[nickbraddock]

Hi,
I am planning on taking my family to NZ in March/April 2005. Can anybody give me any tips / advice as to who/where the best deals are for a three week "tour" of NZ?? I do not know NZ and am wanting to take in as much of it as I can for when I get mr PR in 2005 :hopeso and am planning the three week trip in order to decide where I would like to be based.

Anyone that has any ideas/previous experience of this type of trip and any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Nick :nice1

[Glenda]

Hi Nick,

I think that many of us who have done a 'reccy' of NZ have not gone on an official tour, but did a DIY job.

I made my own flights, vehicle and accommodation bookings on line. We flew into Auckland and picked up a vehicle then over the next three weeks went to Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, Nelson, down the West Coast of the South Island, Queenstown, Te Anau, Dunedin, Christchurch, flew back to Auckland and then went north. This was very much a 'holiday' trail as we had not planned on moving at that time. If I was to arrange it again for a reccy, I would leave the West Coast and include Taranki, Napier/Hastings and Tauranga.

I booked accommodation through www.Jasons.co.nz and we stayed at motels - which are very comfortable and can have 1-3 bedrooms if you have kids.

Glenda.

[Dave & Sandra]

Nick

We just did it ourselves, same as Glenda. Flew into Auckland, hired a car and toured around. Motels were easy to find. We did most of the North Island and still haven't been to the South Island :no

Sandra

[evelynne_r]

Hiya,

If you don't want to drive, Intercity and Newmans do coach passes which give you a lot of flexibility.

My friend and I had one of those over Christmas and it was linked to a deal with YHA giving cheap hostel accommodation.

PM me if you want more info.

Cheers,

Evelynne

[Jodie]

Hi,

We've done the North Island tour twice now - once on a 3 week holiday a few years ago in a campervan, and this time after we arrived we travelled around the North visiting towns we thought we'd like to live in, and stayed in cabins on the campsites. This was much cheaper than staying in hotels/motels, and you could hire bedding from the campsites if need be, but we bought a couple of cheap duvets from The Warehouse to see us through (about $25 each I think) cos we were here for good anyway. I think it was about $5 per night to hire bedding from memory...

You could choose whether to have cabins with or without kitchens, and some sites had cabins with their own private toilets too if you wanted for a little extra per night. The prices ranged from $35 - $50 per night. The cheapest cabins were just those without kitchens/toilets etc - just basically a bed in a room, but you had full use of the campsite kitchens/lounges/toilets & showers so it was fine. We also got to meet other travellers and some of them were kiwis on their holidays too so a good source of local knowledge! :nice1

Again, we didn;t go through any organised tours, just organised it all ourselves, but I would recommend a good NZ guide book - the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide books we used which were great.

I'd thoroughly recommend this way of doing it!

Jod
:nice1

[veronica]

I would suggest that you find out the areas where you are most likely to get work and have a good look at them.
Like every one else who has answered we did it ourselves but as we are ski/snowboard based we mainly had a look around the areas near the ski resorts.

[Diny]

Same same

Have never done any kind of organised tour in NZ (or anywhere in the world really). We have always moved around under our own steam and to our own agenda.

3 weeks will be a flying visit and all you will really experience is the scenery - you need lots of time to linger in a place that takes your fancy and to explore - but several weeks off for a holiday isn't something many folks can do.

I'm a firm believer in the hand of fate - you will 'just know' when a town/area is right for you. I agree with Veronica that you need to enquire which places will be best workwise for you - no need living in your dream location if there's no work. We are heading to the Manawatu and I can asure you that's not where we will end up - it's just the place which will work best for us to begin with.

All the best.

Diny

[Juniper]

i agree that tours will probably not be your best bet, since they usually involve being carted around in buses for packaged activities with other foreigners. not too useful for getting a feel for the "real" NZ, as you'd have less time for self-determined activities, and less chance of meeting the locals.

the way i see it, tours were designed for people who want to just dabble in the local sights while staying insulated in a comfy little hassle-free bubble. :P

here's a page with some budget travel resources:
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/budget/index.shtml

[MikeandCez]

I also agree. We spent 5 weeks touring both the north and south islands last July/August with our 2 kids. Booked flights from Auckland to Christchurch before going and then just winged it. Rent a car or camper and just head off. We spent most of our time in the South visiting Graymouth, exploring the west coast, skiing at Queenstown and Wanaka and spending time down in Milford Sound etc. Because of the time of year, except for Queenstown and Wanaka, we didn't struggle for any accomodation and we mostly used motels as they are really good value for money.
Doing it that wayyou can spend as little or as much time as you like exploring and I personally wouldn't want to be restricted by tour schedules.

[Rimbo]

Agree with the rest and got some good tips too. thanks guys :nice1
I'm off in Jan/Feb for 3 1/2 weeks looking for jobs. We'll be hiring a car and finding places to bed down for the night as we go. We might buy a tent and sleeping bags and use them should we not find a motel.
We intend to take in the east coast stopping at major towns (Tauranga, Napier, Hastings) along the way to wellington then onto the south island to at least Chch and maybe Dunedin before heading back north to Reefton where a friend lives. Nelson then Palmy North and onto New Plymouth before heading back to AKL via Hamilton for the flight home. We reackon we will get two days in each town including the drive. not much time to see the sights and obtain interviews but i can always stay on for longer if need be. The car is a cheap little 3 dorr number and costs about $1000 for 24 days hire. Larger cars like a Subary Legacy estate (wagon)are coming in at about $1900. A camper van is probably double that.
I'll give you the details of the hire company if you wish, my friend found it and its the cheapest i've seen although you'll have to be prepared to hire an imported 7 year old toyota corolla.
Has anybody ever had any issues with the sizeable bonds you need to leave? Its scaring the wits outa me, i could buy a decent motor for that and sell it when i've finished the holiday.. sorry reccy! :P

John

[veronica]

We didn't have to leave a bond as such. think they just swiped the credit card and ripped up the unused slip when we got back.

[Wiggy]

Hi Nick,

Probably not the sort of thing to take the kids on, but when I was in NZ a couple of weeks ago I did the Tuatapere Humpridge tramp. Absolutely spectacular and by far the best tramp I've done. It was pretty hard going, especially on the first day but I'd really recommend it if the opportunity arose. David Bellamy was reported as saying it's the most important walk botanically in the world (or something like that!!)