Hi All,<BR><BR>I am planning for a 2 week vacation in NZ with my wife. We wanted to rent a car and drive around the two islands but were wondering what driving rules are prevalent in NZ. Specifically the following qs<BR><BR>1. Is it right-side driving or left-side (we are used to left-side driving) <BR>2. Do we need an international driving permit or will an Indian licence do <BR><BR>We are just beginning to plan for it and the trip would most probably happen in April / May 03. Any suggestions on 'must-see's is welcome. We both love outdoor travelling and adventure sports. And gosh are we excited about the vacation!!! <BR><BR>Cheers<BR>Bala<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><B R><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><B R><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

We were just there and I can at least answer the first question. They do drive on the left. My husband has an international license - so I can't answer your other question. NZ has a pretty extensive website, however, and you can probably find the answer there.... It is beautiful there!!!

Bala,<BR>1. Kiwis drive on the left side.<BR>2. No international license required, but we are from US. Not sure if that is true of all international drivers. I would suggest you rent a car before you go, then e-mail the agency for specific rules. We used <BR>Avis and booked at avis.com. Request an SUV, we got a Honda CRV.<BR><BR>You will be hard pressed to see both islands by car in 2 weeks. The south island is more scenic, more remote. You should allow at least 2 weeks for it. North island, minimum for driving trip would be 5 days, better to allow 7-10 days to see everything.<BR><BR>My idea for a good 14 day itenerary:<BR><BR>Day 1-2 Fly into Auckland or Wellington. Stay in CBD, no need for car.<BR>Day 3 Fly to Christchurch, pick up car at airport<BR>Day 4 Check out the area, visit Akoroa<BR>Day 5 Drive to Queenstown via road to Mt. Cook (Haast Pass?) Stop at Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki. Continue onto Queenstown<BR>Day 6-8 Visit Q-town and outlying areas, including Arrowtown. Walk down the main street, there are numerous agencies with brochures of everything to do in the area.<BR>Day 9 Drive to Milford, take afternoon tour on Milford Sound. Get a room in Te Anau.<BR>Day 10-11 Take long drive to Dunedin. Spend 2 nights, 1 day.<BR>Day 12-13 Return to Christchurch. Get a room at the Worcester in CCH. Live it up, eat well, go to casino, visit the Art Center.<BR>Day 14 Return car to airport, fly to outbound city, probably Auckland.<BR><BR>You will not see the glow worm caves, west coast glaciers or Abel Tasman park with this itenerary, but with only 14 days you will have to compromise somewhere. However, you will see Milford Sound, glacier on Mt. Cook, beautiful scenery, lots of water, quaint Dunedin and the prettiest &quot;large&quot; city in NZ, which is Christchurch.<BR><BR>By the way, if you have a choice between 2 days in Auckland or 2 days in Wellington, I would choose Wellington. It is a great walking city, with scenic views and beautiful gardens.<BR><BR>Hope this helps. Do lots of research before you go, there is so much to see.<BR>

Bala,<BR><BR>In NZ you drive on the left, same as England. We are from he US and just needed our US drivers license. <BR><BR>You're going to the right place for adventure. In Queenstown try hang gliding or paragliding. I absolutely loved hang gliding. What a thrill! You can also bungee jump or do a shotover jet. <BR><BR>Have Fun!

Thanks everyone for the replies.<BR><BR>Carolyn, thanks for the tips. It is a big temptation to include North Island too to our plans but I dont think we can take out more than 13-14 days at a stretch. And if there is so much to see in South Island alone I think we should restrict ourselves to that alone.<BR><BR>- Bala<BR>

You should go to the North Island for a few days even if it is only Rotorua and Auckland.You can fly Queenstown to Rotorua direct and then fly out of Auckland.You can also fly out of Dunedin to Rotorua.Rotorua to Auckland is only a couple of hours by road.I would have to pick Auckland over Wellington if only for logistical considerations.You will like all of NZ so do not stress too much.Good Luck!

In response to the suggested itineraries, I disagree a bit, although I definitely agree that you should concentrate on the South Island. If you are interested in outdoors and adventure sports, I personally would suggest skipping the major cities altogether in order to be able to see Fox/Franz Josef glaciers, Abel Tasman, glow worm caves, etc. My 11 day itinerary follows, and a similar itinerary might work for you:<BR>Day 1: int'l flight into Auckland, connect to a flight to Blenheim (you could instead fly to Nelson if you're not interested in wineries and want to give yourself an extra day somewhere else); rent a car there, tour wineries<BR>2/3: drive to Nelson, stay 2 nights and kayak in Abel Tasman National Park<BR>4: Drive to Arthur's Pass, stay 1 night<BR>5: Drive to Hokitika, go on cave tours nearby (Greymouth I think)<BR>6: Drive to glaciers, heli-hike<BR>7: Drive to Wanaka (many outdoor activities are here if you're interested)<BR>8/9/10: Drive to Queenstown, stay 3 nights<BR>(lots of stuff to do, especially adventure as mentioned above)<BR>Return car and fly to Auckland on day 10<BR><BR>Since you have 3 extra days that I don't have, you could use those to rent a car from AUckland and go to Roturua, Waitomo caves, etc. on the North Island. I would definitely suggest getting a one way car rental on the South Island (rent it in one city, return it in another) so that you don't have to spend time backtracking to places you've already seen. This should save you a day of driving and won't cost you anything from most rental companies. Good luck with your trip planning, hope this helped give you some more ideas.