Motorhoming in NZ

Hi,
Just looking into a 3 week trip to New Zealand.Just the 2 of us in September/October.
Have heard good things about renting a motorhome and they seem very reasonable at first glance.
About 1500e (Edit-more like 2000) for the 3 weeks for a decent sized coachbuilt one.(all the mod cons)
Anyway I was wondering about the following if anybody knows.

-weather in September/October,are we going to freeze!
-Camp site prices,
-Fuel cost
-Will we be sick of the inside of a van after 3 weeks

Any advice about NZ welcome!
Thanks

Shzm

September/October isn't going to be warm, but it won't be too bad. The South Island will be much cooler than the North Island.

Take a look here and here for info on campsites.

Petrol at the moment is around $2, but who knows what it might be by the time you go.

No you won't be sick of the inside of the van, since you should be spending most of your time outside of it :-)

robinph

Did a trip around both islands a good few years ago in a campervan during their winter as I went skiing in various places. Was no problem with the cold and had electric hook up so then a heater running in the van to keep nice and toasty.

Cookie_Monster

vans will run of the devils fuel, only $1.55 or so currently.
you'll also may need to be aware of the diesel miles on the window compared to the odometer. Rental company will cover it but make sure there are plenty left so you don't run over, can be big fines.

there's all sorts of vans from little hiaces to big VW ones (very common after the world cup). the bigger ones have plenty of space and decent insides, should get fedup of them too quick.

Cookie_Monster

PS - guide to local slang
http://www.brenontheroad.com/travellers-guide-new-zealand-slang/

cpoh1

One thing to note with the vans, if they are bigger than mini hiace size it can be hard to park them up wherever you like. In Ireland we have a very relaxed outlook on campervans, you can ditch them whereever you like for the night. My understanding is the kiwis are less likely to tolerate this. You may need to end up staying in caravan parks for the most part.

Do the sums on what a camper will cost you to hire per day compared to a car, fuel costs (heavy if petrol for the camper) and accomodation costs if you use the car.

Dont underestimate the freedom a car gives too, those larger campers can be a pain on some of the dirt tracks and twistier roads you will end up on. Much slower to point to point if you are covering the full length of the two islands.

Cookie_Monster

cpoh1 wrote: »

One thing to note with the vans, if they are bigger than mini hiace size it can be hard to park them up wherever you like. In Ireland we have a very relaxed outlook on campervans, you can ditch them whereever you like for the night. My understanding is the kiwis are less likely to tolerate this. You may need to end up staying in caravan parks for the most part.

many places have more restrictions during the summer and are more relaxed in the winter too.