If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome in NZ
Hi all,
I'd like to spend May in NZ, and i was thinking about renting a 4x4 (4WD, don't know the correct word sorry) to be able to use any road. Yesterday i've been to a travel agency and they have a quite interesting offer for the flight + motorhome. So now i'm hesitating. The problem is i don't know anything about Motorhome, especially the technical points (water, energy, shower, and so on...). So i would need any information, motorhome travel stories, advices, anything that could help me to choose. Motorhome would give us freedom to stop quite anywhere (except in national parks if i've understood well), to not look for a room everynight, not look for a restaurant to eat, but it is huge and maybe some roads would be impossible to take with it. I would be very sad to be stop front of a road we couldn't take and not being able to visite a beautiful place. The technical constraints of the motorhome are not too much troubles? (drain the dirty water, fill new water, energy for the light, the heating, the cooking,...) And as we will travel in may, wouldn't it be too cold in a motorhome? Well here are my thoughts, i'm waiting for your advices, and more especially stories of travel with a motorhome. Thank you :0) Nataly |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"Nataly" wrote in message ... Hi all, I'd like to spend May in NZ, and i was thinking about renting a 4x4 (4WD, don't know the correct word sorry) to be able to use any road. Yesterday i've been to a travel agency and they have a quite interesting offer for the flight + motorhome. So now i'm hesitating. The problem is i don't know anything about Motorhome, especially the technical points (water, energy, shower, and so on...). So i would need any information, motorhome travel stories, advices, anything that could help me to choose. Motorhome would give us freedom to stop quite anywhere (except in national parks if i've understood well), to not look for a room everynight, not look for a restaurant to eat, but it is huge and maybe some roads would be impossible to take with it. I would be very sad to be stop front of a road we couldn't take and not being able to visite a beautiful place. The technical constraints of the motorhome are not too much troubles? (drain the dirty water, fill new water, energy for the light, the heating, the cooking,...) And as we will travel in may, wouldn't it be too cold in a motorhome? Well here are my thoughts, i'm waiting for your advices, and more especially stories of travel with a motorhome. Thank you :0) Nataly We drove a 6 berth motor home around South Island. There are only two roads you are not allowed to take them on, and most hire cars are not permitted either. We also had to shift to a car for the final few days as the MH was booked for those days. There ws no comparison. My advise - go for a motorhome, the biggest you can afford. Driving is no problem, just a bit slower than a car - but you get to enjoy the scenery much more and have the wonderfulk ability to stop virtually anywhere - including national parks. If you get a desiel motor - the economy is better than a car as well (fuel is 1/2 the price). We hired from Pacific Horizon and were very satisfied. Plenty of battery, gas cooker and heater(essential), plenty of water and toilet. Easy! Plan on allowing two weeks for South Island - and that will be hurrying a bit if you wanted to stop for a few days at some places. Matt Reservation Heaven dot com |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"Jack" a écrit :
There are only two roads you are not allowed to take them on Why? They are dangerous? Do you remember what roads? Plan on allowing two weeks for South Island - and that will be hurrying a bit if you wanted to stop for a few days at some places. I was thinking about one week or 10 days in north island and all the end of the trip in south island. We want to see south island more especially. We would arrived at Auckland and left at Christchurch. Thank you for you advices :0) Nataly |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Nataly" wrote in message ... "Jack" a écrit : There are only two roads you are not allowed to take them on Why? They are dangerous? Do you remember what roads? Plan on allowing two weeks for South Island - and that will be hurrying a bit if you wanted to stop for a few days at some places. I was thinking about one week or 10 days in north island and all the end of the trip in south island. We want to see south island more especially. We would arrived at Auckland and left at Christchurch. Thank you for you advices :0) Nataly Sorry, cannot remember the names of the roads, but they were short roads and not important ones. They are disallowed due to being narrow. NZ is a big country but packed into a small space - better perhaps to do one island one trip and the other on a second. I liked South Island much better due to mountains etc. Here is a story from our trip in 2003 that was published here in Australia. ---- Travelling with a family of five can present some challenges. xxx tells us how his family survived a tour of New Zealand's South Island. Even after seven days, the scenery was still impressive as we slowly made the steep climb up the snowy spine of New Zealand's South Island towards Arthurs' Pass, the main route between the west and east coasts. Our journey was around southern South Island in the motor home before exploring the northern half by rental car. We were travelling in September, taking advantage lower levels of tourist traffic and cheaper hiring rates. Travelling as a family of five, with three kids under the age of 10 is always an adventure and it had been with some trepidation that we had picked up our Pacific Horizon fully self-contained 6-berth motor home in Christchurch the week before. We had chosen a motor home holiday, as it would provide us with the travelling flexibility we desired. A motor home holiday is also more affordable than accommodation for five in motels or caravan park cabins, plus car hire. Diesel fuel in New Zealand is cheap at around 58 cents per litre and despite the motor home being 6.5 metres long and weighing just under four tonnes, it proved cheaper to run that the last three days in a 6-cylinder station wagon paying NZ$1.03 for petrol. Our whistlestop journey was punctuated by the "must-sees" of the South Island including the early evening arrival of the yellow-eyed and small blue penguins at Oamaru, the glowworm caves at Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown's ski fields, a jet boat ride on the Wilkin River and the fabulous west coast glaciers. After changing to a station wagon in Christchurch it was north for a cruise on Queen Charlotte Sound out of Picton and relaxing soak in the Hanmer Hot Springs on the way back to Christchurch via Lewis Pass. A big advantage offered by a motor home holiday is flexibility. You can stay in caravan parks, as we did for the first couple of nights, or almost anywhere there is flat ground you can pull up and spend the night, as we did at a fabulous spot on the Milford Sound road. We quickly discovered many South Island caravan parks are old and tired compared to most parks in Australia. The exception was a park in Queenstown that was new, but had coin-operated showers. Given the self-sufficient nature of our motor home, we were soon devotees of roadside camps in splendid locations. There are overnight stopover points on most roads, ranging from rest areas, to those with basic facilities operated by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, for which there is a minimal charge. An added advantage of the DOC stopovers is that many also feature walks from 10 minutes to three hours through moss laden beech forests and over amazing swing bridges. Travelling in the off-peak season we mostly had these overnight stops and walks to ourselves. When free camping the only ties with civilisation are linked to emptying the waste tanks at 'dump points', stocking up on fuel, water, doing the washing stop when you run out of clean clothes and buying food. Generally we found food expensive, with meat hard to find in supermarkets. During our time free camping, we found the on-board fresh water would last three days with a rinse, soap and rinse style of shower, plus hair washing and dishwashing. The gas heater in our van also heated the 20-litre hot water tank in about 30 minutes. This was enough for the three girls, while we parents waited for water reheat before our turn. You can have a surprisingly satisfying shower with just 10 litres of water. The gas heater also meant we could return to a warm environment after our bushwalks that were often in wet or damp conditions. The gas heating also freed us from caravan parks, as most other motor homes had only electric heating requiring mains power. When travelling with three children under the age of 10, and with nights often near freezing, being able to get dressed and have breakfast in a warm environment was a must. One mistake we made was in calculating the time it took to get anywhere. While the motor home cruised comfortably on 80-90kmph, on many winding and hilly roads the average speed was just 40-50kmph. This was because the motor home was delightfully slow up hills. This provided driver and passengers with ample opportunity to take in the magnificent, constantly changing scenery and made pulling up at interesting spots for compulsory energy-consuming bushwalks - a must for the kids - easy. It also meant that it was no bother to pull over briefly to allow faster traffic past. This is a unique courtesy in New Zealand, and we saw cars, buses and even semi-trailers obligingly pull over to let faster traffic past. It is a must really, as many South Island roads have been hacked out of steep hillsides without the latitude for long overtaking lanes. This is not to say that the roads are unusually narrow or in poor condition, though many corners with precipitous drops had none, or at best meagre guard rails to deflect drivers distracted by the scenery. Our final few days spent in a hire car highlighted the benefits of the motor home. We were tied to pre-booked accommodation and while cruising up hills and negotiating bends more quickly, our ability to appreciate the scenery was overtaken by speed and carsickness. The children especially, missed the 'beloved camper' and the card games around the table at night. ----- Make sure you get a fully self contained campervan - one with shower and toilet and gas heating - otherwise you will have to stop at camping parks which are expensive and detract from the value of having a camper. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"Jack" a écrit :
Here is a story from our trip in 2003 that was published here in Australia. Thank you a lot :0) Make sure you get a fully self contained campervan - one with shower and toilet and gas heating - otherwise you will have to stop at camping parks which are expensive and detract from the value of having a camper. We have choosen the 4ST model at Kea (because of the big bed above the cabin), and there are shower, toilet and gas heating. I'm still in negociation with travel agency and Kea for the renting. The more i'm reading stories about people travelling in NZ with motorhome, the more i'm impatient to be there :0Þ Nataly |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"Jeff" a écrit :
Nataly, I am interested to know how much are they quoting your for this motohome? The price that is on their website : NZ$ 75 per day. Nataly |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Jeff" a écrit :
Just be aware that in May you may not be able to get to or see some beautiful places due to bad weather, after all it is the off season and that is why the vehicles are cheaper. Yes i know that. I would have like to come earlier, in march, but it was impossible and march next year is too far, i can't wait ;0) Nataly |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
"Neil Raines" a écrit dans le message de
... I could be snowing by May, so your idea of a 4x4 was good. Motels are cheap in the off season, and have much nicer hot showers and electric blankets. A Subaru 4x4 wagon will be fast and safe in wet weather. Even if not snowing, it will be wet some days. Yes but well we have decided for the motorhome now. 4x4 will be for the next trip ;0) Nataly |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
motorhome v. car and motel | Phil | Australia & New Zealand | 9 | January 11th, 2005 02:01 AM |
AVOID - Clippership Motorhome Rentals of Alaska | 2travel | USA & Canada | 1 | September 10th, 2004 04:47 PM |
AVOID - CLIPPERSHIP MOTORHOME RENTALS - ALASKA | 2travel | USA & Canada | 1 | September 10th, 2004 02:40 PM |
Travel NZ by motorhome | Fredrik Nicklasson | Australia & New Zealand | 2 | March 30th, 2004 11:22 AM |
see North America by motorhome... | Larry Gagnon | USA & Canada | 0 | November 12th, 2003 06:14 PM |