Can anyone rougly give me some ideas, how's the road conditon betwen te anua and milford sound in end of august. It's safe to drive or take their cruise bus? Should i equip snow chains? What should i beware of?

Hey there!

I planned to go backpacking too..hopefully next year. Is it possible to cover north and south island for 2 weeks? I've read a forumer said it's too little time to be covering both islands in 2 weeks.

I'll also refer to missyaki's blog.

Enjoy

This post has been edited by wufei: Apr 19 2011, 11:46 PM


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Laily, 2 weeks is just enough to cover the highlights of the South Island IMO. By backpacking I assume you're taking the bus or public transport to get around. The distances is large enough between some of the places that you'll end up spending most of your time on the road, not much fun.

There are a lot of suggested itineraries out there and I think 2 weeks is enough for just 1 island Good luck and have fun!

Budget transport
U can also take Kiwi Experience, Magis Bus, Intercity. All this buses are flexible which means u can hop on hop off anytime u want. And also the a very good way to know alot ppl

If u hv the budget or u travel in group 2 or more then it is good for u either hire a campervan or a caravan

Hi Tishaban.

Thanks for the wonderful tips. Wow, its been months since I last posted, I can barely remember.

Yeah, Wilderness was my first choice, but since their Longboarders are not available and their Kea could only be rent out for a min of 7 days, I have settled with the second choice - Wendekreisen. They have affordable price, good and alright reviews as well as extra stuff (GPS, picnic stuff, entertainment system) if you get the full insurance. Also, they are quick on email replies, even after hours. Just secured my booking last month, all's left to wait for the holiday and the verdict. Will update after Oct, hehe.

Yeah, I guess we have to settle for seafood then. How about dried, non dairy commercial products like Maggi? Can go through customs? I have faced many episodes of hungry nights abroad, and for god know what reason, I will always resort/think of Maggi, even though I rarely have it in Malaysia.

And good news, french fries in New Zealand is halal. Yay! Hope its for real, read it here

Boots, is it cos its cold or wet? How about ugg boots?

Now last but not least is to plan the route. Will probably settle for 1 destination, but will choose scenic route so we can stop by here and there.

Thanks again Tishaban. Great help

any1 need NZD? will be back to Johor in May for 3week, let me know if u want to change some $$, just use the actual exchange rate, we both save from currency exchange trader.

kevan82@hotmail.com <-- pls email me as i don check forum often

Food:

- dried commercial products can be brought in ok, just declare them. If you really want they do sell Maggi at ~$8 for a 5-pack in the stores
- seafood is freaking expensive in NZ unless you happen to chance on some of the salmon farms and get fresh salmon for $16 per kg.
- very very few McD/BK/KFC around. None on the west coast from Greymouth to Haast for example, that's about 300km.
- few asian restaurants too, plus you find more indian restaurants than chinese ones.
- at the local restaurants just ask if they use beer batter for their fish & chips and vegetable oil for frying. They're very helpful.
- in general we avoided restaurants, $70-80 for a simple meal for a party of 5 is a bit too steep twice a day
- stock up on pasta, bread, cheese, canned soups, fruits, vegetables etc. We didn't have much problems going vegetarian for 1-2 weeks.

Boots are for tramping not really for the cold. Just wear comfy shoes preferably waterproof if you're going tramping a lot. I use cheap GH Bass boots myself but sneakers are fine.

I'm planning my next trip too. But not NZ this time

They sell maggi in NZ. But the taste is weird

Check this out
http://www.flymyself.com/new-zealand/wanganui-new-zealand/

anyone wanna join me? im going new zealand this coming july 4th - july 14th, pm me.

I'll be in NZ from 26th June to 21st July.

Anyone got car rental promotion code, kindly pm to me. Thanks

I'll be off end of this month!

I'll be there for 10 nights and will be using a 4 berth campervan from Kea. My itinerary will be as follows but it's just a guideline as we don't want to rush and might stay longer at certain places...

Christchurch - Timaru - Dunedin - Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown - Lake Tekapo - Christchurch.

Campervan is widely available in NZ but the caveat is most (if not all) insist on a minimum rental of 7 days. So to the earlier posting who's planning only 5 nights, I think a rental car would be more suitable. Please also be advised that there will be an influx of visitors during the Rugby World Cup in September, so rental cars and accommodations might be limited during that period. Summer of NZ at the end of the year is also peak season. Book early to avoid disappointment.

There are no highways at South Island and most are just 2 lane trunk roads. Speed limit is maximum 100km/h and don't expect to negotiate your way through if caught. Compulsory seatbelts for all passengers, NZ$150 instant fine if caught. For campervans, there is strictly no camping by the side of the road and freedom camping should only be done with prior permission if the spot you chosen is privately owned. There are numerous free camping sites with only basic facilities and these sites only allows "self sufficient" campervans. Other than that, there's other paid camp sites with charges ranging from NZ$30 - $70 for 2 persons. (powered sites for campervan)

I'll try to update on developments and perhaps also post when I am there.

Cheers!

wondering if the weather is good for backpacking alone in June, my sis said it's winter, raining more frequently. anyone has experience with stray travel? they're having promotion, but i've no experience in this, are the passes worth buying now? http://www.straytravel.com/new-zealand-bus...ch-by-island/1/

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Added on May 10, 2011, 10:47 pmwoots! do share with us ur experience later.

This post has been edited by junobabel: May 10 2011, 10:47 PM

June is winter wor.
It seems July will be the coldest month. So June might still be alright.

I travelled with Stray Travel before.. basically it's just a hop-on hop-off bus.. the ppl on the bus i met so far are great!!

ACCOMODATION - they have some overnight stops where they will have their PREFFERED accomodation.. but u can choose from a list of hostels where they can pick-up drop-off u at that given place..
ACTIVITIES - as for activity sometimes u can get (A BIT) cheaper rates if book thru Stray bus driver. Some even exclusive for Stray passengers
DRIVER - some drivers are really funny. Most of them will give u commentary of the places that they will go or pass by
PROMO - they sometimes have cheap promo, so just grab it while it lasts! I saved almost $150 buying Short Ron Pass during promo!

if anyone of u want to buy Stray Pass, u can key in this code in Stray Mate Code field -> KL3909 to get further $25-50 discount!!

I have searched around in stray travel.. Their package seems interesting.. I plan to visit NZ for 9-10 days only...
Found one offer 'The Short Q Pass' for 9 days travelling in the South Island only..

Their proposed route is: (in 8-9 days)
Christchurch to Franz Josef
Franz Josef to Makarora
Makarora to Queenstown
Queenstown to Aoraki/Mt Cook
Mt Cook to Rangitata

Does it look good? Will it be too tired hoping around here and there with bus?

At 1st, would want to look for self drive tour package but seems like driving is kinda tiring...

Appreciate your advice..

*P/S: tried to enster your stary mate code, got $25 discount Thanks a lot hehe

This post has been edited by lala01: May 14 2011, 02:58 PM

Do we need a international driving licence to drive in NZ? thanks

I try to describe the itinerary as below:
Christchurch to Franz Josef - At Franz Josef u can do glacier hike, take the full day hike, half day not worth it
Franz Josef to Makarora - Makarora surrounded by mountains, only hikings to do here else nothing else to do, dead place
Makarora to Queenstown - QT the famous one lo, just go i-Site to browse thru gazillions of activities offered
Queenstown to Aoraki/Mt Cook - Mt Cook is damnn awesome, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. If got time, go do Hooker Valley Walk (~3-4hr return)
Mt Cook to Rangitata - ONLY thing to do in Rangitata is water rafting, else it's a dead place
hope it helps!