New Zealand Travel Answers

Hi Christian, I have found that it is best to do some research on known companies in new zealand who have experience with campervans. Are you looking to rent or buy? Here is a good site that I found on google that may be of interest. http://www.newzealandmotorhomes.com/

Hey Chris. Not long back from New Zealand and in my experience Maui and Britz are the same company. I would not be surprised that the others are tied up together. Suggest you make sure you are at the counter early or you loose half a day before you get on the road. Suggest a 4-berth van as a minimum, even if it is only 2 of you. Also be careful of parking in the City. I met one couple from the UK that had all their belongings stolen on the first day. There are a lot of other small expenses but the vans are great. Don't use the shower & toilet as they smell in such a confined space. The camping grounds are great and it would be good if you take the highest insurance possible. Apart from that I had a great time and I'd do it again.

Hi! Thanks a lot for the feedback. Choosing a 4 Berth is exactly what I will do. In Australia I had a 2 Berth Deluxe (modified Mercedes Sprinter) but it was just too basic. The fridge does not work by gas and the batteries do not load while driving, they needed to be recharged every second day just for the fridge. :-( I hope that a 4 Berth is well equiped for self maintenance. At the moment, Pacific Horizon seems to be best choice as they offer an all inclusive rate including insurance. Loosing personal belonging need to be covered by the travel insurance (comes with some credit cards too). Anything I forgot ? Tips, Gotchas? Christian

Hi Christian We have been to New Zealand three times in the past 2 years and have used Cruise New Zealand each visit -found them to be quite helpfuland the vans are good. 64 9 2758921 Auckland 64 3 359 0196 Christchurch. Enjoy your trip Sheryl

HiChristian, Just out of curiosity, what exactly was your bad experience with Britz in Australia? You see, I, too, am planning to rent a 4-berth motorhome for a 3.5-week trip to NZ from mid-June to mid-July, and have seen Maui, Britz, and Kea mentioned in the guidebooks as the "most reputable" - so I've been considering pretty much just those 3 companies (though Cruise has comparable vehicles and rates, and one travel agent has been sort-of "pushing" them on me). If Britz and Maui are "tied together" - and they are in NZ - it would be great to know ahead of time if your problem was with the company, one particular employee, or the vehicle itself...perhaps to avoid any unpleasant surprises on my one-and-only trip to NZ! In exchange, I'll let you know I fared during June-July this year and pass on any tips. :) Amy

Hi Amy, we had the Britz Elite. In the Britz advertisements it was showing a large bed with 1,80m. The advertisement says "or similar" and just that happened; there is an even smaller Elite which we got. The bed was about 10cm shorter than me so sleeping was uncomftable. There was no reduce in the fare and no words of beeing sorry for that. The car itself is not really a campervan. We used just the fridge and the battery did't even work for two days. So we were forced to have a powered camping site every day. Hope you will have better luck than me! Christian

Christian, Thanks for the info! Who would have guessed that they would have different sizes for the same name of vehicle! That doesn't put a very favorable light on the company...you'd think they would try to "upgrade" instead of "downgrade" a customer's choice. Sorry that's what happened to you. It sounds like you made an advance reservation (which they recommend) - right? I was thinking of making an advance reservation, but then I found out that most vehicles in NZ have manual transmission. My clutch foot has some nerve damage to it so I decided to wait until I get there to make sure I can get one with an automatic transmission (if at all possible) - and now also to make sure the bed is big enough! Britz and Maui are on my "Be careful - be VERY careful!" list.