Next year.

The wife's long service is coming up next year and we're thinking of two weeks in NZ. At the moment we are thinking of a hire car and staying in motels etc OR a camper (Muzza's loves them ). What do you Kiwi's reckon. Whats a good way to tour the country?

car then look for cheapest accom, pays to book ahead in some parts due to tourist volume

Been five times so think I can comment.
Camper will be cheaper. We did the hire car last time and booked nearly all our accommodation in advance. Was a great but fairly expensive family holiday.
You’ll need two weeks to do the South Island. Not enough time to do justice to both islands.

Camper van !!!! Road maggots , more like ....

Remember - if you stay in tourist places you only meet tourists . Work out were you want to go , then ask who lives there and camp at their place. Bet you have more fun that way than you will in a camper van .....

For ultimate convenience a car would be best for a roving type of holiday. But, then you have the trouble and expense of finding / booking motels or campgrounds and if you tour during Summer it's going to be busy and possibly fairly crowded depending on where you want to go. Currently tourism is a growing industry here with visitor numbers still on the up, particularly through the South Island.
The only personal campervan experience I have is one South Island Winter hunting trip with a friend. It gave us great sleeping quarters in some remote spots convenient to good hunting but, for me, took some getting use to otherwise. We only attempted cooking once which was hardly a great success and the toilet / shower cubicle was very restrictive in size. Also for whatever reason the showers hot water tended to deplete very quickly making bathing unpleasant ( in Winter ). Several nights escaped the van to enjoy a nice restaurant meal. I guess if you are prepared for a campervan experience, or have already used them, it could be one way to go. There are many overnight campervan camping grounds you can book where you can access additional facilities ( electricity supply, waste disposal, bathing etc) but you may want reserve the option also of occasionally using a motel or two just for a bit more comfort.
Don't let my slightly negative comments put you off though. I'm sure both of you would find touring here very enjoyable. Best of luck with the plans.

Try some of the country roads and farm areas of South Island - like the hills off Timaru going up to Geraldine and even to Tekapo. Plenty of wallabies there and some farms may let you shoot them.

Thanks for the info Gents.

This will be more a pleasure trip than a hunting trip Naki….unless I can sweet talk the wife....

Bakes just remember to tip everywhere

Wine tasting in Queenstown - wine and dine the wife! Some great Central Otago wines

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
Thanks for the info Gents.

This will be more a pleasure trip than a hunting trip Naki….unless I can sweet talk the wife....

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Wine tasting in Queenstown - wine and dine the wife! Some great Central Otago wines

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
Thanks for the info Gents.

This will be more a pleasure trip than a hunting trip Naki….unless I can sweet talk the wife....

Funny you should say that. Wife and I was talking about wine tasting and the fact that we would love to do it just the other day. Only problem is we can't standing drinking the stuff We like the idea....hate the wine

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
Bakes just remember to tip everywhere

LOL that won't work on me mate Nice try though.