Basically the trip involves Brisbane to Sydney and then Christchurch to Aukland and have stuff planned and some accomodation booked up with friends/relatives in Oz 
Didn't think it would take long for someone to say thatneil wrote:Sorry cant give any advice on NZ. All I can say is I AM VERY JEALOUS!!! Enjoy!
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Says it all really - Milford Sound - StunningFluoxetine wrote:Lucky bugger!
I was over in NZ last March for a few weeks...It's a fantastic place, and I'd love to return...
I was staying with my mate & his wife in Christchurch, but borrowed his car for a week and headed around the south island with some other friends who were also over at the time...
I can recommend:
Arthurs Pass National Park
Franz Josef / Fox Glacier - We went horse riding around here for not a lot of £££, and it was great...
Wanaka - Beautiful little town
The Crowne pass - Road to Queenstown...I wore out the brake pads in my borrowed A4 driving up and down this...
Queenstown - Great for drinking, and all the adventure stuff like bungee, sky diving, jet boat, rafting etc...
Christchurch itself is a hoot - Although I was mainly out drinking at night, so didn't see it during the day...
Akoroa (sp?) - You can see the whales / dolphins etc...Or go fishing instead, like we did on a chartered boat...
There's heaps to see and do...I didn't scratch the surface...I hear Millford Sound / Dunedin / Invercargill / Hammner Springs are all worth a look...There is a bit of a well worn tourist trail, clockwise around the south island...Most guidebooks will keep you right...
As for petrolhead activities - There's Ruapuna circuit in Christchurch...I did a driver day there in an RX7 and FF1600...No rev limits, or restrictions like KH experience days...Great fun, and not too expensive given the exchange rate at the time...(The guy who runs it is like a kiwi walshy...
You'll have a blast - I'm very jealous!
. You'll want to head for Queenstown for the night life I guess but there's plenty to do during the day too round there (got to try one of the river jet boats - google Shotover Jets). Other highlights for us was swimming with Dolphins in Queen Charlotte Sound but you can do that in loads of places (like Akaroa mentioned above). On the North Island, try looking up Gravity Canyon south of Taihape. Pretty mental to be fair but worth it for the adrenalin rush... Also the mud pools, hot springs, geysers, Maori experiences etc in the Rotorua area (just to say you did some culture ). ) and make use of the great quality hotels and motels available in every town an village. By the way, I was led to believe that the quality of the roads and driving was going to be terrible - in all honesty, I see more dodgy moves every day in Aberdeen than I saw in the whole trip out there... Spotted lots of camper Toyota Estima's (Previa), and Hi Ace's on the road...A few with 3-4 lads on board...Stuck in my mind, as the thought of sleeping in a Previa with another 3 sweaty / smelly blokes (no showering facilities), would put me off...The stench must be pretty funky in the morning...offshorematt wrote: Finally, nobody has a good word to say about the campervans. They're slow and clog up the narrow roads and are by no means the best or cheapest way to get around. Apparently you are still supposed to pay to pitch every night in a campsite i.e no just stopping in laybys. Better to hire a car for a pittance (although we pushed the boat out and hired an E92 3 series cabriolet for the trip
)We absolutely loved doing it by campervan. It gives you the freedom to stop without bothering with hotel booking etc, and most of the time we camped wild. The South Island is so empy there were loads of quiet places to stop for the night, often with stunning scenery all around. Sitting with a beer in your hand by your camper next to a deserted lake, watching the sun go down over snow capped mountains beats a thousand nights in a hotel in my book. There are also lots of free DOC (Department of Conservation) camp sites with showers etc. Mind you, a lot of the mountain roads would have been brilliant fun in something sporty rather than a lumbering van. Ideally you want a Winebago with an Exige on a trailer behind when you want itoffshorematt wrote:Finally, nobody has a good word to say about the campervans. They're slow and clog up the narrow roads and are by no means the best or cheapest way to get around. Apparently you are still supposed to pay to pitch every night in a campsite i.e no just stopping in laybys.
loads of good tips for places to see. I'm going to be there for 3 weeks so we will probably split the accomodation between camping and hotels but either way it sounds like I might need to extend the trip or go back to see the bits I've missed 
not sure if this makes sense to the guys who have done both but I don't think I could throw myself of a bridge 
I've done both and they were quite different...Some say bungee jumping is akin to commiting suicide, but being saved at the last millisecond...Andy D wrote: I've vowed years ago never to do a bungee jump so that isn't on my itinery but would love to do a parachute jump
