Heather

I'm thinking about travelling to NZ for the Wales tour in June this year.

I had registered an interest with a Welsh based travel compnay but they have released a prive that I think is too much (IMHO) it's a total of £3495.

I've priced up a DIY trip with hotels and car hire and can do it for £1500.

I have considered travelling in a campervan, although it may not be much cheaper but I find it all very confusing.

Has anyone any experiences of travelling around NZ in a campervan? What additional things did you purchase from the hire site?

There's additional costs for gas, heaters etc etc - do people take these up?

Finally are they easy to manage ie, easy to 'hook up'.

I'm a very confident traveller and driver and am not a girlie girl, but I just need a little reassurance that it's not too difficult to go down the campervan option.

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Florida 26th September for 3 weeks!!

Zinny.

As much as you hate me I could put you onto the right people in regards to hiring one.

In June it'll be winter, still summer to you though I suppose.

Personally I'd rather a car & hotels than a campervan, remember in winter the price of accomodation is very cheap, you'd be looking at a motor lodge for about $40-80 per night & a rental car for about $30-50 per day +fuel at $60 per tank.

Campervans can be hard work by yourself, at least with a car you can pack up & race off to the next town in a matter of minutes, find a place with a spa pool, big screen & a bar & you'll be set.

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TaffinEastbourne2

Have you taken a sensible pill????

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Tom James needs to calm down!!!!

Heather

I don't hate you Zinny - in fact there are very few people I do hate.

I do find you irritating with some of your irrational posts, but I'm sure there's many a time when you feel the same about mine.

Back to your post - I think I am leaning toward the hotel and car option at the moment rather than the campervan. Having suffered the cold weather when I was there for the Lions in 2005 it might not be a very good idea.

Accommodation in Dunedin is rare, I have found 1 hotel that has a few spare rooms but they are charging £400 for 3 nights, but other than that hotel the rest are quite reasonable, even accommodation in Hamilton.

Now all I have to do is 1) earn enough money to book and 2) find someone to come with me!

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Florida 26th September for 3 weeks!!

TaffinEastbourne2

I'm your man!Dont tell the Wife,though

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Tom James needs to calm down!!!!

Zinny.

Heather, don't waste money booking hotels over the internet, I promise you that once you get your car, you can drive through any main road in any town & you'll see all kinds of little cosy B&Bs, motor inns etc. which are cheap as chips & you wont see them on internet sites & the beauty about hiring a car is that you can find places in the suburbs a short drive away from the city centre which are just as nice but wont cost a fortune.

You seriously dont want to spend more time than you need to in Dunedin, it sucks, believe me I grew up down those ways. It's about 3:30 hours drive to Queenstown & Fiordland & from there just over 2 hours drive to Milford Sounds & those places are well worth the visit. The South Island road trip is a must do. It all depends on how much time you have.

With Hamilton, Im sure Forest & I could sort you out there & I have an empty batch at Pauanui (Coromandel) you'd be more than welcome to stay at during the week, it has an outdoor fireplace, is fully furnished & about 2mins walk to the beach, its my weekend rehab from living in the big city.

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Bee Quin

3 and a half grand?! Wow! I did the Lions tour by camper van including all tickets and a few days in the Cook Islands on the way back for 2 and a half! When I get there in April, I'll be doing it by motel and car, as even during the Lions tour I found plenty of places with rooms available!

Have a great time!

I've got a few Super 14 matches down on my list to go to when I'm down there so I can really compare with NH rugby! If any of you kiwi lot fancy getting together for a beer and a general rant about the state of the game, then get in touch! I was thinking of popping along to:

10th April - Crusaders v Waratahs
16th April - Chiefs v Stormers
17th April - Blues v Force
23rd April - Chiefs v Cheetahs
30th April - Highlanders v Waratahs

forest777

Heather if you come to hamilton and don't come stay at my place or park a campervan on my front lawn i will never forgive you

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122 Goals from 96 Games

laurentian

Heather

You're obviously quite taken by the camper van idea but unsure as to whether its a practical option for your stay. At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious (forgive me if you've looked into this) why don't you do both? i.e. say a week in campervan and a week car/motel? or just combine them (price permitting) use a campervan as you would a car between hotels and camp when you want - if the price of camper hire compares to that of a car, it seems an ideal solution.