From what I can tell the Rugby World Cup will have matches on the SI from Sept 10 - October 2, the venues being Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill.

I see that NZ school holidays run from about Oct 7-23.

Just wondering which time is worse for travelers looking for peace and quiet and no crowds (or am I dreaming?)

Well, we've never hosted the Rugby World Cup before so I wouldn't know. But it's definitely more expensive to come during the world cup season if budget matters.

As for crowds, if you're planning to drive, definitely avoid the school holidays. If you mean people out in general, there'll be more kids in the malls, on the main streets and on the buses and stuff, but it shouldn't be as noticeable as the number of tourists coming in for Rugby World Cup. According to the news, over 1 million tickets have been sold and a whole heap of travel + match tickets package deals have been selling like hotcakes... so that Sept~Oct period will be crazy, to say the least.

Thanks DerNerNer. I think we've just decided on a possible return visit in November, after all the ruckus.

I'm moving out of Wellington 8 - 13 October because of the WRC and heading to Sydney to stay with my sister. My DH is driving probably quite a lot during that time so I'd go even nuttier staying home at night on my own than I do now!

School goes back on Tuesday 25 October so November would be a great time to come over again, Melnq8.

Thanks dotty. I've got it bad for the SI. I'm planning a return trip even as I write my trip report!