Campervan honeymoon in New Zealand - where to visit?
Discussion
Hi All
In exactly 26 days I shall be a married man and about to arrive in New Zealand for 16 days of campervan honeymoon mooching.
We’ve got no real plan other than to get out of Auckland and probably head to the South Island. So my question is what hidden gems will you share and are there any tourist nightmares to avoid? And can you recommend any places, bars, restaurants, and things we have to do, see or stay at - or general campervan advice?
Thanks
Warp9
P.S. Sorry if similar info has already been posted, but the PH search function never seems to work.
In exactly 26 days I shall be a married man and about to arrive in New Zealand for 16 days of campervan honeymoon mooching.
We’ve got no real plan other than to get out of Auckland and probably head to the South Island. So my question is what hidden gems will you share and are there any tourist nightmares to avoid? And can you recommend any places, bars, restaurants, and things we have to do, see or stay at - or general campervan advice?
Thanks
Warp9
P.S. Sorry if similar info has already been posted, but the PH search function never seems to work.
South Island:
Kaikoura: go whale and doplhin watching.
Marlborough: visit the wineries - they have excellent tourist facilities in many. Go walking in the Wither Hills.
The Moeraki Boulders are fun to see if you are out that way.
You MUST head over to Fiordland. See if you can take an overnight boat trip up Milford Sound. I didn't make it to Doubtful Sound but it's supposed to be fab.
The roads, man, the ROADS! Beautiful. Almost everywhere.
Wanaka and the lakes. Pretty wonderful.
Queenstown: Go up Ben Nevis on the cable car. Hike. Other fun stuff.
Central Otago and the wineries. Chard Farm worth a visit.
You could do bungee around there if you must...
Christchurch is OK. The Antarctica exhibition that was there was pretty good fun.
Didn't visit the North. Others will have to help with that!
Kaikoura: go whale and doplhin watching.
Marlborough: visit the wineries - they have excellent tourist facilities in many. Go walking in the Wither Hills.
The Moeraki Boulders are fun to see if you are out that way.
You MUST head over to Fiordland. See if you can take an overnight boat trip up Milford Sound. I didn't make it to Doubtful Sound but it's supposed to be fab.
The roads, man, the ROADS! Beautiful. Almost everywhere.
Wanaka and the lakes. Pretty wonderful.
Queenstown: Go up Ben Nevis on the cable car. Hike. Other fun stuff.
Central Otago and the wineries. Chard Farm worth a visit.
You could do bungee around there if you must...
Christchurch is OK. The Antarctica exhibition that was there was pretty good fun.
Didn't visit the North. Others will have to help with that!
16 days in a camper is going to mean choosing north or south island, as there's no way you can even consider doing both. Journey times are long, and in a camper even longer!
As an example... if you're picking the camper up in Auckland then getting to the ferry for south island will take you at least a day (9hr+ drive).
I would recommend you do North island in the time you have
Especially if the camper is being picked up in Auckland.
As an example... if you're picking the camper up in Auckland then getting to the ferry for south island will take you at least a day (9hr+ drive).
I would recommend you do North island in the time you have
Especially if the camper is being picked up in Auckland.Edited by Matt.. on Tuesday 31st August 17:26
Four years ago I went traveling around NZ in a camper van, two weeks in the North and two weeks in the South and it was just not enough time.
Auckland for the big city experience, sky tower, shopping etc
Bay of islands for some palm tree, tropical beach time
they also signed the tribal treaty up this way but I forget the name
Rotarua for hot springs and volcanic pools
Lake Taupo for some stunning scenery, national park, Hukka falls jet boat, fishing
Wellington wingnut film studio's, Lord of the Rings film locations
Matamata - where Hobbiton was created / filmed
South island has already been covered, we went from Wellington to Picton did the vineyards then Kaikora and then over Arthur's pass to the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers and then to Queenstown, Milford sound and then Christchurch.
I missed Invercargill which is where Burt Munro did his bike testing on the beaches for all his land speed records.
I move to NZ in less than two weeks.
Auckland for the big city experience, sky tower, shopping etc
Bay of islands for some palm tree, tropical beach time
they also signed the tribal treaty up this way but I forget the name
Rotarua for hot springs and volcanic pools
Lake Taupo for some stunning scenery, national park, Hukka falls jet boat, fishing
Wellington wingnut film studio's, Lord of the Rings film locations
Matamata - where Hobbiton was created / filmed
South island has already been covered, we went from Wellington to Picton did the vineyards then Kaikora and then over Arthur's pass to the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers and then to Queenstown, Milford sound and then Christchurch.
I missed Invercargill which is where Burt Munro did his bike testing on the beaches for all his land speed records.
I move to NZ in less than two weeks.
We went about 5 years ago. Only stayed for a week but all on the South Island. We drove anticlockwise.
We went from Christchurch down to Mount Cook which was pretty cool but horrible weather!! Got very wet and took ages to dry out due to being in a campervan.
Wanaka and then Queenstown which was fantastic.
Then went to Milford sound which is incredible!!Caught the last boat ride out of the day with hardly anyone else on the boat - dolphins along side the boat etc.
Then across to Denedin for Penguins? Last stop off was Banks Peninsula near Christchurch which was spectacular, think we stayed in Akaroa. We liked that so much went drove back and stayed another night.
We went away for 2 weeks, 1 week in Fiji and one week in NZ. If you're going that far, I'd stronly advise digging a little deeper and going to some fiji islands! Edited - don't think you have time to sort that out.
The roads are brilliant. We hired a transit van based camper, would highly recommend this if possible (we are on PH) It handles pretty well, although top heavy and not bad on pace.
We went with the idea of just stopping by the side of the road and setting up but actually the campsites are in most places and usually very friendly and not expensive.
Hope this helps
We went from Christchurch down to Mount Cook which was pretty cool but horrible weather!! Got very wet and took ages to dry out due to being in a campervan.
Wanaka and then Queenstown which was fantastic.
Then went to Milford sound which is incredible!!Caught the last boat ride out of the day with hardly anyone else on the boat - dolphins along side the boat etc.
Then across to Denedin for Penguins? Last stop off was Banks Peninsula near Christchurch which was spectacular, think we stayed in Akaroa. We liked that so much went drove back and stayed another night.
We went away for 2 weeks, 1 week in Fiji and one week in NZ. If you're going that far, I'd stronly advise digging a little deeper and going to some fiji islands! Edited - don't think you have time to sort that out.
The roads are brilliant. We hired a transit van based camper, would highly recommend this if possible (we are on PH) It handles pretty well, although top heavy and not bad on pace.
We went with the idea of just stopping by the side of the road and setting up but actually the campsites are in most places and usually very friendly and not expensive.
Hope this helps
Edited by TimmyArt on Wednesday 1st September 09:41
We had a three berth Ford transit camper for the two of us, just gave us that little extra space, you can get maps that show all the camping sites and they have one in virtually every city / town / place of interest. Drive up, check in and park in a bay that is set up to plug in power and water.
It is a really great way to see NZ and you can just pull up on the side of the road and stop whenever you want a break or to take pictures, there is hardly any traffic outside of Auckland so driving is not stressful. Petrol is a third cheaper than the UK.
It is a really great way to see NZ and you can just pull up on the side of the road and stop whenever you want a break or to take pictures, there is hardly any traffic outside of Auckland so driving is not stressful. Petrol is a third cheaper than the UK.
Are you flying into Auckland? I would recommend (in your timescale) to get an internal flight down to Christchurch and do the South Island.
Like other posters here, we spent 3 months in NZ (bought and sold a van) and it simply wasn't enough. In your timescales I would hit the South Island.
Milford Sound - simply stunning (and the drive in there!)
Kaikoura - swim with the wild dolphins, amazing
One of the Glaciers - we did a helihike and an airtour
Queenstown - just soooo much stuff to do here
Doubtful Sound - there's a company on Lake Wanaka that will power boat you across the lake, then drive you to the sound and you have a full day kayaking - DO THIS AS IT IS AMAZING!!
Marlborough for the wine
Abel Tasman for sea walks/kayaking
Man... the list goes on and on and on. You don't have enough time!
Like other posters here, we spent 3 months in NZ (bought and sold a van) and it simply wasn't enough. In your timescales I would hit the South Island.
Milford Sound - simply stunning (and the drive in there!)
Kaikoura - swim with the wild dolphins, amazing
One of the Glaciers - we did a helihike and an airtour
Queenstown - just soooo much stuff to do here
Doubtful Sound - there's a company on Lake Wanaka that will power boat you across the lake, then drive you to the sound and you have a full day kayaking - DO THIS AS IT IS AMAZING!!
Marlborough for the wine
Abel Tasman for sea walks/kayaking
Man... the list goes on and on and on. You don't have enough time!
My son is doing the same thing at this moment.
They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
Edited by Busamav on Wednesday 1st September 12:48
Busamav said:
My son is doing the same thing at this moment.
They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
Sorry for the thread hi-jack!They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
Edited by Busamav on Wednesday 1st September 12:48
But who did he book the capervan through?
Cheers
ujio said:
Busamav said:
My son is doing the same thing at this moment.
They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
Sorry for the thread hi-jack!They flew into Aukland then took an internal flight down to the south, then rented a camper for 3 weeks to eventually drop it off back at Auckland , seems to be a cheaper option too , they paid £400 for the 3 weeks inc insurance !
With the climate as it is at present ensure there is a suitable fan heater in the camper for the overnights.
Have fun , he has been doing the normal bungy jump and free fall activities in Queenstown which seems to be the capital of fun .
But who did he book the capervan through?
Cheers
I will drop him a request .
He just turned up and bartered , but the tip about hiring from the south and returning north came from a mate who lives in NZ .
As most peeps drive down and fly back, so they need the vans driven back t'up north .
It was a 4 year old camper , seems that the market is tied up mainly by one company with a number of different trading names, so the campers are passed down the chain finally to the budget end as they age etc.
Thanks all for the responses and suggestions. I'm starting to realise that I should have considered the distances and route before plunging in and booking, so am going to investigate the pickup from the north and drop off in the south (or visa versa).
One question you may be able to help with - is booking necessary on the ferry crossing from north to south, or can you just roll up and jump on? Are there any advantages to booking ahead or through the can hire co (e.g. cheaper)?
Cheers
Warp
One question you may be able to help with - is booking necessary on the ferry crossing from north to south, or can you just roll up and jump on? Are there any advantages to booking ahead or through the can hire co (e.g. cheaper)?
Cheers
Warp
Echo the above mentioned. My list:
Tongariro Crossing, it's like being on mars or something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_Alpine_Cros...
Glacier hiking on Fox or Franz Joseph (helicopter would be awesome but was out of my backpacker's budget)
Tandem Skydive (I did mine over Lake Taupo).
Milford Sound, I did kayaking there as was too late to book the trail, amazing but get eaten alive by "sandflies".
Did the Abel Tasman trail instead which was very nice (but not *amazing* like Milford Sound).
Plus much more...
Tongariro Crossing, it's like being on mars or something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_Alpine_Cros...
Glacier hiking on Fox or Franz Joseph (helicopter would be awesome but was out of my backpacker's budget)
Tandem Skydive (I did mine over Lake Taupo).
Milford Sound, I did kayaking there as was too late to book the trail, amazing but get eaten alive by "sandflies".
Did the Abel Tasman trail instead which was very nice (but not *amazing* like Milford Sound).
Plus much more...
warp9 said:
Thanks all for the responses and suggestions. I'm starting to realise that I should have considered the distances and route before plunging in and booking, so am going to investigate the pickup from the north and drop off in the south (or visa versa).
One question you may be able to help with - is booking necessary on the ferry crossing from north to south, or can you just roll up and jump on? Are there any advantages to booking ahead or through the can hire co (e.g. cheaper)?
Cheers
Warp
I think booking in advance is advised, yes. We did it about a week in advance direct with the ferry company iirc.One question you may be able to help with - is booking necessary on the ferry crossing from north to south, or can you just roll up and jump on? Are there any advantages to booking ahead or through the can hire co (e.g. cheaper)?
Cheers
Warp
Will you be going back? If so then maybe you could leave South Island for next time. There is plenty to do in the North Island, but it's not as good as the South imo.
You can head north from Auckland to Bay of Islands and 90 mile beach, you've got Roturua and Lake Taupo, and as mentioned above the 1 day tramp over the Tongariro is spectacular. There's the hot pools in the sand on the Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne is a nice wine region and Napier is a very pictoresque Art Deco town.
We also did a 4 day kayak down about 100miles of the Wanganui river - that was incredible. You are completely in the wilderness and have to take all your supplies with you in barrels. The campsites are totally isolated from anywhere but the river, its so peaceful.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
can't for the feck'n life of me remember what it is called, and Google is not helping 
A tourism radio guide? Catchy name...http://www.tourism.net.nz/gps-tourism-guide
So far been on holiday here 5 years though having to work too
hornetrider said:
Milford Sound - simply stunning (and the drive in there!)
Kaikoura - swim with the wild dolphins, amazing
One of the Glaciers - we did a helihike and an airtour
Queenstown - just soooo much stuff to do here
Doubtful Sound - there's a company on Lake Wanaka that will power boat you across the lake, then drive you to the sound and you have a full day kayaking - DO THIS AS IT IS AMAZING!!
Marlborough for the wine
Abel Tasman for sea walks/kayaking
Man... the list goes on and on and on. You don't have enough time!
GOOD post (yes, I know too late for the OP, but for the others interested).Kaikoura - swim with the wild dolphins, amazing
One of the Glaciers - we did a helihike and an airtour
Queenstown - just soooo much stuff to do here
Doubtful Sound - there's a company on Lake Wanaka that will power boat you across the lake, then drive you to the sound and you have a full day kayaking - DO THIS AS IT IS AMAZING!!
Marlborough for the wine
Abel Tasman for sea walks/kayaking
Man... the list goes on and on and on. You don't have enough time!
Milford and Doubtful are probably too similar to be worth doing both. RealAdventures run a large-ish (~50-berth) 'cruise ship' on Doubtful, which does overnight cruises - it is REALLY cool to be the only boat on the Sound overnight, to see these shadows looming FAR higher* above the boat than you can even comprehend.
Not quite as dramatic as Milford (with Mitre Peak), but Doubtful is longer and more peaceful - no overflights, no 10 boats out at once.
* Even though foreshortening lessens the perceived height of them - apparently close to 1km nearly straight-up in parts of the Sound!
The single best thing we did in NZ was fly from Queenstown into and out of Milford Sound. It was 'forced' on us as we had lost a day from our itinerary when the water pump failed on our car and a new one had to be flown out. It wasn't cheap but it was an epic flight over the mountains and then down the sound.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff