NZ's weather is unpredictable as it's maritime..meaning a sudden cold burst of air from Antartica may occur. So be prepared. I've already decided to rent a camper van as it's more flexible and you'll get to camp at sites where the scenery is breathtaking!! I can't wait for May to come!

as mention in title, I'm looking for cheap return ticket from KL to NZ ( chch is most welcome ) for 2- 3 person.. desirable time is in april 2011.. cheers:)..

Why not you check out airasia's rates? Much cheaper than MAS/SIA. Or alternatively, jetstar has a few flights to
nz as well.

Is 2 weeks enough for North and South Island?

Are you gonna rent a car and drive on your own?
It might be possible but you might not be able to cover everything.

The first time I went was for a month covering North and South island.
2nd time I went was for about 3.5 weeks at North island only.
June going for another month in Auckland and gonna drive from Auckland to Christchurch for one week.

@munkeyflo : Yeah. I'm going to rent a car there. Do you know any websites where I can refer to for itineraries / information?

None that I know of currently. I have family there so basically they bring me around.
But I'm sure you can find a few websites like that once you google it.

Anyway, any special interests you have? Anything you've listed as a must visit?

@munkeyflo : Ahh... good for you. Nothing I have in mind at the moment. I'm still in the early stage of planning. I'm waiting for some airfare promos as my travel period will be around December-January. Currently, I thought of starting off at North Island first and then drive down to South Island before heading back to North since I'll be arriving and departing at the same airport. Or maybe the other way round. Is it a good idea to do that? As for car rental, I know more or less the rates. So now, I just need find out what are the famous tourist / must-see places. And hence, lots of reading to do (and getting lost with all those places' names). Maybe you can recommend some to me and I'll take a look. Maybe some lakes, natures, hills and beaches that are stunningly beautiful.

Haha. The names of places can get pretty hard to remember.
Lake Taupo is one of the must-see I suppose. Auckland, one of the big cities. Can pay a visit to the SkyTower.

I can't really remember much of South island cause I was like 7 years old when I went there.
Anyway, I found this. Maybe you might want to take a look.
http://www.new-zealand-travel-guide.com/regions.htm

There's also the place where they filmed LOTR, can't remember where but I'm sure you can easily find it.

Dec-Jan would be a perfect time to visit NZ. I don't know about south island but summer at north island is very comfortable.

I would suggest that you fly in to north island then drive all the way down to south and fly back from there or vice versa. Will save you the trip back to the original airport you landed at which can take a day or two just to travel.

you land in Christchurch if you use AirAsia

Munkey : That place is call Lake Tekapo

2 week is not enough for north and south

1 week for me cant even cover 1/2 of south island.

Go goggle, NZ tourism website is fantastic.

---

Added on January 11, 2011, 7:29 pmtripadvisor is also a good guide


This post has been edited by wufei: Jan 11 2011, 07:31 PM

Yup. That's what my friend told me about what month to visit NZ.

Thanks for the link! Time for some reading and memorizing of the names.

As for the flight, I think you're right. And I think I need to ask some travel agencies about this to see what's the arrangement like. Most of the airlines I checked only fly to one location (either Auckland or Christchurch).

Mind if I ask, where is the famous bungee jumping site?

Yeah. I've checked AirAsia. IIRC, they're offering up till November at the moment. Maybe I'll check later again. Jetstar is offering cheap flights to Auckland too. But wonder if it's worth the price for 10 hours flight in a budget airline, if you know what I mean.

If that's the case, maybe I should concentrate on one part first. Based on your experience, which is worth visiting first; the South or North? I'm more keen on beautiful sceneries although it's irrelevant point because NZ is all about beautiful sceneries. Haha. So yeah, which do you recommend?

This post has been edited by goliath: Jan 12 2011, 11:11 AM

Yea there's a lake Tekapo in South island and a lake Taupo in the north.

Yup. AA flies you to Christchurch while Jetstar flies you to Auckland. Both around the same price, return trip around RM2k+-.
Or if you don't want budget due to long distance, then MAS flies to Auckland. SIA flies to both Auckland and CHC. Return trip probably around RM4k+.

If you plan on covering either north or south island then you can just fly in and out from the same airport. Might be able to save some money there getting return air tickets. Get a car and plan your trip properly so you won't have to waste any time.

Err, I haven't tried bungee jumping in NZ and it would definitely be on my to-do list next trip, probably skydiving if I have extra money. My friend jump with AJ Hackett when she went last year. I think that's one of the famous ones. Can check them out.

@munkeyflo : Yup. It gonna cost more if I fly in and out at two different places. I shall see whether I'm gonna do one island or both. I read about AJ Hackett before somewhere in Lonely Planet book (gonna get this book for reference). Anyway, thanks for your help.

Hi.

I'm heading to Christchurch this Oct 24-28 (5 days, 5 nights) with family of 5 including me for roadtrip. We have done roadtrip (car + tent) in the past which was 20 yrs ago...yikes!


Objective: Nature expedition + scenic route (photography + art activities: sketch, painting)

1. Renting motorvan
Most motorvan/campervan cater for 2, 4, 6 people. We have 5, and 3 of us are petite (below 45 kg). Should I take 4 berth? Any recommendations for motorvan company with reliable service and affordable rates? I am skeptical to go to sites that has blablacheap.co.nz. Very dodgy right?

2. Supermarket
We need to do quickstop at supermarket around Christchurch to stock up our food. Any recommendations for Giant/Tesco/Carrefour like supermarket that sells kosher/halal meat?

3. Food Custom
I know Australia is quite strict on bringing certain food, but what about New Zealand?

4. Best National Park in South Island New Zealand
Any recommendations for this? We are not much of thrill seeker folks, but we don't mind family like activities like cycling, fishing, and a bit of hiking.

5. Must-have attire to travel in NZ?



Hoping to those who have been to New Zealand can help me with above questions. Many thanks

Guys/girls,

If given, which island do you recommend; North or South?

Thanks.

According to my fren, malaysian license can be use in NZ but in to be translated to english. Is that true?

Better to get it translated.
For what I know, Malaysian license can be used in NZ for a year max.

This post has been edited by munkeyflo: Aug 6 2014, 01:14 PM

go and get international license. 150
On the spot
Hassle free

---

Added on February 22, 2011, 2:38 pmMalaysian travel to nz need visa?

This post has been edited by wufei: Feb 22 2011, 02:38 PM

anybody else going to Christchurch, Queenstown, Tasman Island and Rotorua this week?

let's meetup. i'll be driving my friend's car and u can tag along with me. we share the petrol cost. cheaper than flying domestically and its not very safe to land during the aftershock

1. A 4-berth camper has 4 seats only so you can't rent that. You have to go for a 6-berth. I've had experience with Maui and Kea (through wilderness.co.nz), would do Kea again because the Wilderness team was extremely helpful online and through email. Maui certainly wasn't bad but they weren't responding through email every 5 minutes the way Wilderness did. Do note that almost all camper rentals have a 7-day minimum.

2. there are plenty of supermarkets in the Christchurch suburbs including 24-hour ones, we went to Countdown but even then did not see any kosher or halal meat. Not so difficult to go vegetarian for a week.

3. NZ is equally strict. Don't bring stuff in.

4. you have 5 days, not much time because travel alone will take time. Fiordland National park, Arthur's Pass, the glaciersor Aoraki Mt Cook are all within driving distance but you have to choose only one most likely.

5. decent boots and a good camera!

I'm happy to provide more details. Good luck and have fun.