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New Zealand
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This guide is the big picture, the overall view, but if you want detailed information on what to see, where to go, where to eat, where to stay go to my (Not quite) Complete Guide to New Zealand Travel Where to stay, where to eat, what to see. Yes, all that. But much more. It is aimed primarily at self-drive travellers and they need to know much more. The problem is how to deliver this information in a logical way - and I have decided to serve it up as the road rolls under you. That is, the information is given kilometre by kilometre for each of the state highways. It is a work in progress. And so far it has been seven years in the making. It is far from complete, but if you are touring NZ you may find it useful. Click here to visit the (Not quite) Complete Guide To New Zealand Travel. |
Travelling In New Zealand
Transport: Getting Around New Zealand
Once you've arrived in New Zealand how do you get around the place? Here's some thoughts By Land Let's start by discussing the various ways of travelling in New Zealand: Driving One of the questions I often get asked is about driving in New Zealand. Is it hard to drive on the left side of the road? How much petrol will I use? How many kms a day can I expect to cover? Should I rent a car or buy one? What are the insurance arrangements? And lots more. I've put all the answers in an article on this site at Driving In New Zealand. Hitch-hiking It is legal to hitch-hike and provided you are careful it's not particularly dangerous. But bad things do happen from time to time - like about once every five to ten years. I have very occasionally been forced to hitch-hike - usually because there is no public transport available. Take a careful look at the driver and passengers and if they look dodgy, give it a miss. Having said that, I once got picked up at about 11pm by a bunch of hard Maori dudes travelling from Hamilton to the casino in Auckland. They were all drinking beer and looked less than savoury - but, hey, it was late and I needed to get home. They were great. We had a lot of laughs, I even had a beer with them and they dropped me right at my home in a suburb of Auckland. On the other hand a woman hitching alone is maybe not a good idea and at night it's a real no-no - some guys seem to think that they are entitled to be "paid" for the ride, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately not all Kiwis are good Kiwis. Cycling No doubt about it - if you want to get up close and personal with the landscape then cycling is the way to do it. But be warned, there are hills here. The country is a curious mixture of long flat stretches with a lot of hilly country between. Some of it is mountainous, even. There are a number of cycle touring companies that make it a bit easier. Some of them provide a bus that goes with you and if you want you can accelerate uphill by bus and exhilarate downhill on the bike. Here's a few links to useful info and tour operators http://www.paradise-press.co.nz/intro.html http://www.cyclenewzealand.com/ http://www.pedaltours.co.nz/index.cfm http://www.advsouth.co.nz/cycle Backpackers bus. There are several transport networks covering the main tourist routes - Magic Bus, Stray Travel and Kiwi Experience. They are similar in concept - you pick your itinerary, buy a pass and just hop on and off the coach as and when you want. When you consider that you can hire a cheap rental car for around $900 a month (less in the off season) it may be cheaper to take a car if there are two of you. Intercity Coachlines offer a coach pass which also uses some of the services of Newmans Coach lines. It allows you to travel at your own pace on a given itinerary. They offer a itineraries which have varying minimum duration - from 7 to 12 days and a maximum of three months. Again compare the costs. There are also a number of small shuttle coaches that run along set routes between cities. Atomic Travel - operate daily scheduled personalised coach and shuttle services throughout the South Island. Jet Shuttle - Jet Shuttle operates from Central Taranaki to Palmerston Nth Int'l Airport.West Coast Shuttle - Daily coach service Greymouth to Christchurch return. Air conditioned / heated, onboard toilet facilities, DVD, comfortable coach Shuttle and Travel - A service that operates locally in the Nelson regions, regular door to door service between Airport and City. Local Tours and South Island Tours a large part of our service is to Able Tasman National Park as well as Backpacker Transfers. Town and Country Shuttles - operates mainly in the rural regions of Canterbury with regular services between Lincoln, Leeston, Springston and Christchurch city. 24/7 service with airport pickups. Nelson Lakes Shuttles - operate an on demand shuttle service to all tramping tracks in the Nelson area. Kiwi Traveller - daily service between Wellington and Rotorua via the Tongariro National Park and Taupo. Go Kiwi Shuttles - Door to door shuttle service between Auckland and The Coromandel Peninsula including free pick ups from the airport. Marlborough Sounds Shuttles - Door to door shuttles within the Marlborough region. Group transfers Anakiwa to Picton. Coast to Coast - Shuttle bus connecting Christchurch to the West Coast via Arthur's Pass. Kiwilink Shuttles - Daily Return Services between Picton, Blenheim & Nelson. Connects with ferry sailings. Minibus Express - Door to door between all Hamilton and Auckland Suburbs including Auckland Airport. Waka Whenua Tours - Door to door shuttle services within the Marlborough region. Blenheim Airport transfers to Picton, Picton water taxis transfers to Blenheim Airport. Other destinations on request. Nelson Bays Shuttles, Coaches & Cabs - Shuttles, cabs, or coaches. Wanaka Sightseeing - ski-shuttle service to Cardrona Skifield, as well as customised transport and excursions. South Island Connections - daily return services between Dunedin and Christchurch and between Christchurch and Picton with connections to the Interislander and Lynx Ferries. Rail Travel TranzScenic operates three main-line passenger services:
By Sea New Zealand is a country divided against itself. It is split in two (three actually - more about that later) by Cook Strait, the stretch of water that divides the North Island from the South Island. The Cook Strait ferries provide a vital "iron bridge" between the road and rail systems of the two main islands in the country. There are several sailings a day in both directions across Cook Strait but try to make the crossing in daylight - the run down Queen Charlotte Sound is quite beautiful. For more details on crossing Cook Strait click here . . . Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot. New Zealand is really three islands: the North island, the South Island and Stewart Island which is off the south coast of the South Island. For more on Stewart Island click here . . . By Air There are two main trunk airline operators, Air New Zealand, and Jetstar and but only Air New Zealand services provincial centres. All have a range of incentive fares: Generally you will buy a cheaper fare on the net - unless you can include domestic travel as part of your international ticket.
A New Zealand Travel Guide is published by 148 Hillsborough Rd, Hillsborough,
Auckland 1042,
New Zealand. [Return to the top of A New Zealand Travel Guide] |
Get inside tips on New Zealand rental cars If you want to rent a car in New Zealand you could spend a long time trawling the net looking at options and finish up totally confused. Get expert local advice by clicking here. Here's the problem: New Zealand car rental is unlike most other places in the world because the country is split into two islands with a sizeable stretch of water between. Taking a car across Cook Strait is expensive. Some rental companies allow you to drop a vehicle in Wellington and collect another in Picton (or vice versa). Some don't. Along with a host of other complications it means if you are trying to sort out car rental in New Zealand you may need a cup of tea and a lie down long before you've figured it all out. Find out more about New Zealand car rental at http://new-zealand-rental-cars.com/New-Zealand-rental-cars.htm.
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10 Aug 2011