Touring New Zealand-Tips Needed

[trainman34014]

Hello all you Kiwi's out there, and others who have been there touring.

We intend to tour South Island later this year and I will rent a car and just drive. Been reading all the tourist info i can find and some say no need to pre-book hotels as there are plenty of Motels along the way. Anyone got any further info' on this aspect, is it like the US where there are hotels and motels around every corner in places like California and Florida? If this is not the case it means a lot more planning and pre-booking will be required and I don't really like that, as i prefer to just drive until ready to stop for the night.

I would be grateful for more info' from those of you with experience.....Thanks in anticipation.

[simple1]

OP: You will not find a motel/hotel around every corner, but distances between locations are not to far. In the smaller towns you may find it interesting to stay at the local pubs to socialise with the locals. Some of the smaller places I stayed at the locals had not left town for 20 years; some truly wierd characters! At one place, a very small coal mining town, inland from Greymouth, due to a shortage of female company, they had placed an add in the national press for female visitors.

Some suggested driving tour routes at http://www.newzealand.com/au/south-island-road-trips/

Enjoy...

Edited May 17, 2013 by simple1

[KiwiWayne]

Probably don't need to book but suggest you do the following:

If travelling with an internet or wifi connection, look at www.jasons.co.nz they have links to almost 100% of NZ's accommodation providers.

When arriving in NZ or at an information bureau [i-site] or at your first motel, grab a free copy of the Jasons Accommodation Guide. The AA also have one available at the same places. These are thick books with motels and hotels listed, by town, some with photos and all with contact details and a lot of the time the average tariff.

I'd think you could stay at places with an overall average night cost of under $100 except in the likes of Queenstown which is expensive.

Another tip is that most motels will have some kind of sign outside saying either 'vacancies' or 'no vacancies' so you don't need to guess who has rooms and who doesn't. Some will also have the room rate displayed outside.

There are no really bad places to stay, some might be older than others but you can tell from the road.

Edited May 17, 2013 by KiwiWayne

[aarn]

You can do car relocations in NZ. Don't know if this is much use

http://www.standbyrelocations.com/default.aspx?c=2

I used this company ~ five times in last decade, in Austr. AA

[Chao Lao Beach]

All you need to do is learn to talk Rugby, and you will fit in fine.

[bangkokburning]

How difficult or easy for married Thai with farang husband (US) living in Thailand for visa?

How much do Kiwis hate Americans?

Only a little

A lot

*actually, we have a great Kiwi friend.

Thx

[FDog]

Ahhh NZ. Lived there for 5 years.

Sth Island is stunning and I'm bloody jealous you are going. Just get in your car and drive and you won't have any problem with hotels. Queenstown is particularly beautiful.

Lucky man.

[FalangBaa]

To be perfectly honest... Don't bother. Most boring country on the planet, horrible and unpredictable weather, and one of the most expensive countries too.

[trainman34014]

Thanks lads for all the info' so far, very useful.

[SlyAnimal]

How difficult or easy for married Thai with farang husband (US) living in Thailand for visa?

How much do Kiwis hate Americans?

Only a little

A lot

*actually, we have a great Kiwi friend.

Thx

Visa wise, New Zealand is one of the easier countries to get a visa for I think. But it all depends on your situation.

For example, I am a NZ citizen, so sponsoring my gf for a visa is obviously a little easier than an American sponsoring a Thai wife. However, my gf and I had only been together for 3 months at the time that I applied for her tourist visa so that we could visit NZ. She wasn't working at the time, which would have counted against her application, although she does have a university education, which might have been a bonus. If you have been married to your husband for quite some time, I think it wouldn't be difficult to get a tourist visa to NZ, so long as you're travelling together of course (That was a condition they put on my gf's visa).

And Kiwis are fine with Americans, there is a general dislike or dissatisfaction with things that America does, but that doesn't usually apply to Americans themselves. If that makes sense, as most people are pretty friendly towards everyone, regardless of their nationality etc.

And sorry to the OP, I can't be of much assistance regarding anything in the South Island, as I've only been there a few times, mostly quite some time ago (And wasn't behind the wheel on any of those occasions). As mentioned though, get a jasons hotel guide, they should have most things covered there.

[bangkokburning]

Thanks and sorry to hijack the thread. We really want to do the camper / camping thing -six weeks.

By time we could do it...wife would be nearly 40, uni grad, worked same job eight years, has USA ten year visa (visting 3 -4 times).

I'd have a non o. US citizen.

There is a money or bond requirement for her??

Again, sorry for the hijack.

[Cylon]

Just be aware,The South Island is beautiful in Winter,But be extremely careful,It can snow any time,And ice can also be a problem.Ive ridden motorcycles in the S I for years.Alot of people travel all day then look for motel vacancy sign.There are some really great Historic pubs to stay in too.The Ross Hotel is one of my favorites down the West Coast.And you must call in to the Blackball Hilton.And we dont hate Americans.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Cylon

[trainman34014]

Just be aware,The South Island is beautiful in Winter,But be extremely careful,It can snow any time,And ice can also be a problem.Ive ridden motorcycles in the S I for years.Alot of people travel all day then look for motel vacancy sign.There are some really great Historic pubs to stay in too.The Ross Hotel is one of my favorites down the West Coast.And you must call in to the Blackball Hilton.And we dont hate Americans.

Thanks for the heads up Cylon....and I hope you don't hate Brit's either !

[FDog]

Just be aware,The South Island is beautiful in Winter,But be extremely careful,It can snow any time,And ice can also be a problem.Ive ridden motorcycles in the S I for years.Alot of people travel all day then look for motel vacancy sign.There are some really great Historic pubs to stay in too.The Ross Hotel is one of my favorites down the West Coast.And you must call in to the Blackball Hilton.And we dont hate Americans.

Thanks for the heads up Cylon....and I hope you don't hate Brit's either !

Depends if the Poms beat the All Blacks the week before you get there.

[KiwiWayne]

Visa information at: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/visit/ I have a sneaky feeling [without looking] that neither of you will have problems if you're just visiting on holiday.

We like most people and as someone wrote, we might not like what your Country does but most people recognise its Governments not people that do these things, hell we don't even like what our Government does most of the time lol.

Not too sure about the relocation thing either. Its usually just returning cars/vehicles from Christchurch to Auckland type of things where they want to get vehicles back to the main rental centres. If you're traveling in the usual circuit, probably nothing for you.

Don't know where FalangBaa gets the idea the place is boring; we have everything here, might be a little bit slow compared to Patpong or Soi 6 in Pattaya but you won't struggle to find interesting things to see and do.

[trainman34014]

Visa information at: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/visit/ I have a sneaky feeling [without looking] that neither of you will have problems if you're just visiting on holiday.

We like most people and as someone wrote, we might not like what your Country does but most people recognise its Governments not people that do these things, hell we don't even like what our Government does most of the time lol.

Not too sure about the relocation thing either. Its usually just returning cars/vehicles from Christchurch to Auckland type of things where they want to get vehicles back to the main rental centres. If you're traveling in the usual circuit, probably nothing for you.

Don't know where FalangBaa gets the idea the place is boring; we have everything here, might be a little bit slow compared to Patpong or Soi 6 in Pattaya but you won't struggle to find interesting things to see and do.

Thanks KiwiWayne.

I know your country is anything but boring. As I always say; the world is full of miserable gits and we can find them around us anywhere we go, it seems a lot frequent these pages, but we sure don't have to listen to them. As for Pattaya; now that is boring !

[xylophone]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

[trainman34014]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

Thanks xylophone; we are going in November so would be interested to know roughly what the weather conditions are likely to be. Being a Brit' I'm used to the cold but Wifey is Thai and having suffered winters in England she is far more unhappy about severe cold.

[xylophone]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

Thanks xylophone; we are going in November so would be interested to know roughly what the weather conditions are likely to be. Being a Brit' I'm used to the cold but Wifey is Thai and having suffered winters in England she is far more unhappy about severe cold.

Well you are going on the cusp because November is late spring, leading into what is supposed to be Summer in December, however I will say that I have experienced some pretty cool Novembers and changeable Decembers with the warmer weather really coming in after Christmas, however that doesn't help you, does it!!

You will have a mixture of weather, and more than likely it will be on the cooler side with the occasional nice sunny day, obviously with some rain thrown in, because that's what the South island of New Zealand does (the weather is very changeable because of the relatively small landmass). Certainly the evenings and nights will be cool to cold and that will not change, so take some warm clothing for the evening.

You can just about rule out wearing shorts, although you may get away with jeans and T-shirt on some occasions. I would pack a light waterproof type jacket as well as a nice medium weight sweater type thing or long sleeved shirts. As a matter of interest, even if you did need to buy some shorts/T shirts because it did become nice and hot (??) then there are some cheap supermarket chains (a lot like Tesco) in which you can buy such things without busting the budget.

Wish I could be more specific, however the weather conditions in New Zealand really are changeable – – as an example at the top end of the South island where you have Blenheim and Nelson, great winegrowing areas, Nelson has the most hours of sunshine in New Zealand, whereas further down the West Coast, you have some of New Zealand's highest rainfall.

Good luck on your trip and I hope the wife likes the scenery, if not the cooler weather!

[cornishcarlos]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

Thanks xylophone; we are going in November so would be interested to know roughly what the weather conditions are likely to be. Being a Brit' I'm used to the cold but Wifey is Thai and having suffered winters in England she is far more unhappy about severe cold.

I have one of those too

[trainman34014]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

Thanks xylophone; we are going in November so would be interested to know roughly what the weather conditions are likely to be. Being a Brit' I'm used to the cold but Wifey is Thai and having suffered winters in England she is far more unhappy about severe cold.

Well you are going on the cusp because November is late spring, leading into what is supposed to be Summer in December, however I will say that I have experienced some pretty cool Novembers and changeable Decembers with the warmer weather really coming in after Christmas, however that doesn't help you, does it!!

You will have a mixture of weather, and more than likely it will be on the cooler side with the occasional nice sunny day, obviously with some rain thrown in, because that's what the South island of New Zealand does (the weather is very changeable because of the relatively small landmass). Certainly the evenings and nights will be cool to cold and that will not change, so take some warm clothing for the evening.

You can just about rule out wearing shorts, although you may get away with jeans and T-shirt on some occasions. I would pack a light waterproof type jacket as well as a nice medium weight sweater type thing or long sleeved shirts. As a matter of interest, even if you did need to buy some shorts/T shirts because it did become nice and hot (??) then there are some cheap supermarket chains (a lot like Tesco) in which you can buy such things without busting the budget.

Wish I could be more specific, however the weather conditions in New Zealand really are changeable – – as an example at the top end of the South island where you have Blenheim and Nelson, great winegrowing areas, Nelson has the most hours of sunshine in New Zealand, whereas further down the West Coast, you have some of New Zealand's highest rainfall.

Good luck on your trip and I hope the wife likes the scenery, if not the cooler weather!

Thanks very much for all your comments which have been most helpful. I will report back to all once we are back home in Sunny Thailand.

[xylophone]

Hi Trainman34014.....I notice you said you were touring the South Island of New Zealand later this year, and I was just wondering what months?

There is truly some beautiful driving to be had and the scenery is just stunning, however remember that the next big landmass further south is the Antarctic, and the wind that blows off that can make the South Island a very cold place indeed, so take some warm clothes just in case.

There will be no problems with motels, because that's what most of them are, although some are a little old now so you can afford to pick and choose one to your liking. I think one of the best drives I ever had was from Christchurch in-land, down to Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, then through to Dunedin. However I have to say that at the top of the South Island the drive around Nelson and Blenheim is absolutely superb, with much in the way of orchards and vineyards.

Kiwis in general tend to be friendly to just about everybody so don't worry about that. Have a great trip.

Thanks xylophone; we are going in November so would be interested to know roughly what the weather conditions are likely to be. Being a Brit' I'm used to the cold but Wifey is Thai and having suffered winters in England she is far more unhappy about severe cold.

Well you are going on the cusp because November is late spring, leading into what is supposed to be Summer in December, however I will say that I have experienced some pretty cool Novembers and changeable Decembers with the warmer weather really coming in after Christmas, however that doesn't help you, does it!!

You will have a mixture of weather, and more than likely it will be on the cooler side with the occasional nice sunny day, obviously with some rain thrown in, because that's what the South island of New Zealand does (the weather is very changeable because of the relatively small landmass). Certainly the evenings and nights will be cool to cold and that will not change, so take some warm clothing for the evening.

You can just about rule out wearing shorts, although you may get away with jeans and T-shirt on some occasions. I would pack a light waterproof type jacket as well as a nice medium weight sweater type thing or long sleeved shirts. As a matter of interest, even if you did need to buy some shorts/T shirts because it did become nice and hot (??) then there are some cheap supermarket chains (a lot like Tesco) in which you can buy such things without busting the budget.

Wish I could be more specific, however the weather conditions in New Zealand really are changeable – – as an example at the top end of the South island where you have Blenheim and Nelson, great winegrowing areas, Nelson has the most hours of sunshine in New Zealand, whereas further down the West Coast, you have some of New Zealand's highest rainfall.

Good luck on your trip and I hope the wife likes the scenery, if not the cooler weather!

Thanks very much for all your comments which have been most helpful. I will report back to all once we are back home in Sunny Thailand.

I may have a road map (have to look for it) of the South Island if you would like me to seek it it out and send it to you?