Car Rentals, Places to Stay, Etc. – New Zealand March 7, 2000
Here are some helpful addresses and phone numbers should you be planning a trip to New Zealand.
Need a car for your travels in New Zealand? Check out A2B Rentals Limited in Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch.
www.a2brentals.co.nz. They rent 5-6 year old cars in good condition for good prices. Our 1994 Toyota was clean and worked well. It cost (US) $11.50 a day with insurance included, since we rented for 3 months. We arranged the car when we arrived. Reservations were easy with a live person on the phone rather than menus with punching in of numbers, which thankfully is common in New Zealand. And they didn’t even require a credit card number to book. People in New Zealand are pretty laid back and assume you’ll show up as promised.We've also rented from Pegasus Car Rental and liked them real well. We negotiated a good deal over the internet for our long rental In 2001. http://www.rentalcars.co.nz/
If you're driving from the North to the South Island, book the ferry (at any information center) as soon as you can, so you get the best fare. If the weather's nice, it's a scenic ride. Cost for car and 2 people is about US $90 one way.
B&B’s – B&B’s are the way to go when you’re in the mood to be friendly and you could do with a little info about the environs, such as what to see and do. It's also a great way to meet some kiwis. Here is a list of B&B’s we’ve stayed at and liked. The NZ Bed & Breakfast book ($10 at most Information ("i") Centers) is useful, especially if you’re making plans in advance. On the other hand, we found most of the places below by stopping at the town "i" when we got there and asking them to tell us about places in our price range.
The places listed below are all value for the money and a comfortable stay. Prices are for a double, in $NZ in 2000, including a full breakfast for 2. Conversion rate is 2 $NZ for 1 $US, so US dollar price is half of NZ$ price below. What a deal!
|
Location^ |
Cost, Bath Info, etc |
Address, Other Information* |
|
Auckland North / Whangaparaoa |
$85 for queen (near Gulf Harbour Golf Course) |
Eddie and Wendy Hewlett |
|
Auckland South / Bucklands Beach |
$117 for two room
waterfront apt. |
Waterfront Motel, The
Chalets, |
|
Greymouth – Rosewood |
$95 for queen unit ensuite. |
20 High St. Greymouth |
|
Hanmer Springs – Hanmer View B&B |
$110 double, $70-80 single (all ensuites) with lovely views |
Will and Helen Lawson 8 Oregon Heights, Hanmer Springs, 03-315-7947, lawsurv@xtra.co.nz |
|
Motueka / Nelson |
$90 queen in cottage unit in tiny organic farm |
Rowan Cottage |
|
Murchison – Murchison Motels |
Luxury 2-bedroom self-contained unit, $100 (no breakfast) |
53 Fairfax St Murchison |
|
Palmerston North – Glenfyne B&B |
Homestay (guests share bath), $70 |
Jillian and Alex Mc Robert |
|
Queenstown – Haus Helga (a bit pricey) |
$119-219, 3 lovely ensuite bedrooms with views and great breakfasts |
107 Wynyard Crescent |
|
Wellington -- Thorndon House |
$90-$140 ($120 for the self-contained unit in back) |
Norma and Doug Peach |
* To make
reservations by telephone from outside NZ, dial 64 (the NZ country code) and
drop the 0 before the phone number above.
^ We also rented a small 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment in
Christchurch for 7 weeks. It ran us $NZ 350/wk. Contact:
The Poplars
82 Chester
St, (at Oxford Ter. & Madras
St)
City, Christchurch,
8 (Ask for Howard) 03-365-4220
or 03-363-2809 (office)