Dennis_the_menace

I will be in NZ for over 3 weeks in late November and early December 2006, and I am considering renting a camper van. Some questions:

1. What are the advantages / disadvantages of a van versus a car and hotels?
2. a. Where do you stop and stay at night in a van? Are there lots of these places?
b. What is the cost?
c. What is provided at the places to park? d. Do I need to reserve in advance at that time of the year?
3. About the vans:
a. Do the vans have heating systems for cool nights?
b. Are the mattresses adequate?
c. Are the holding tanks for gray and black water adequate?
d. What is the cost and availability of dump locations?
4. I am thinking about flying into Christchurch, renting a van, driving around the South Island, ending at Picton.
a. Will van companies allow that? What is the dropoff charge?
b. I would then cross to Wellington, where I would rent a car and do the North Island staying at hotels.

Comments, suggestions and answers would all be appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

Dennis the menace

Dennis_the_menace

P.S. I forgeot to add in my original posting that I would be ending in Auckland and flying from there. Will car or van rental companies allow that, and how much would the dropoff charge be roughly, if they allow it?

ALF

1. Advantages: saves lots of time over getting into/out of hotels each night. Much more flexibility of itinerary - can stop wherever you want. Will possibly save money over hiring a car and staying in hotels. Great way to meet other travelers, who are also staying at the same locations
Disadvantages: Greater petrol cost, not as maneuverable. Not as roomy or comfortable as a hotel room. Not necessarily cheaper than hiring a car and staying in hotels (depends on hotel quality).

2. There are, 'holiday parks' scattered everywhere throughout NZ - these are generally something similar to KOA campgrounds in the U.S. Typical nightly cost for a site with plug-in is between NZ $10 and $20. Typical sites have a spot to park and plug in. It is rare to have sewage lines at the site. Almost all parks have large communal kitchens and dining areas, as well as 'ablution blocks' with bathrooms and showers. You will rarely need to reserve a spot unless you are going into a very popular tourist destination where there is only one park. This should not be a problem in late Nov-early Dec.

3. Well, this seems moot as you are not going to get cool nights at that time of year. Some campervans have 'main' (i.e. 220v) heaters. Most campervans have good-quality comfortable mattresses. Blackwater holding tanks are good for up to a week before needed to be dumped. Pretty much all holiday parks have dump stations - cost is either inclusive in site fee, or will be a few dollars.

4. It is possible to do a one-way hire; there will be a drop-off charge that will vary widely, depending on company. I have never done this, so don't know the actual cost. Pretty much all companies require you to drop your vehicle at Picton (campervan or car), and pick up another vehicle on the other side.

Almost all holiday parks also have 'tourist flats', which are fairly inexpensive rooms or cabins that you can use if you are driving a car instead of a campervan.

ANUJ

I think Maui-the largest campervan operator in NZ may be able to help answer specific questions on the vehicles. Personally, I'd rather stay in more comfortable hotel rooms and also take the opportunity to interact with other travellers and the friendly kiwi hosts.

GBZ

For a list of all campervan and motorhome daily rental prices in New Zealand. http://www.newzealandatoz.com/motorhomecompanies.php
This will help you make up your mind about who to hire from.

Below is a general list of New Zealand campervan or motorhome company terms and conditions.

Motorhome and campervan travel is a very popular way to see beautiful New Zealand. Motorhomes and campervans give you the travelling tourist the freedom to go wherever the wind takes you.

New Zealand has many motorhome and campervan rental companies. In the following paragraphs we will outline what to expect from your motorhome/campervan rental company.

This is to be used as a guide only and has been written by an experienced motorhome, campervan and car rental company owner after a study of most motorhome/campervan rental companies in New Zealand during June 2005.

Glossary of New Zealand Motorhome terms:
Motorhome - bigger self powered home on wheels
Campervan - smaller self power home on wheels
Sleepervan - smaller van fitted with camping equipment
Berth - the number of people that can sleep in the vehicle
Bond - the money held by the company should any accident take place
Excess - the money taken by the company should any accident take place
AA - New Zealand Automobile Association used for roadside assistance


Seasonal Prices:
The highest rates for New Zealand are in the summer months from December until the end of February, during this period motorhomes/campervans must be booked well in advance or you will have little chance of getting one when you turn up.
November and March are almost as busy, because the weather is still good but the prices are cheaper. Booking is advised.
October and April are a bit cheaper again and during these months you may be able to arrive in New Zealand and pick up a cheap rental car or relocation deal.
May to the end of September is the quietest as this is winter and a bit chilly with a good ski season. Booking is not really needed during this time and you will be able to phone around to pick up good deals including good relocation deals.
A relocation deal is where you could pick up a motorhome/campervan in one city and drop it in another for a minimum charge.

Extra Km Charges:
Almost all of New Zealand campervan/motorhome rental companies do not charge for kms on top of their daily hire cost. The exception to this rule is if you wish to hire a campervan/motorhome for less than the companies minimum daily hire time.
Motorhome rental companies sometimes have a km charge for diesel tax, which is a government cost to all owners of diesel vehicles. Most companies will include this in their daily rental cost.


What is one day of Rental?
Most rental companies charge per day you have the vehicle eg, a rental from 11am Friday to 11am Saturday is a 2-day rental. This is because the vehicle cannot be rented out to anybody else on either of these 2 days. To make the most of this rule pick the vehicle up on the morning of the first day and drop it off at the end of the second day.
You will still find some rental companies that treat this situation as 1 day but have penalty charges if you are late for any reason.


Diesel Tax:
This is a government tax and is not made up. But this is another way companies can make some extra money because there will be a "mark up" on the government cost.

GST (Goods and Services Tax):
This is a 12 ½ % government tax on items brought in New Zealand. This should be included in all company advertised prices.

Airport Transfers:
Car rental companies will sometimes include free airport transfers, some only supply or pay for transport to pick up your car. If you are hiring a budget car you may have to pay for your transfers.

Windscreen, Tyre and Headlight Insurance:
The way that motorhome/campervan rental companies handle this area can vary. Some don’t cover damage to these things at all, which means you the traveller has to pay for any damage to these things. Some companies charge extra to insure against damage. Some companies include it in their excess/bond reduction options. Whatever they do we would suggest you cover yourself against damage to these items. New Zealand has many stone chip roads and trucks can and do throw up stones. The insurance also covers tyre damage.
Windscreens can range from $300 upwards
To fix Stone chips companies charge from $30 upwards per chip
Tyre’s can range from $100 upwards
All of the above estimates depend on the type of car.


Bond/Excess:
All motorhome/campervan rental companies take a bond of some description off their customers. The larger companies will have a normal option of debiting your credit card $5000 dollars immediately.
This is the first option, and then they will have various other excess/bond reduction options. Which could reduce the bond to in some cases, nil. Since not many people can afford to have $5000 taken out of their holiday credit card account, it forces many travellers to take the excess reduction options, which could be around an extra $35 per day to reduce the excess to nil (the motorhome/campervan companies will have a maximum amount that you have to pay for long hires eg 100 day hire would = $3500 at $35 per day, but the rental companies maximum charge might be $1500). It is just a way for the company to earn extra money from the nervous driver. The motorhome/campervan rental company will still hold a small bond to cover incidentals eg, the motorhome/campervan returns full of fuel, in a clean and tidy condition. This is returned once the motorhome/campervan is returned.
Smaller motorhome/campervan rental companies usually have better first options for your bond or excess they can range from $750 to $3500 (the higher figure would be for drivers under 25) and most have bond reduction options available. The smaller companies usually do not reduce their excess to nil and $250 seems to be the lower bond options, this might cost around an extra $15 per day.
The smaller companies also usually do not debit your card immediately, and will only debit, should any accident take place.
Some rental companies have different levels of excess depending whether the accident is a "single vehicle accident" or an accident caused by reckless use of the vehicle by the driver.


New Zealand Car Insurance:
In New Zealand car insurance in NOT compulsory so someone may hit you who is not insured this mean you lose your bond. The way most rental companies handle accidents like this is. You take down the information of the person who hits you and if the rental company recovers their money then you get your bond back.

Extra Driver Charges:
These seem to be a thing of the past and we have not discovered any companies that still have this charge in place. If there are motor/campervan rental companies still charging for extra drivers they are the exception to the general rule.

Roadside Assistance:
All New Zealand motorhome/campervan rental companies offer very good roadside assistance. This is usually through the New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) The AA is a great organisation who have agents all over NZ. All rental companies receive the same service from the AA no matter how big the rental company is. The AA will come out to you assess your problem, fix it on the spot if possible or tow you for free to the nearest reputable service station, garage or agent that can fix your problem ASAP.
The larger motorhome/campervan rental companies with branches all over NZ are able to offer the best assistance with 24-hour phone assistance and vehicle replacement and this would be one of the reason you would pay a higher rental fee. Sometimes the smaller companies cannot afford at the rates you are paying to have 24-hour phone assistance, but the AA does have a 24-hour toll free number. The smaller motorhome/campervan rental company sometimes cannot replace a campervan themselves if something goes wrong and must find you a new campervan from a different rental company. All accidents or damage must be reported to the motorhome/campervan rental company as soon as realistically possible. But there is an exception to this rule. Most motorhome/campervan rental companies will allow you to pay for repairs up to a certain amount without informing them. You must keep the receipts and they will provide a refund

Refunds for breakdowns:
All motorhome/campervan companies should refund monies for the rental cost of days off the road caused by vehicle mechanical breakdown only.
It is that simple; they will not pay for, motel/hotel bills, the hiring of other vehicles or missed bookings or flights.
If you receive refunds for any other reasons you have found a great rental car company, then recommend them to your friends.


Quality of motorhomes/campervans:
The standard in New Zealand of rental motorhomes/campervans is very high with strict government guidelines in order for a vehicle to be given a rental certificate of fitness (COF). No motorhome/campervan company wants you to breakdown on your journey this only costs the rental company money and "bad press".
A good rule to use is the more your daily hire rate is the newer the motorhome/campervan is. They are usually all set out in the same way and are all the same size (there are only so many ways a 2-berth campervan can be set out).
Always remember if you are dealing with something mechanical things do break, no matter what the age.


Long Rental Discounts:
All rental motorhome/campervan companies offer long rental period discounts.

Cancellation policies:
All New Zealand motorhome/campervan rental companies have very strict cancellation policies. Make sure you have your correct dates. If you show you late you will still have to pay for the days you are late and if you don’t turn up at all expect the full amount of the rental to be debited to your credit card. By agreeing to the motorhome/campervan company terms and conditions you give the company the authority to do this. Do not expect a refund for days if you bring the vehicle back early.

Credit Cards:
With all motorhome/campervan rental companies you need a credit card to hold any bonds on.

Optional Extras:
There is only one rental company we can find that does not charge for extras such as mountain bikes, tents, TVs and other accessories to make your trip more enjoyable. You may be able to negotiate items for free if you are hiring for a long period of time.

Driving Fines:
These will be charged to your credit card on return from your motorhome/campervan trip.

Fuel:
All motorhome/campervan rental companies will provide petrol/diesel. Return the car with the levels that they were provided to you at.

Road Restrictions:
All motorhome/campervan rental companies have around 4 roads/areas that vehicles cannot drive on. You will not just stray onto these roads/areas, they are well sign posted.

Pick up and Drop off locations:
The bigger the company the more options you will have. The smaller motorhome/campervan rental companies may have better daily hire rates that encourages you to organise your travel so you pick up and drop off to the same location.

One Way Hires:
Most motorhome/campervan rental companies offer one-way hires. Some motorhome/campervan companies charge one-way hire fees. These are normal, as the cost of getting vehicle back from places is sometimes high. The larger motorhome/campervan rental companies will give you better pick up and drop off locations.

Animals:
All motorhome/campervan rental companies do not accept animals in their vehicles unless they are guide dogs.

General Rules:
All motorhome/campervan companies have their vehicles as reliable as possible
In most cases the more you pay the later model vehicle you will get
No animals
Daily hire rates vary greatly
More personalised service from smaller companies
Bond/excess options vary greatly
Always turn up, avoid cancellations, get your dates right
Better back up vehicle replacement options from bigger companies
Avoid paying for extra drivers
Avoid paying for extra kms
Take windscreen, headlight and tyre insurance
Shop around
You can negotiate in the off season (New Zealand is booked up during summer)
Book early for the best deals in summer
Expect all NZ motorhome/campervan companies to provide AA 24-hour roadside assistance

Have fun,
Dougie
www.newzealandatoz.com

Brushtail

Dear Dennis,

We have just come back from 3 and a half weeks on the South Island of NZ. We spent 3 weeks in a 6 berth Pacific Horizons Eclipse 4.2 campervan and the last three nights at The Heritage on the square in Christchurch.

Pacific Horizon were great. We had no problems with them and we enjoyed our holiday.

There were only the two of us in the big campervan, but we are in our late 40's and we wanted a bit of room to move around, hence the bigger campervan.

It was our first time holidaying like that and we found plenty of places to stop for a cup of tea and lots of holiday parks to stay the night.

BUT, after the novelty had worn off, we wished we had hired a car and stayed in motels.

The good things were: Always having your house on your back and stopping anywhere. Not having to carry your bags into the motels each day and out again the next morning. Being able to cook your own meals.

The bad were: The vehicle was comfortable but was harder to drive on the very narrow and windy and sometimes very steep roads. This limited us on where we wanted to go and proved to be the biggest hurdle as it required a lot of concentration, more than usual, and it tired us out. A car would've been a lot easier.

When we got to a holiday park and 'set up', unless we were in walking distance, and often we were not, if we wanted to go somewhere for tea or do some shopping, we had to pack everything up, put everything away, and drive off.
Parking was also a problem occasionally.

If we had hired a car and stayed in a hotel/motel, we would've just left our room and driven to where we wanted to go.

The small space (and we had one of the biggest campervans around) got on our nerves after a while and we longed for a big bathroom and a proper sofa to sit on in the evening.

But the biggest thing was the driving on the narrow winding roads.

If we were to do it again, we would definately hire a car and stay at decent motels. The price would've been similar and we would've had the freedom of nipping around in a smaller vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our holiday immensely, but we wouldn't do it that way again.

Hope this helps. You can email me if you want any hints and tips.

Have a great time, NZ is stunning.

Jenny

MietteMeg

Hi Brushtail / Jenny,

Your post was really interesting as we are getting the same campervan from Pacific Horizon in 3 weeks! We went to NZ 2 years ago and we used Maui but even though it was OK it could have been much better. This time we decided to go for Pacific Horizon as we had seen some of their campervans on the roads and we liked the look of them.

What was it like when you picked up the campervan? Did you have to wait a long time? Did you have to drive off as soon as you got the keys or were you able to familiarise yourself with the campervan first? (We really felt rushed by Maui, after waiting for ages!) Any more info about the campervan would be greatly appreciated - there will be 3 of us: 2 adults and 1 child.

Thanks in advance,

Odile

Brushtail

Hi Odile, Sorry it has taken a while to reply. Hope this was worth the wait.

Pacific Horizon in Christchurch were great but the girl demonstrating our campervan was a bit inept. The booklet that comes with the van is fairly comprehensive though. There are two models of the Eclipse 4.2, ours was 3 years old and had numerous storage trunks around the outside of the van and the newer models don¡¦t seem to have a pull down step at the side door.

They were a bit difficult to reverse, but my wife always hopped out and guided me back at the camping grounds. There is limited visibility and no rear camera to help.

When they show you how to use the hot water/heater, PAY GREAT ATTENTION, and don¡¦t be afraid to ask questions until you are sure how to work it. We spoke to quite a few campers on our three week trip, and that was the one thing no-one had a clue how to use. Don¡¦t let them rush you if you are unsure. You are paying for it and you need to know how the toilet system works etc.

Our fuel consumption was about 6.8 klms to the litre so you get about 275klm on a half a tank of diesel. This is about when you want to refuel and we found that this was about one days travel. On some of the roads, we only traveled 25klm in an hour. Roads that are described as scenic are windy, when the say alpine scenery, they are windy and steep. ƒº Don¡¦t let that put you off, the van handled it all really well and the scenery is really beautiful.

Diesel is cheaper in NZ. Last month is was approximately $1.06 per litre and got to as high as $1.28 per litre at Fox Glacier.

We refilled our gas bottle at a garage a couple of times and also bought a new bottle of toilet chemical at a camping shop. Keep all of your receipts, Pacific Horizon will refund immediately on return with no questions asked.

We only used our toilet for emergencies and during the night. Make use of public toilets whenever possible. At garages etc. They expect it over there.

One thing we didn¡¦t use much was the table. We had to squeeze uncomfortably around it to sit, (we had marks on our thighs) so we used one of the canvas bunk beds and set it up where our ¡¥feet¡¦ would go if we were asleep and used that as a breakfast bar. We left it set up all day as we were driving around and put the table on top of that in the evening and rested the TV on that. It worked a treat and had the added bonus of letting us watch TV in bed.

Another thing we didn¡¦t use were the sheets. This might sound weird, but we asked for two quilts for each bed (make sure you do that) and we just lay on the comfy fabric covered bed and put the quilts on top of us. We were toasty warm and didn¡¦t miss the sheets at all. When we returned the van, they were still folded beautifully and were totally unused, and it would¡¦ve saved a lot of time and fiddling around.

We are early risers, and we always went to the camping ground laundry and put our laundry on to wash when we first got up at about 6.30 ¡V 7.00 and then set it in the dryer just before breakfast. When we were ready to go at around 8.30, our laundry was clean and dry. No-one else was using the laundries at that time of day. Check when you book in to see if they have tokens for laundry or just NZ coins. We hung a clothes line criss-crossed in the shower area of the van and hung our towels up every night. They dried during the day.

We only traveled on the South Island. Camping parks we recommend are:
Picton Top 10, use their fabulous hot tub.
Murchison Kiwi Park;
Punikaiki Camping Ground ¡V great because it is on the beach and has a tavern close by with great food and a short walk back to camp;
Shining Star at Hokitika, it¡¦s new and has animals and is on the beach;
Rainforest Park at Franz Josef, good facilities and also a tavern with good food at a reasonable price;
Te Anau Top 10, 5 star camping, it doesn¡¦t come any better;
Invercargill Top 10, small and friendly.
Camping grounds that were ok are Lakeside at Wanaka, (park near the top, it is sleazy down the bottom),
Lakeside at Queenstown, the park was good and is near the gondola, but it a fair hike uphill from the town and you CANNOT find a parking spot in Queenstown;
Oamaru Top 10 was ok but they were renovating when we were there and we had a big walk to the amenities;
Dunedin Top 10 is ok and,
amazingly we stayed at a big park in Lawrence and we were the only ones there. We had the whole park to ourselves. Basic amenities, but you can¡¦t say it was crowded.
Top 10 in Hanmer Springs was our first one and nearly the worst. The worst by far, and we nearly left after paying, was Ashburton.
Only a few camping grounds do not have internet access. Most have a least a booth, some have a room with a row of computers.

Lastly we stayed at Meadow Park Top 10 in Christchurch. Very good amenities, but crowded.

Average price was $24.00 per night for two people in a powered site. Even in Queenstown.

We found it better to arrive about 2.30pm, find our spot and then explore. If you leave it too late you are too tired and the best spots are gone.

Hope this mammoth posting is helpful, if you have any more questions please ask. It is great fun to go over it all again. We traveled 4,000klm on the South Island alone and would do it again tomorrow if we could.

Best regards,
Jenny

MietteMeg

Thank you for the long post, we can't wait for our holiday!

What was wrong with the Top 10 in Hanmer Springs, we are planning to stay there 2 nights?

Brushtail

The Top 10 in Hanmer Springs was our first experience of a holiday park and we thought it was ok at the time. We only stayed one night.

As we continued touring around the South Island and we saw the neatness and excellent facilities at the other parks, and not all were Top 10s, we realised it was well below par.

The people were friendly, and the park is close to town so you can walk up the street for a meal etc.

You are not assigned your own spot, you drive around and find one that is suitable. People who have already claimed a spot are told to put a bucket or drum in the middle of their spot if they leave for a time.

The amenities were only average and the park was not our worst, but was definitely not up to the standard of the other Top 10s.

Brushtail

A couple of other things about our holiday that might be useful:

I got an A5 size notebook before we went and started to write down our itinerary, as you do. But I also had a page for each town we would be staying at.

I wrote the name of the town at the top of the page and listed all the things and places of interest in the town and the surrounding area, including recommended restaurants, parks etc.

I researched all the information about the places from the Internet, Lonely Planet books, etc.

We used the notebook a lot..

For instance, I found out that seals and penguins could be seen at Shag Point near Moeriaki Boulders.

When we were driving north towards the boulders, we saw the sign for Shag Point, remembered the information, and turned right to check it out. It was fabulous. No-one else was there and we watched the seals for ages. One performed just for us, he looked up at us, posed for a bit then slid into the water where he swam and did 'fly bys' with one fin out of the water stuck straight up in the air, watching to see if we were still there the whole time.

We wouldn't have remembered the turn off if not for our notebook. It was continually useful.

If you go to Oamaru, book in for the blue penguins. It was excellent watching them come in from a days fishing and make their way to their hides, and watch out for the little guys when you drive out of the car park. We nearly ran over one. Imagine, nearly running over a penguin.....

A great place to eat in Oamaru is 'The Last Post' in the main street. It had the best food we found in the South Island and the best value.

Have a great holiday. I am green with envy.

Jenny

Brushtail

TTT for Tomstace.