Many people coming to New Zealand or Australia want to hire a campervan to do their whole trip. My suggestions is think in a more varied way flying between some centres, catching a train or bus, or hiring a small car.
New Zealand suggestions
- For your international flights – try flying into Auckland and out of Christchurch or vice versa instead of in and out of Auckland
- Hire a car to drive north of Auckland – not many tourists make time for this trip, but it is magic – beaches, Waitangi the birthplace of NZ, the great kauri forests and diving at the Poor Knights Islands. My favourite part of NZ.
- Catch a bus to Rotorua and enjoy a couple of days there then Bus to Hamilton to catch the Northern Explorer train to Wellington – a great train trip
- Fly Wellington to Queenstown
- Relocate a rental from Queenstown to Christchurch and enjoy the ride for much less than the usual rental fee.
- Hire an electric bike in Queenstown, and ride the bike trail to Arrowtown and back. Explore Queenstown by foot and bike and boat.
- Spend a few days in Christchurch – and catch the Alpine Express Train from Christchurch to the West Coast – one of the best train trips in the world.
- Staying for a few months – buy a cheap car
Australia
Australia is a big country, if you are trying to cover a lot of ground, try flying between main centres –- Big cities have great public transport – so use that to get around and get the feel of cities. Because you are flying in and out of cities, you do not have to pay for one way rental car prices.
- Go country – get out of the city and explore the way the locals do. Hire a car with Webjet (they do more than flights you know!)
- Alternatively try and travel the opposite route to that usually taken – and Try companies that are looking for people to relocate cars and campervans.
- Of course there is still the option of getting someone to package up a trip for you – Webjet Holiday Packages work well – takes all the pain out of it.
