Kiwi Flyer

Tipping is not expected.

TheBOSman

I've visited "the fanciest restaurants" and enough smaller burger places and all sorts of establishments all across New Zealand. No tipping. That's a straight answer.

highlandguy

I have a quick question on care hire in NZ.

I was just about to book a car on a2b-car-rental.co.nz which has been mentioned/recommended a few times on the forum but noticed on the last booking page that they have the following - 'Please note that Ezi Car Rental is the local provider for A2B Car Rental'

I have searched for Ezi Car Rental on the forum but haven't found anything. Can anyone shed any light on them? They are offering a SUV for significantly less than the various other NZ local providers and I am wondering if it is too good to be true.

SpannerSpinner

I've never used them, but have seen their cars on the road for many years, they appear to be a well established second tier player, I wouldn't hesitate to rent off them.

B747forever

Planning a trip to New Zealand between 7-14 August. Will be my first visit to NZ, and planning to spend the whole week on the South Island. Before I book/plan the trip I wanted to hear from you guys on how the weather usually is in August, and if the roads are still drivable on the South Island. Driving in wintery conditions is nothing new for me (from Sweden), but it might still be very different in NZ and on some of those remote roads. Are there any road closures or are all the typical "tourist" roads still accessible.

Kiwi Flyer

Weather is changeable at any time of year. NZ doesn't get a lot of snow so any snow to low levels (which is rare) will cause issues. That said, there are few road closures - generally the mountain passes might be closed for a day in/after a storm. The one exception is the road to Milford Sound which closes more often due to avalanche risk - this is more of a problem in spring than in winter though.

B747forever

Thanks for the reply. So touring the South Island in August isnt a no-no then.

highlandguy

Thanks for the reply SpannerSpinner, good to know

javabytes

Bumping this question, which seems unanswered. I'm sure anyone who has ever planned a trip to a glowworm cave has done so after seeing the vibrant photographs, which undoubtedly are ultra long exposures, with possible lighting help. Are the glowworms (whether at Waitomo or elsewhere) anywhere near as visually spectacular in person, and worth the experience? Or are the photographers depicting something that cannot really be experienced without a camera?

wolf72

I went down to Waimoto to do the glow worm tour (drove across from Rotarua about 2 hours in heavy rain and then 4 hours to Auckland there after).

It was a 45 minute to 1 hour tour and was worth it. Yes, the glow worms are as bright as in the photos you see online and almost like for like.

It's quite fascinating moving through the cave system on boats in the dark.

javabytes

Sanity check this itinerary for me?

I'm cognizant that I am trying to fit a lot in early in the trip, coupled with a decent bit of driving, so I'm deliberately trying to end the trip with a few days staying in the same spot, relaxing on the beach, etc. and going home recharged instead of exhausted. Drive times are all courtesy of Google Maps - if you know better, please let me know.

Day 1: Arrive CHC 9:30 PM
Day 2: Morning drive to Aoraki/Tekapo area (4h); day hiking to the extent we feel up to it; astronomy
Day 3: Aoraki/Tekapo day hiking/astronomy
Day 4: Aoraki/Tekapo day hiking; drive to Queenstown in evening (3h)
Day 5: Queenstown
Day 6: Queenstown; evening drive to Te Anau Downs (2h30m)
Day 7: Milford Sound kayaking (leaning towards swapping this with day 8 so we can have a more leisurely time the day before we get up super early for kayaking; also considering Doubtful Sound instead)
Day 8: Day hiking near Te Anau Downs
Day 9: Morning near Te Anau/Lake Manapouri; afternoon drive to Queenstown (2h) and evening flight ZQN-CHC
Day 10: Morning flight CHC-AKL; drive to Waitomo area (2h30m); Glowworm caves
Day 11: Hobbiton on the way to Rotorua (2h15m)
Day 12: Kaituna River Rafting; drive to Whatakane (1h15m)
Day 13: White Island
Day 14: Coromandel Peninsula (3h45m drive from Whatakane)
Day 15: Coromandel Peninsula
Day 16: Coromandel Peninsula
Day 17: Coromandel Peninsula; afternoon drive to AKL (3h) to catch 8:00 PM flight

The only rigid parts of this itinerary are:
- The arrival and departure dates/overall trip length
- Must arrive in Queenstown the evening of Day 4 and stay for 2 nights (#&$@ing Hilton non-refundable award booking fine print)
- The date/time of the flight CHC-AKL can be moved; however due to separate itineraries and lack of protection, I would have to drive or fly to CHC the evening before the CHC-AKL flight. And no, I am stuck with CHC-AKL, and can't do ZQN-AKL.

Big4Flyer

I think that's actually a pretty good itinerary and you have pretty realistic expectations about how far you can drive and what you can do in a day.

The only thing I'd suggest considering is visiting the Te Anau glowworm caves instead of the Waitomo caves. We did a similar trip as yours and I wished that we'd visited the Te Anau caves only because when we went up later to Waitomo they had closed the caves because of the CO2 levels so we never did get to see them. Since you'll be in Te Anau anyways, you may want to consider it, if you haven't already.

msp3

I know there's not too much in the way of chain hotels in New Zealand (and for some reason lots of Choice Hotels), but was pleasantly surprised with all the Ramadas around the country. These seem to be all pretty new, apartment style with washer/dryer, and a great way to blow your Wyndham balance. Granted the rack rates are low to begin with, but it's not like Wyndham has very many nice properties in North America to redeem for in any event...

feivel_03

Heard that most car rental companies in NZ do not allow driving on gravel road. But Glenorchy-Paradise & to get to Rob Roy Track you have to drive a bit on gravel road.

I've been googling like crazy for rental companies that do allow them.
I've even read T&C of majority NZ car rental companies (Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty, Jucy, Avis, Budget) but all basically doesn't allow ("The Hirer shall not drive on any surface likely to damage the vehicle")...

PLEASE HELP share if you've successfully booked a car in NZ that allows driving on gravel road??? (which company).
FYI, we are driving from Dunedin to Christchurch

MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE !!

TheBOSman

Check with Apex:

https://www.apexrentals.co.nz/new-ze...aspx#locations

They specifically don't allow most of Glenorchy-Paradise though, but don't disallow gravel roads beyond the specific exceptions listed there.

Disclaimer: I have not rented from them.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...d-gravel-roads