I will be travelling to NZ in August. I want to rent a car and drive from Auckland to Queenstown on the south island or the reverse. I have read somewhere that you can rent a car, drop it off at the ferry terminal in Wellington and pick up another at Picton, etc. on one rental. Has anyone done this? Which companies do it? general cost etc. Any info would be appreciated.

There are a number of rental companies that do this. Go to www. purenz.com Its a good website and there are over 110 listings for rental car companys. They list the prices for the differnt companys. I picked one of the smaller companys, and hope it works out, I go next week.

All the major multinational and national car rental agencies, including Avis and Hertz, offer this. However, you need to book in advance (sometimes) to secure a decent rate.

As for cost, there is usually no drop off fee if you rent for more than two weeks. I saw rates advertised for as low as NZ$30 a day (yes that's about US$13 a day) all inclusive. But that may require a three week rental and is for a car with lotsa kilometers on it already. The local companies usually offer these rates. For newer cars, I think rates were closer to NZ$60-NZ$70 per day. There is a great tourist info office at AKL airport that can help you with brochures and such. For the one rental I did from CHC to NSN, I paid about NZ$95 per day but then again I only rented for one day and was dropping off 300-400 miles away...

The drop off in Wellington pick up in Picton routine is good if you want to drive all the way between AKL and ZQN since you avoid the ferry charge for the vehicle. Also, the agencies like to keep the cars on the right island.

I have a question though: Do you really want to drive all the way from AKL to ZQN? It's a good trek. Another option is to buy the Air NZ Airpass for About US$220 for three segments. For example, you could fly AKL-ZQN, fly ZQN-WLG and then one more segment back to AKL. This makes more sense if you have less than two weeks. It will be really tough to see both north and south islands in less than two weeks. It's certainly doable driving distance wise but from a level of fun perspective, I would not do it.

If any of this gives you the impression that NZ is an inexpensive country to travel in, IT IS. It's well worth the effort to visit.

These observations were current as of two months ago, but things may change by the time you make your bookings.

[This message has been edited by fallinasleep (edited 02-17-2002).]