Must Do's South Island NZ

[sjg]

Probably still the same one we rented out of Christchurch in 2008. It worked fine for us as we could leave the majority of our stuff at my (now) wife's parents in Auckland and just took enough to get through a week.

Convertibles aren't a big thing really in NZ. Most of the rental fleets are boring but reliable jap imports, from very cheap (20+ year old Nissan Bluebirds with a few hundred thousand kms) to later model Corollas and the like.

[djc206]

BigJonMcQuimm said:

Many thanks for all the help - still digesting and working through it all. Will post up our plan soon

One issue we have found is that we cannot find a convertible for rental.

We have tried all the usual firms - looking to pick up from Christchurch city and drop off at Auckland airport.

The only car seemingly available is a Mk2 MX5 - which I do not think will accommodate our gear.

Any ideas?

Thanks in heaps again!!

Have you tried pick up from Christchurch airport? It's not that far out of town and the hire car companies tend to have a better selection at airports.

Remember to choose accomodation carefully in Christchurch there are some really crappy hotels/motels there. We stayed in one where the washing machine was out of service "because of the earthquake". That was last year.... If it doesn't work or looks st, earthquake.

[rossub]

Try and stay at Mount Cook if you can. On a clear day, the drive up to it past Lake Pukaki is gob smacking.

[Don]

We got our BMW Z3 from Christchurch Airport.

But you are right. The option seems to have gone! Maybe there simply wasn't the demand...

[carreauchompeur]

Some suggestions in my blog here: www.loquitohermoso.com (scroll to Nov 2015). I stayed at Jailhouse in ChCh which was pretty decent. So much to see...

[Johnniem]

Anyone mentioned the pancake rocks at Punakaiki on the west coast? Lots of geological action there. If you have a few hours for a good hike into the hills behond Punakaiki, you'll find some wonderful caves lit by fire flies. Swim with wild dolphins off Akaroa too. Not forgetting kaikura; lots of wildlife along that coast. Nelson in the north east has amazing beaches and a beautiful mountainous coastline.

Edited by Johnniem on Monday 31st October 09:58

Edited by Johnniem on Monday 31st October 10:01