[noopster]

Lovely travelogue! Crisp yet descriptive and the pictures are great.

Also brought back so many memories. I did a 12-day South Island road trip with the family 2 years ago (that TL is still languishing in the Assembly Line. Note to self: get inspired and finish it!)

Your itinerary is good: covering all the must-see places. Am glad you included Dunedin, which I would rate as the city I’d choose to be relocated if ever I am taken into witness protection

Invercargill and nearby Bluff (the southernmost tip of South Island) are worth visiting too, especially if you are a fan of Burt Munro and his world’s fastest Indian. We also drove up to Greymouth in the Northwest to take the TranzAlpine Express across to Christchurch. Unforgettable experience!

But you squeezed in a fair bit of Australia into your limited time there. Am envious- my last trip to Sydney and Melbourne is coming up on 20 years now, though I did squeeze in an Easter weekend trip to Brisbane/Gold Coast to meet friendly moderator benbsb29!

If you ever return to NZ, do make a North Island trip as well: everything is easily driveable from Auckland as a base and it has a beauty quite unique from that of South Island.

Will check out some of your other travelogues when I get the time. Keep writing!

[chandu]

Thanks for posting about your trip in such detail, your photos and descriptions are awesome. Really feeling inspired to take the family on a trip the Aus/NZ next year.
I would very much appreciate your experiences with rental cars over there? Whats the cost like and how much does insurance cost over there?


cheers...

[SR-71]

Brilliant write-up and excellent photos. I have been planning a Kenyan Safari with the family. I am so tempted to give that up and do this :-). PM'd you a query, kindly respond when you get time.

[Nempuguru]

Thank you so much "Noopster" for the inspiring words. My daily office shuttle commute (Bangalore traffic needs no special mention) forced me to write and complete the travelogue in quick time. Hope your NZ travelogue is live soon.

Yes, as I mentioned another visit combining north and south islands is a must. We could not squeeze our itinerary further and add north island. There is so much to see in this small country.

About Dunedin, we second you and share similar thoughts. Most travelers skip this beautiful place from their itinerary.

Originally Posted by noopster

Lovely travelogue! Crisp yet descriptive and the pictures are great.

Thank you "sup?" and "chandu"

Here is the breakdown of NZ part of costs:

1. Flight to South Island: Major carriers are Air New Zealand, Virgin and Star Jet (budget airline). Being backpackers decided to carry limited luggage. So opted Star Jet, paid extra for 30 Kg check-in luggage (for 4 people). Christchurch to Sydney flight cost was Rs 4800/- (may be due to early booking and off season).

2. Car Rental: Major players are Jucy Snooze, Avis, Apex, Go Rentals etc (we saw many camper-vans from Jucy Snooze). Did a lot of research before finalizing Snap Rentals. Found out about them in a blog. Their offering was good and cheaper than others. Costed us Rs 18,500/- for 7 days with Comprehensive Protection Cover. Car was spacious for four persons. Three of us shared driving duty. Valid Indian driving licence is accepted in NZ and Australia for tourists.

3. Fuel expense: Rs 13,500/-. Compared to Australia petrol is costlier in NZ.

4. Food: Self cooking experience was fun. Good for tummy and for our pockets too. Grocery expense was around INR 5000/-.

5. Accommodation: YHA/Backpacker hostel per day cost varies between NZD 30 to 35 (depends on demand or season). AirBNB accommodation for four available between Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per day. Places like Twizel, Queenstown bit on the higher side.

Per person cost: Rs 1.3 lakhs overall (for both countries). This excludes individual shopping.

Disclaimer: Such cost only possible if you are a backpacker kind of traveler opting budget airlines and with self cooking.

Originally Posted by sup?

Amazing pics. I am hoping my next vacation will be to NZ. Will definitely re read your itinerary when I do my planning. Can you give me a brief breakdown of costs on your NZ leg of the trip?

Originally Posted by chandu

I would very much appreciate your experiences with rental cars over there? Whats the cost like and how much does insurance cost over there?

Thank you "SR-71".

I have shared more info on visa procedure with you. As stated earlier, have to clearly convey our intended purpose of visit, highlighting "will travel out of NZ after the trip" and "will not over stay or stay illegally in NZ". Documents which we upload must reflect this.

Originally Posted by SR-71

Brilliant write-up and excellent photos. I have been planning a Kenyan Safari with the family. I am so tempted to give that up and do this :-). PM'd you a query, kindly respond when you get time.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by noopster

But you squeezed in a fair bit of Australia into your limited time there. Am envious- my last trip to Sydney and Melbourne is coming up on 20 years now, though I did squeeze in an Easter weekend trip to Brisbane/Gold Coast to meet friendly moderator benbsb29!

If you ever return to NZ, do make a North Island trip as well: everything is easily driveable from Auckland as a base and it has a beauty quite unique from that of South Island.

Interestingly, it was just about a year ago that i visited New Zealand and was hosted by Noopster. Made for a great trip covering Auckland, as well as the time i saw and touched real snow for the first time in my life. Sadly, never got around to putting up a travelogue. Some pics from the trip.

Auckland city skyline



Mount Ruipehu snow trip



4



Our ride - Toyota Corolla Ascent hatchback

[Nempuguru]

Thank you "benbsb29".

Very nice set of pictures! You must compile a thread with all the info which is useful for travelers.

One good thing about NZ road is most of the places accessible using these easy to drive Hatchbacks. Ground clearance not at all an issue, unless you decide to go for off-roading.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Interestingly, it was just about a year ago that i visited New Zealand and was hosted by Noopster. Made for a great trip covering Auckland, as well as the time i saw and touched real snow for the first time in my life. Sadly, never got around to putting up a travelogue. Some pics from the trip.

Our ride - Toyota Corolla Ascent hatchback

[isandy]

Very beautiful pics doing justice to natural beauty of Oz and NZ. It was a breeze to go through your crisp travelogue. Thanks for sharing, i am sure will inspire many to plan such trip.

[streetfighter]

Whoa... what a trip... what a travelogue

Read it completely at one go. The hues of blue and green is so refreshing. Looks like a trip of a lifetime, well written, great clicks !

[Nempuguru]

Thank you "isandy". Glad that we could capture the essence of NZ and Australia to some extent. One must travel to such places to experience the real beauty.

Hope this travelogue serves its purpose and useful for those who wants to travel Down Under.

Originally Posted by isandy

Very beautiful pics doing justice to natural beauty of Oz and NZ. It was a breeze to go through your crisp travelogue. Thanks for sharing, i am sure will inspire many to plan such trip.

Thank you "streetfighter". It certainly is!

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Whoa... what a trip... what a travelogue

Read it completely at one go. The hues of blue and green is so refreshing. Looks like a trip of a lifetime, well written, great clicks !

[chandu]

Thanks very much for the cost of the car rentals, they seem to be reasonable, similar to the budget rentals in the US, certainly not as bad as I have seen in the EU.

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

Thank you "sup?" and "chandu"

Here is the breakdown of NZ part of costs:

1. Flight to South Island: Major carriers are Air New Zealand, Virgin and Star Jet (budget airline). Being backpackers decided to carry limited luggage. So opted Star Jet, paid extra for 30 Kg check-in luggage (for 4 people). Christchurch to Sydney flight cost was Rs 4800/- (may be due to early booking and off season).

2. Car Rental: Major players are Jucy Snooze, Avis, Apex, Go Rentals etc (we saw many camper-vans from Jucy Snooze). Did a lot of research before finalizing Snap Rentals. Found out about them in a blog. Their offering was good and cheaper than others. Costed us Rs 18,500/- for 7 days with Comprehensive Protection Cover. Car was spacious for four persons. Three of us shared driving duty. Valid Indian driving licence is accepted in NZ and Australia for tourists.

3. Fuel expense: Rs 13,500/-. Compared to Australia petrol is costlier in NZ.

[Nempuguru]

Adding some video links of South Island, NZ, captured using GoPro:

1. Mt Cook village road

https://youtu.be/hJkfuQZeIA8

2. Queenstown to Te Anau route on the edge of Lake Wakatipu

https://youtu.be/Z_iPalCpHMA

3. Hike enroute to Lake Marian

https://youtu.be/tG_aaUbYPbI

4. Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook National Park

https://youtu.be/LmGiLXXac90

5. Short hike to Sand Fly Bay beach, near Dunedin

https://youtu.be/K0sI6ZnUlIo