New Zealand (South Island) – Travel Information & Tips

Are you inspired and tempted to visit New Zealand after reading my entries about my road trip to New Zealand?

Well, this post will provide more information such as booking of air tickets, accommodations, car rental, tours & activities expenses etc...  

We had done this road trip in September 2015. The prices listed here were accurate at the point of time during the road trip. This is served as a reference only; prices may have changed due to peak/off peak seasons. exchange rates etc...

Air Ticket

We do have direct flights (approximately 10 hours) from Singapore to Christchurch by Singapore Airline and Air New Zealand. However, my buddies and I decided to save some money on the air ticket. Instead of taking direct flights from Singapore to Christchurch. We took Qantas and Air New Zealand and transit in Australia which saved us $500 each; this is substantially a lot, whereby we could spend this amount elsewhere when we are in New Zealand.

Cost: SGD $1,058

Tips:

1. Use SkyScanner to check for air fares to compare the various flight options and prices available.
2. Book your air tickets early, prices of air tickets tend to be cheapest 3-6 months before the travel dates. 

Transiting at Australia(Melbourne) to New Zealand(Christchurch)

Accommodation

There are plenty of options available for accommodation in New Zealand from hotels, motels, lodges to campsites and motor-homes (caravan). As 4 of us are travelling together, we decided to go for motels and lodges with self-catering unit, which comes with equipped kitchen, where we can occasionally prepare some meals (another method to save some money and a great time to put our culinary skills to test).  

Here’s a list of accommodations we had stayed for our entire New Zealand (South Island) road trip:

• Christchurch – Admiral Motel
• Franz Josef – Rainforest Retreat
• Queenstown – St James Apartments
• Te Anau – Distinction Te Anau Hotel & Villas
• Mount Cook – Mt Cook Lodge and Motels
• Lake Tekapo – Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort

Cost: NZD $523 per pax

Tips:

1. Use tripadvisor/Agoda/Booking.com to check out the ratings and reviews of the accommodation.
2. Book directly from the accommodation’s website instead of through hotel booking websites, it seems to be cheaper in the case for this New Zealand trip.

Admiral Motel
I like the fact that the motel owner is very friendly and helpful. He even provided us with maps for the surrounding areas and shared with us where are the good food and supermarket around the vicinity.

Rainforest Retreat
My favourite accommodation for this trip, it is very spacious and private, surrounded by rainforest made us feel close to the nature. It is a log cabin, with our own private parking space right in front of the cabin. They have very good service, before we even arrive, the staffs had already prepared the place for us by turning on the heater and lights for the whole unit. They also provide daily basic cleaning and changing of towels daily for the whole unit. The kitchen is also very well equipped, we even whipped up some hearty breakfast and savory dinner.  

St James Apartments
This is a comfortable and clean apartment. Plus for its central location, with the main street of Queenstown is just around the corner. Even the bathroom is fully tiled with underfloor heating, which is great to keep us warm during the cold weather. 

Distinction Te Anau Hotel & Villas
It is a pity that we did not get to explore this place more as we are just staying here overnight after we are back from the Milford Sound cruise. 

Mt Cook Lodge and Motels
This is our base for Mount Cook. There are limited dining places here. It would be great to stock up your groceries for whipping up some of your meals before heading here. I like their kitchenette, although its small but well equipped, with most of the things you need from salad bowls to oven, and I took this opportunity to bake our own cheesy pizzas using fresh local products bought from supermarket for our dinner. Alternatively you can head to Mt Cook Lodge's Chamois Bar & Grill or Hermitage Hotel's restaurant or Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe & Bar for your meals. We had both our breakfast and lunch at Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe & Bar which is decent and you are able to enjoy viewing Mount Cook through their full length windows throughout the whole cafe. 

Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort
I love the mind-blowing views right from the living room, which made our mid-autumn festival celebration even more memorable. This location is great with the main street within 5 minutes walk, where you can find a supermarket, souvenirs shop for last minute shopping,which we did and several cafes and restaurants which serves western to Japanese and Thai food. The Thai food restaurant serves pretty good green curry, so good that I sometimes missed it when I am back in Singapore.

Car Rental & Petrol

The easiest way to explore New Zealand is by car, which gives you the flexibility to manage your time at your own pace and stop whenever you want (of course with safety in mind) to see the scenic views and snap a few shots. 
Another option would be to purchase bus coaches travel pass which gives you  access to the various routes that they operate that is valid over a period of time. These routes usually make stops at most of the key destinations in New Zealand. 
For more details on travel pass go to InterCity website: 
http://www.intercity.co.nz/bus-pass/travelpass/

Since all my travel buddies and I drive, and it more cost effective than purchasing the bus coaches travel pass, hence we decided to rent a car to explore New Zealand given the flexibility. 

New Zealand has great number of options when comes to renting a car. They have most of the major international rental companies such as Hertz, Avis and also local rental companies. As it is our first time renting a car, I was initially rather worried, as I have read about horror experiences for car rentals.

So how do I go about renting a car?

I booked the rental car via online prior arrival at New Zealand.

The first step I did was, choose the car rental company, I did quite a fair bit of research online, reading review and forums and finally decided to go for a local rental company Apex which offers well priced quality vehicles for the budget conscious traveller like me. Next choose the right car that will suit you. We are a party of 4 adults. Hence, we decided to go for a 4WD SUV, which can comfortably accommodate us and our luggage. Upon arrival at Christchurch airport, we took Apex free shuttle service from the Christchurch airport to their rental car pick-up/drop-off centre, which is less than 10min drive away. The paperwork process is pretty fast and smooth.

On a side note, we do not need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in New Zealand as Singapore driver licence is in English.

How about petrol price in New Zealand? 

The petrol price is approximately the same as in Singapore. 

There is also not much difference in the price for different brands of petrol service station too. 

Cost: NZD $253 per pax for car rental and NZ $110 per pax for petrol

Tips:

1. Do INSPECT the car during the collection of your car. Basic checks such as checking for any scratches, tires are in good condition with good even tread, interior, lights, headlights, signals are working etc... There are many checklists available online which can be downloaded for your reference.
2. 
   

Waiting for our turn to collect our car

Our car - Subaru Forester

Activities and Tour Packages

There are so many activities and tours available in New Zealand, such as Cruise at Milford Sound, Explore Glacier at Franz Josef, Scenic Helicopter rides, Skydiving, Bungee jump and Shotover Jet Boat Ride at Queenstown etc… We are all so spoilt for choices, pick what you like most and go for it. There are also many walking tracks available throughout New Zealand such as tracks at Mount Cook National Park are free to access.   

For this road trip, these are the main activities that I have done:

• Skydiving at Fox Glacier (NZD $478 includes photos and video)
• Helicopter scenic flight with Landing at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier (NZD $280)
• Visit Westcoast Wildlife Centre at Franz Josef to see Kiwi birds (NZ$35) 
• Milford Sound Scenic Cruise (NZD $78)

Cost: NZD $836

Tips:

1. Book the Milford Sound Cruise online if you have your itinerary planned, as some operator give 10% discount if you book through online. I have booked our cruise from Southern Discoveries.  

2. For helicopter scenic flights, I suggest you book through your accommodation if available when you arrive there, as they tend to give better rates then pre-book online from the operators directly. The flight we took was operated by Glacier Helicopter Franz Josef.

Skydiving at Fox Glacier

On helicopter scenic flight

Visit the Kiwi birds at Westcoast Wildlife Centre. By the way, the bird you see here this is a Kea - wild parrot.

Waiting to go out to the sea at Milford Sound

Total Expenses: 
Approximately SGD$ 2,950

I hope this lengthy post will give you a better idea on the expenses and information you may need if you are planning for trips to New Zealand.

In all, jaw-dropping scenic views to many "first time" experiences cannot be measured in terms of money. Enjoying life to the fullest is one of my life motto. Hence, personally I felt that every single cent spent for this trip is worth it! 

P.S. "You only live once; but if you live it right, once is enough." ~Adam Marshall