Originally Posted by
stockmanjr
Sadly I won't have a rental car traveling by public transport
That makes travelling Southland and Dunedin much harder and will take a
lot more time to visit places. With a car you get to places in a hour that could take a day by public transport or will not be accessible for you at all.
I would suggest you rent a car for part of your trip to NZ. Even if only for a day in Dunedin or Queenstown areas for example.
An option for longer travel but limited:-->
http://transfercar.co.nz/ (most are south to north direction, as many people drive south but fly north)