Ok. Looking to visit the south Island next year, looking to do this in about 20days.
Never been before and probably won't do a second visit due to cost 😞
Unless I sell a kidney.
So starter question
1
Am I better to do this via a very nice guided tour sitting in a coach.
My main concern with doing this is that we will be pushed into packing up every other day or two days and moving hotels.
2
Or hire a car and choose 4 or 5 places to stop for 4 or 5 days at a time. But that means chasing to make the distance to get to places to stay .
3
Ok so third option.
Get on plane fly for hours on end hire a rv type vehicle
So, I can drive as much or little each day, not have to be anywhere on time, as It doesn't matter when I get there.
But how difficult is it to find overnight parking, do they need booking,Im assuming it's easy enough to get about,
can you just park almost anywhere or are there restrictions on this
Which type of RV would-be better
Never been inside one or used one
So thoughts on type of rv would be helpful.
Would like to hear views and thoughts on this as not done this type of holiday before.
I'm sure I will have loads of questions as time goes on.
Thanks for reading and also any thoughts and ideas
Cheers
Doug and Lesley
option 3 sounds the best to me :onya:
Personally I wouldn't do the coach tour, although it could be a cheaper option. When I went, we chose to drive, that way we could stop where we wanted along the way and enjoy the incredible scenery and divert if we so wished. There's plenty of places to visit, whether you want 4-5 days in each is debatable, more like 2-3 I'd say.
Look at what you want to do and where you want to go before deciding how you want to travel, as effectively, all 3 options are credible depending on that.
Also just be prepared to change your plans at short notice. When I was there, we were overnight at Franz Josef glacier, when we got up the next morning, we were advised that our road northwards to Greymouth was not possible, as there had been a 400m landslide overnight. We were supposed to be travelling there to catch the TranzAlpine train across to Christchurch to meet up with KiwiCol. A review of the map showed that we had no options going West to East (no roads!), the only option we had was to drive all the way back down to Queenstown and then up to Christchurch - some 12 hours of driving. Tiring but some spectacular scenery, however 2 hours our from Christchurch, Mrs Barmy asked me if I wanted a mint to chew on, which I did, however, the damn thing broke my tooth! I had Mrs B surf the net for late night dentists in Christchurch and she got me an appointment for 21:00 that same evening. So all in all quite a day, landslip, 12 hour drive, tooth rebuilt - but hey we made it to Christchurch for when we were supposed to, if a few hours late! WOuld much preferred to have taken the TranzAlpine, but hey - plans change!!!!
Option 4: Hire a motorcycle ?
Option 3 is what we did, 5 of us in a Maui motorhome. Was awesome, can go as fast or slow as you want, plenty of room and lots of places to stop overnight we had a rough itinerary, but nothing fixed. Only camps we booked was Christchurch where we picked the rv up, and Queenstown because it gets so busy.
Easy to drive, just like a large SUV or van. There are a few roads you are not supposed to be on, due to van size and the road width. If just the 2 of you, a smaller van would be perfect.
Get the excess insurance, was about $160, this saves you being $4000 out of pocket in case of damage to the van.
First time I visited Australia I booked 3 hotels in 3 very different places and booked connecting flights. Sydney, Gold Coast and Cairns.
I didn't pre book any tours but did do a few on that first visit. This way I had flexibility in each location. The day tours were actually quite good. I picked the ones I liked and in 1 day I saw heap of stuff that a tourist who'd just landed here would never have found on their own. The benefits of an organised tour without the restrictions.
For me it's middle ground. I wouldn't want a tour where everything was organised and I was restricted to the schedule, but there are great tours to do that have a lot of advantages over just doing your own thing every day.
I know it's AU not NZ but after my first trip here the next few times I only ever booked somewhere for the first couple of nights, if NZ is anything like AU it's very easy to sort out accommodation, flights, car hire etc as it's very much geared up for visitors.
I'd say option 2 or 3 would be my pick. Coach tours are fine & you would see a lot, but having your own vehicle gives you so much more freedom. You can still go to the same places (if you want) as a coach tour, but the side trips & winery stops etc make it just a better option IMO.
(Many years ago, I was a Coach Driver, round the South Island & also the North)
Might even catch up with you & Mrs Stepdoug if you make it up this way. :onya:
Well seems that the big RV is going to be the best option.
Can't say that either of us want to sit in a coach really with 20 people that we don't know, for near on three to four weeks.
Will update when I have more info.
Not looking to come over till Oct 2024 but need to sort work out and look at some maps. And fit life in aswell
Long time to think mate. Bus trip would drive me insane. My thoughts only, hire a car, book accomodation, thats how id do it. Steal one of the Cols bike for a day.
Quote from: grog on Saturday, 01 July 2023, 06:30 PMLong time to think mate. Bus trip would drive me insane. My thoughts only, hire a car, book accomodation, thats how id do it. Steal one of the Cols bike for a day.
May end up in a car. But RV would let us do what we want when we want. No need to book hotels and miss them.
Would have liked to do this year but just not viable so needs to wait till next year. Got other hols pre booked so can't change them
Hire a car. There are so many great driving/riding roads to enjoy & the last thing you want is to be dragging your house along with you. This was the not so direct route I took on my last visit to see the rello's in Tauranga. https://tinyurl.com/339dsbu4
Think I'd hire a car. Easier to get around.
Camper van has some appeal but it could also be a pain. Would annoy me dragging it around to go everywhere. shops, pub, country roads, etc etc, I'd rather enjoy a nice hotel / motel and scoot around much easier in a car.
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Monday, 03 July 2023, 06:47 PMCamper van has some appeal but it could also be a pain. Would annoy me dragging it around to go everywhere. shops, pub, country roads, etc etc, I'd rather enjoy a nice hotel / motel and scoot around much easier in a car. Look
I agree with car being easier. Toured Europe a few years ago on the bike. And found it a pain with living out of a suitcase/ pannier everyday what with all the packing up in the morning to chuck it all back onto the bike. But still unsure which way to go ie RV or car
Just hire a helicopter Mate, problem solved. :cool:
Quote from: Stepdoug on Tuesday, 04 July 2023, 04:37 PMQuote from: Tony Nitrous on Monday, 03 July 2023, 06:47 PMCamper van has some appeal but it could also be a pain. Would annoy me dragging it around to go everywhere. shops, pub, country roads, etc etc, I'd rather enjoy a nice hotel / motel and scoot around much easier in a car. Look
I agree with car being easier. Toured Europe a few years ago on the bike. And found it a pain with living out of a suitcase/ pannier everyday what with all the packing up in the morning to chuck it all back onto the bike. But still unsure which way to go ie RV or car
I went up past Daintree, about 1,750K's (over 1000 miles) North of here. Trip up and back ended up being well over 2000 miles. We didn't book anything. Stayed in motels, caravan parks, a pub, treated ourselves to a really posh hotel up in Port Douglas. Total freedom. Some days were short, some were long drives, some places we stayed at a few days, others we were up early and gone. A couple of times we found somewhere we liked and used it as a base for a while. Did heaps of detours to see stuff we didn't know about before the start.
Really enjoyed it. Obviously not school hols or public hols but a great way to travel and see somewhere new.
We did Nth Qld trip, its a long one. No bookings just chanced it, no dramas except Mackay, not a use friendly town. At Trinity Beach, was a vacancy sign, Wife went in, no expectations. usually 400 bucks a night, we stayed 7 nights in luxury for same price 400 dollars. Next to pub and across from beach. So lucky. Great week. We rode to Daintree, far as you can go on sealed road. I stuffed up and parked bike nose down into kerb, couldnt pull it back. Rocket 3 are heavy. Put my hand up for help, by pure chance, helper was Darryl Beattie, he runs off road trips to top. A great trip to remember , was my 60 birthday adventure.
I've done many great trips in Oz with Snapey and Co. Best motorcycle rides I've ever done. I stayed in B&B while they stayed at the pub lol.
Seems like we're heading towards an RV. Just need to sort out size of it .
Leaning towards a six berth. Over the 4 . Just so we have more room for stuff in it. :happy1:
More than likely with have other questions over the next few months. So all advice taken on board.
Would like to try the helicopter but do not think I would get it off the ground.
We are having a week off and travelling to the Far North on our way we stopped at Matapouri....not too busy !!
Next time will be on the bike.
Google Tutukaka Coast, beautiful scenery. Nice bike road.
Quote from: Stepdoug on Sunday, 30 July 2023, 07:01 PMSeems like we're heading towards an RV. Just need to sort out size of it .
Leaning towards a six berth. Over the 4 . Just so we have more room for stuff in it. :happy1:
More than likely with have other questions over the next few months. So all advice taken on board.
Would like to try the helicopter but do not think I would get it off the ground.
good thinking, their definition of a berth is ridiculously small, so a 6 berth in actual fact would sleep 3 normal people conformably.
Quote from: Stepdoug on Sunday, 30 July 2023, 07:01 PMWould like to try the helicopter but do not think I would get it off the ground.
Getting off the ground is easy. Getting back on at a survivable speed is the tricky bit.
Hey Stepdoug make sure to include Cape Reinga on your tour. Northern most tip of NZ, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.
Photo was taken yesterday.
20230801_122645.jpg
Are the colours different in each Col ?
Must be a temperature thing 🫣
Reminds me of where the Med meets the Atlantic, the colours are different there too.
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Wednesday, 02 August 2023, 06:45 PMHey Stepdoug make sure to include Cape Reinga on your tour. Northern most tip of NZ, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.
Photo was taken yesterday.
20230801_122645.jpg
Wasn't looking at heading into the north island. Mainly doing the south. But if time will get the ferry over for a few days
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Tuesday, 04 July 2023, 05:44 PMQuote from: Stepdoug on Tuesday, 04 July 2023, 04:37 PMQuote from: Tony Nitrous on Monday, 03 July 2023, 06:47 PMCamper van has some appeal but it could also be a pain. Would annoy me dragging it around to go everywhere. shops, pub, country roads, etc etc, I'd rather enjoy a nice hotel / motel and scoot around much easier in a car. Look
I agree with car being easier. Toured Europe a few years ago on the bike. And found it a pain with living out of a suitcase/ pannier everyday what with all the packing up in the morning to chuck it all back onto the bike. But still unsure which way to go ie RV or car
I went up past Daintree, about 1,750K's (over 1000 miles) North of here. Trip up and back ended up being well over 2000 miles. We didn't book anything. Stayed in motels, caravan parks, a pub, treated ourselves to a really posh hotel up in Port Douglas. Total freedom. Some days were short, some were long drives, some places we stayed at a few days, others we were up early and gone. A couple of times we found somewhere we liked and used it as a base for a while. Did heaps of detours to see stuff we didn't know about before the start.
Really enjoyed it. Obviously not school hols or public hols but a great way to travel and see somewhere new.
I do love the Aussie "not arsed" laid back attitude to life..
You guys are so lucky in Australia...
My Dad always "nagged" me to go "Down Under"
S.