I would think it's easier to do that sort of thing when traveling alone. I also traveled alone in Brazil, and spent more time in people's homes there than in hotels. That stuff saves you a lot of money, and it's also a superb way to experience the country and its people on a totally different level. CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time could be worth looking into - you'll probably meet some cool people that way.

Getting a decent but still fairly inexpensive tent (if you don't have one already) could perhaps be a good option. I stayed in tents a few times in NZ, which was an enjoyable experience for the most part. NZ gets a lot of rain, so don't buy the cheapest tent you can find.... There are no snakes or dangerous critters on NZ, though (except, perhaps, for the little Katipo spider which likes to hang out in grassy areas by the beach), so in that sense tenting is quite safe. I would not hesitate to do it again.

How long are you going to be there for? There's lots to see, and if you only have like a couple of weeks you're going to have to come back later for more. Good places to visit: Auckland (city of sails - most people prefer Wellington, but I've always had a soft spot for Auckland personally), Wellington (beautiful, cool city, great nightlife etc), Rotorua (geysers and indigenous culture), Queenstown, Christchurch, Central Plateau (although skiing on Mt Ruapehu is something you're going to miss out on as you're only there for summer) and perhaps North Cape (and I'm sure you'll get a few other recommendations too).

I would probably make Rotorua and Queenstown my main priorities if you're short on time. If you're flying into Auckland you could get a car and drive down to Rotorua, then to Wellington (possibly via Central Plateau or one of the beachy places on the east coast - Napier is worth a visit), catch a ferry to Picton, and then drive down to Queenstown either on the west or the east side of the island. You can do whale watching and shark cage diving in Kaikoura on the east side of the island (and you can sometimes even see whales on the ferry from Wellington to Picton). When you get to Queenstown you can do TONS of stuff like jet boating in the canyons (AWESOME), rafting, bungy jumping, treks etc etc etc.

Damn, just writing this makes me feel sad. I miss NZ so much, and haven't been there since the early nineties... I REALLY should go back there soon - I'm even open to settling down there (always have been). While the place is not totally problem free and has its share of social problems (like most countries), it is certainly one of the places I would be most happy to live the rest of my life in. The place is tops. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Thanks heaps

We're staying for roughly 2 weeks, we haven't booked anything yet, it depends on money and how long we can take off work etc.
I work with a kiwi and she said something about water rafting you can do under a cave somewhere? I can't quite remember...

[beast]

There's great rafting down there!

You can't stay for longer, huh? It's a looong way to go for just two weeks! With that little time, you'll probably want to focus almost exclusively on the South Island (the North Island is lovely too, but much calmer and more tranquil, most of the really awe-inspiring scenery is in the south). What sorts of things are you into - do you hike?

I agree with the above rec, there's an enormous couchsurfing community in New Zealand, so if you aren't already a member, make a profile and start finding people to advocate for you.

[Gracestars]

Originally Posted by beast

There's great rafting down there!

You can't stay for longer, huh? It's a looong way to go for just two weeks! With that little time, you'll probably want to focus almost exclusively on the South Island (the North Island is lovely too, but much calmer and more tranquil, most of the really awe-inspiring scenery is in the south). What sorts of things are you into - do you hike?

I agree with the above rec, there's an enormous couchsurfing community in New Zealand, so if you aren't already a member, make a profile and start finding people to advocate for you.

I think Annie is Australian, and living in Oz, so not really that far away! But I could be wrong??

[anniecooper]

Originally Posted by Gracestars

I think Annie is Australian, and living in Oz, so not really that far away! But I could be wrong??

Yeah i am :P
(i just wish i lived in America!)


I'm not really into hiking, i was as a child but as i got older i turned into a prissy girl lol, i'm a big club hopper and don't mind the odd "outdoor activity" like white water rafting or bungee jumping etc.