New Zealand - North Island
Feb 6 - Feb 17, 2020
New Zealand is full of gorgeous natural beauty and amazing attractions, it’s been on our bucket list for years. We were super excited to spend a month in New Zealand. North Island has denser population and a large variety of attractions to fill up two solid weeks of travel, whereas the South Island’s natural beauty is more breathtaking than the North. Both are must-visits, and we were happy to have allocated enough time for both islands during our stay.
Voyagers tips:
Motorhome or Hotels? There are strong opinions on both sides. New Zealand is indeed an ideal destination for motorhomes, in that you need to be constantly on the move to take full advantage of what the island has to offer. We opted to give motorhome a try, as we’ve always wanted to experience motorhome life ourselves. After spending three weeks in our motorhome, we would recommend other travelers to go the hotel route. The main reason is that there is a general sense of New Zealanders not welcoming campervans/motorhomes. Many smaller campervans aren’t self-contained (no toilet) or perhaps the travelers don’t like cleaning them, so they defecate in nature, causing major headaches for the locals. As such, there has been major restrictions on where travelers can camp out overnight, whether it be campervans or motorhomes (bigger vehicles). We got the motorhome due to the supposed freedom that comes with it, but the camping restrictions throughout the country takes away much of the freedom. We ended up paying to stay at Top 10 holiday parks at most destinations, which are very convenient but add to the cost. Large motorhomes are also inconvenient in cities, where they don’t fit into standard parking spots or underground parking. There is still one benefit of campervan/motorhome, which is the flexibility in your schedule, as most holiday parks don’t require advanced reservations beyond a few days. Weighing all the pros and cons, however, we would recommend hotels and rental cars over campervan/motorhome.
Some tips on Motorhome if you go this route: We got the 7-meter motorhome, which was spacious enough for the four of us. Top 10 Holiday Park chain aren’t cheap but are usually nice, and kids enjoy playing with other kids in the playgrounds at the holiday parks. Look into Top 10 membership if you’re spending three weeks or more in New Zealand, the discounts add up and make this membership a good value. Most holiday parks outside major cities don’t require advanced reservation, but the ones in cities should be reserved well in advance, especially during peak and shoulder seasons. Cities like Wellington, Christchurch and especially Queenstown require advanced reservation. We got used to getting free spots with no reservation at most places and were caught with nowhere to go in Queenstown. Don’t make this mistake.
If you only have two weeks or less, stick with just one island. New Zealand is very spread out, you’d be spending most of your time on the road if you try to cover both islands in two weeks. Each island needs at least a week and a half to be adequately explored, and can easily take up to three weeks each without feeling bored.
To visit both North and South Island, you have two route options. With motorhomes, it’s easier to hop onto the car ferry from Wellington to South Island and continue on. For hotels, it’s probably better to only go as far south as Tongariro and loop back up to Auckland, return the car, and fly down to Christchurch to start a loop of South Island.
Cash / Credit cards: Most places take credit cards, so you don’t need much cash. The currency here is New Zealand Dollar.
Shopping: Supermarkets are convenient here and are easier to find throughout North Island. Pak n Save are usually bigger in scale and have better prices than other stores.
