Campervan insurance. Cheapest rental in New Zealand. Ferry. Campsites

Hello. I am looking to rent a campervan in New Zealand for 2 weeks from Queenstown to Auckland. I am trying to figure out if it's worth it to get the insurance ( which is more expensive than renting the van itself). Is driving extremely risky in New Zealand? Has anyone ever had a good/ bad experience with the various insurance options that the campervan rental companies offer? Also, it seems that either Jucy or Britz or Mighty are the cheapest options- any experience/ advice when dealing with these companies? I am trying to find the most budget option. It appears as though the ferry Bluebridge is cheaper than the Interislander but the times are not as frequent. Also, is it easy to just roam around and find a campervan site to stay at without reservations? Any advice would be amazing! Thank you so much.

International Flights to Cairns

We are planning a trip in October which will take us from Cairns to Melbourne. We will be flying from London and will probably have a stopover, maybe Hong Kong. The problem is that most internationa flights end up at Sydney and then we will have to get a flight from Sydney to Cairns and then work our way south again. Does anyone know of any international flights which terminate in Cairns rather than Sydney

Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier, which is better for guided walks?

I'm planning go for a glacier trip on August 2013(i'm at Nelson, NZ recently), i think i'll do a guided glacier walk not just walk close to the glaciers for watching. i read lonely planet and there are two major companies operating guided glacier tour on fox and franz josef, one is fox glacier guiding, another is franz josef galcier guides. the full day walking package on LP is almost the same, but when i checked both websites the prices are way different. FOX one provide a full day glacier walk pricing 165NZD(with bus transporting) for about 7 hours(don't know the altitude), but franz one pricing is 299NZD(with helicopter transporting) for only 4 hours(the altitude is around 600m), franz have another more expensive one can reach you to 800m altitude.

so i wonder which one should i go for the guided glacier walk and i could just see another one by myself at somewhere near terminal ... more »

Rent a car in Alice Springs

Hi there, we are heading the outback this summer, some questions concern us:

• Anyone knows which Car rental company is cheap at Alice Springs? We do need a car to visit Uluru, don´t we?
• Is it possible to drive Uluru to Purnululu (Bungles Bungles)
• How about from this last place to Kakadu (Darwin), is it ok driving or better flying?

Travelling from Rockhampton to Blackall

Hey,

Im starting a job next week in Blackall.. Im just wondering if any one can suggest the easiest/best/cheapest way to get there from Rockhampton? Im currently in cairns but will be making my way down there on monday. Ive checked buses and it seems a bit of a mission, with a huge stop over etc.. is anything direct?

Thanks!!

Help on 10 days New Zealand trip

Im planning a trip to New Zealand with my 22months daughter in Feb'14 for 10days so could you please recommend some child-friendly places & not too expensive accommodations? And based on the safety reports through google, I shld not have to worry too much right since New Zealand is one of the safest countries?

thanks in advance!

Cancellation of "Guaranteed Departure" tou of NZ by ATTKings

I am offering a heads up for those of you that are considering booking an escorted trip to New Zealand. I recently learned a week before I depart for New Zealand that my premium "Guaranteed Departure" escorted tour of New Zealand that I had paid for in full months ahead of time had been canceled at the last minute by AAT Kings, the tour operator. Their lame excuse was that they had last minute cancellations and couldn't afford to operate the tour. I guess they don't understand the definition of "Guaranteed Departure". They tried to offer me a low end substitute tour which was shorter and a free jet boat ride. A trip of a lifetime was thrown into disarray by their last minute chicanery and I am warning you to realize if they will cancel me at the last minute, they will do it to you also. I had booked the trip through Relaxing Journeys, and to their credit they saw that I was refunded i... more »