Originally Posted by
Blackcloud
If you are comfortable driving after such a long trip I would get a car.
There are many things to see at Rotorua that are not close to the city, lakes, walks through the forest, Craters of the Moon, Lost Valley etc.
Napier after a day of looking around the city (max) has lots of vineyards to visit, Te Mata peak, that you need a car to visit, or if you are fit you could rent a bike to go around.
Traffic in NZ is not bad so you would not be stressed by it....only frustrated by the number of slow trucks with few passing lanes.
Well, I grew up in Wisconsin in the US, learning how to drive with a few inches of snow on the ground from December through March.
So I'm OK on snow, and we rented a car on my last NZ trip--loved having one in the rural areas, since we'd stop off at parks and take the walking tours all around, hop back in the car, and go to the next place with stunning scenery.
That was Greymouth>Hokitika>Fox Glacier>Wanaka>Queenstown, in August. No snow to speak of, actually beautiful weather, but found the driving to be quite easy and peaceful--especially since we weren't ever in a big hurry.
My big question is, on the Rotorua>Taupo>Napier route, along with sightseeing in those towns, how useful would a car be? Or would it just sit anyway, since they are compact towns and there's not much to see in between them? The price difference is quite big, but I'm willing to spend it if it might be worth it.
Sorry to be so OT. But I really appreciate the differing views!
Thanks in advance.