New Zealand - Motor Home Hire?

[KeithM]

We are considering touring NZ for a month by motor home next year and looking for first-hand experiences/recommendations with regard to hiring. Have searched the forum with nil result. Looked at various NZ web sites for motor home hire (Maui, Britz etc). Although there are only the two of us, I cannot see a two-berth motor home that has a bed long enough I am 1.90m tall and in motor homes such as the Hi-Top van, the bed is 1.8m long. Hiring a 4-berth with a 2.1m long bed is likely to cost upwards of NZ$230 per day.

Responses from those with first-hand experience would be very welcome!

Thanks,

Keith (M)

 

[JimF]

Hi Keith, We toured NZ, using a 2 berth transit based motorhome, from Maui,and to be truthful, if (when?) we do it again we will not bother with a motor home, most, if not all of the sites we stayed on had motel/cabin accommodation. All things considered we feel that a proper car and this sort of accn has many advantages, but Im sure others may differ! If you need specific info, just ask!

No matter how you go its a fabulous country!!

JimF

 

[MalcolmL]

I tend to agree with JimF. Hire a car and use motels. They are of a very high standard. Most even give you a small carton of milk when you check in so you can make a cup of tea/coffee. It is a wonderful country but make sure you spend more time in South Island than NI. Much fewer people and fabulous scenery.

 

[KeithM]

JimF & Malcolm - thanks for your responses. We had briefly considered the hire car + hotel/B&B/motel route but thought that a motor home would give us more flexibility, so it is interesting that both of you recommend the hire car etc solution.

JimF - yes please to the specifics

 

[DenisD]

Car or Caravan? It depends on what you want from the trip.

Even in this country after taking the depreciation and running costs of a caravan it would be possibly be cheaper for a couple to tour using B&Bs.

My wife and I in our late sixties toured South Island March 2006 hiring for extra comfort a 4 berth Kea caravan. We found many older couples doing the same. The taxman will only get it if we don't spend it. It was the new model and at 7 metres was longer than expected, though no problem on the road it was tight fit on some camp sites and you kept away from city centre supermarket car parks as we found out at the Woolworths store in Blenheim.

You have the flexibility you expect of campervan and you don't have to live out a suitcase, once you have unpacked that's it. In the large van we had no problem storing the suitcases but even so the van hirers offer to store your cases until you return. Although we always used powered sites there are unattended forest parks were you put your money in a letter box for the night. There are also some out of way scenic sites. You have about three days independence in a large van but as the fridges are the compressor type using the auxiliary battery in these situations you may have to shut it off at night, you also have dump stations to get rid of your waste.

As the other people stated the camping parks also cater for the independent traveller. They vary in type from just a bed, bed and bathroom, bed bathroom and kitchen. They all have communal washing areas and kitchens with appliances. In the campervan we have used these ovens in these kitchens as there was none in the van only a microwave There is also for the car traveller B&Bs or as they are called Farm or Home Stays. The New Zealand AA supply free Regional booklets and maps which you can pick up at the airport or Information Centres For all travellers an ideal place besides cafes for a good inexpensive meal is to find the town RSA Club (Returned Soldiers Association) like our British Legion but who permit visitors in for meals We really enjoyed the 3 week trip. The South Island is the most scenic although the only part of North Island we saw was around Auckland and Rotorua by car using cabins as my brother lives outside the capital. The only problem is the 24+ hour plane trip, but to me that was part of the adventure

 

[KeithM]

Denis - thanks for your comprehensive response. As it happens, we are considering the 4-berth (4ST) from Kea. Like you, there are only the two of us and the 2-berth vans look to be too cramped. A few questions if you don't mind:-

1. did you take the Kea's 'standard' or 'All inclusive' package?

2. did you book direct with Kea or through a UK travel agent (am considering a complete package of flights, motor home hire, stopovers, hotels etc with Travelbag).

3. can't see any mention on the Kea web site regarding cooking and eating utensils (pots, pans, plates, cutlery etc). Are there adequate items supplied?

4. we are planning on a month in NZ and at the moment plan to concentrate just on the South Island. In you opinion would we be missing anything vital if we did not visit North Island?

Thanks again.

 

[DenisD]

Keith

We booked the van via the Kea web site and when we picked up the van we

added the full insurance cover which is expensive but it gives you peace of

mind but after when you have had no mishaps you wonder why you

bothered. The van was fully equiped with pots and pans and cutlry bedding

and linen and towels. We chose duvets instead of sleeping bags. It was

March when we were there and it can get cool on South Island so we asked

for a blankets as well. We stayed with my brother in Auckland for the first 10

days and he took us round the local beauty spots and had a 3 day trip to

Rotorua to the mudpools and geysers and other sights I am going again next

year and hope to see more of N Island. From Auckland we flew to

Christchurch to pick up the van for 3 weeks In this time we went all round

the Island 4000Kms We booked the Air New Zealand flight using their nz

web site which was cheaper than their uk web site and a lot more than the

Travel Agent. Even the 3 weeks we didn't see everthing I would have l liked

so plan your itinery before you go especially if you want to enjoy the thrills as

well as sight seeing. Every small town seems to have aerodromes for sky

diving and every river town jet ski boats. South Island is more senic and

rugged while North Island contryside around Auckland you could be in

England Hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did.

 

[KeithM]

Keith

We booked the van via the Kea web site and when we picked up the van we

added the full insurance cover which is expensive but it gives you peace of

mind but after when you have had no mishaps you wonder why you

bothered. The van was fully equiped with pots and pans and cutlry bedding

and linen and towels. We chose duvets instead of sleeping bags. It was

March when we were there and it can get cool on South Island so we asked

for a blankets as well. We stayed with my brother in Auckland for the first 10

days and he took us round the local beauty spots and had a 3 day trip to

Rotorua to the mudpools and geysers and other sights I am going again next

year and hope to see more of N Island. From Auckland we flew to

Christchurch to pick up the van for 3 weeks In this time we went all round

the Island 4000Kms We booked the Air New Zealand flight using their nz

web site which was cheaper than their uk web site and a lot more than the

Travel Agent. Even the 3 weeks we didn't see everthing I would have l liked

so plan your itinery before you go especially if you want to enjoy the thrills as

well as sight seeing. Every small town seems to have aerodromes for sky

diving and every river town jet ski boats. South Island is more senic and

rugged while North Island contryside around Auckland you could be in

England Hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did.

Denis - thanks for the further information, most appreciated. Based on what we have gleaned so far, the current plan is to spend the first 3 weeks of March touring the South Island before heading off the Melbourne to see our grandchildren.

 

[stan_374305533]

Keith

We booked the van via the Kea web site and when we picked up the van we

added the full insurance cover which is expensive but it gives you peace of

mind but after when you have had no mishaps you wonder why you

bothered. The van was fully equiped with pots and pans and cutlry bedding

and linen and towels. We chose duvets instead of sleeping bags. It was

March when we were there and it can get cool on South Island so we asked

for a blankets as well. We stayed with my brother in Auckland for the first 10

days and he took us round the local beauty spots and had a 3 day trip to

Rotorua to the mudpools and geysers and other sights I am going again next

year and hope to see more of N Island. From Auckland we flew to

Christchurch to pick up the van for 3 weeks In this time we went all round

the Island 4000Kms We booked the Air New Zealand flight using their nz

web site which was cheaper than their uk web site and a lot more than the

Travel Agent. Even the 3 weeks we didn't see everthing I would have l liked

so plan your itinery before you go especially if you want to enjoy the thrills as

well as sight seeing. Every small town seems to have aerodromes for sky

diving and every river town jet ski boats. South Island is more senic and

rugged while North Island contryside around Auckland you could be in

England Hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did.

Hi Keith, re motorhome hire in NZ. My wife and I spent 6 glorious weeks on Sth Island last feb/march. Hired thru a small firm called Adventure vans .co.nz. These are older reconditioned vans so we took a large one at 1/2 the price of Kea /Maui etc. Everything provided including own b-b-q.They stored our suitcase at base.Though high milage(ours had over 200,000K) but went fine with its 2.8 turbo-diesel auto.We covered about 3000K. Happy to advise re favourite spots and activities.

Stan