This is to give feedback and a very big thanks to those who commented on the proposed itinerary for our campervan trip to NZ. We are just back and had an awesome time. What a beautiful country and amazing people.
The final itinerary worked well - we shortened our travelling time and worked on short daily distances (max was about 250kms a day) We selected scenic routes and usually ended the day with plenty of time to explore.
We started in Christchurch and ended in Queenstown then flew to Auckland and travelled to Rotorua and back.
In retrospect I'd travel North Island first as I found the grandeur and extremes of South Island quite mind boggling and a hard act to follow.
The i-Site offices and DOC and various camping informative websites were incredibly helpful. The people in the i-Site offices were incredibly well informed and made creative and different suggestions which enhanced experiences. I'm thinking of our Milford Sound trip where the person at i-Site suggested we include the observatory in the tour we selected. The visit to see the undersea life in the Sound was that very interesting extra.
Not knowing snow and snowy conditions we soon learnt heard about the potential danger of avalanches and the importance of being sensible and careful. Bottom line - nature demands respect!
We found the country very expensive - not just the currency conversion but the cost of sightseeing and food.
Loved the cheeky kea although they were quite intimidating at Arthur's pass (I'm sure they were teasing us though!?) and very irritated to see people feeding them despite notices about not feeding them.
Thanks again for the valuable input a couple of months ago. It was an incredible trip - lots of happy memories.
regards
Linda
