I want to compliment you on your audience friendly approach to the video. It was packed with information which I will gratefully use and will affect our decision making. It was not egotistical or person driven but concentrated on the data with people who follow in your steps need. Thank you.
Great video guys! For anyone watching this, I would absolutely advise that you DO NOT skip the heli-hike onto either Fox or Franz Josef glacier. It was the highlight of my trip by far. But allow yourself flexibility, the hikes can often be cancelled due to poor weather leaving you having to rebook and try again for the following day.
I live in the North Island and regularly travel the world backpacking for a year at a time. Each time I tour our South Island its a 1 Month Min trip to be able to spend time in nature. So many hikes, wildlife and funny little towns along the way. Glad you had a great time!
Nate!!! You really nailed this. I love these instructional videos. I wonder how many people over the years have used this video as their reference for their trip. Keep up the amazing work man!
So cool to watch this series given that van life is what made me discover you guys. Decided a few days ago to go back to vlog no.1 and they’re so good I already got this far! Loving it so much, like I discovered a secret stash of vlogs I’ve never seen before! 😃👏
Oh my gosh I love this video! I've been having such a tough time trying to plan my itinerary for the South Island, and even if we don't end up RVing it, this was still so helpful! Thank you! PS: You have totally inspired me to try and recreate this during my own trip. Hope you don't mind; if it does happen I'll be sure to credit you! ❤
Wow! Awesome tips! We're RVing Nz at the moment doing 365 activities in 365 days. Our tip: rent an RV in the shoulder season rather than New Zealand's summer - it is so so so so much cheaper.
I'm so happy you guys had a great time in my lovely little country!!! edit. I'm loving the pronunciation of the various southern lakes and towns. a guide to kiwi words by me :) Lake Takapo (TEK-A-POW) Te Anau (TE A-NOW) Lake Wanaka (WANA-KAA) Hoitika (HO-KEE-TEE-KA)
I was born in Wellington in 1966. I’ve been trying to get back to the South Island since I first stood on it. I’ve seen a lot of it,and it’ll take more than a week to see anything at all man. But good on ya for the video and the positivity it takes to keep moving
Nate, cool video man. We have just got back from a 4 week RV road trip on both South and North Islands. Dude you really need to go back and take your time and do more, you missed so much.
This is a great video with lots of useful pointers. Also to add... Many of the roads on South Island are very windy and so the 100kph national speed limit is hard to get to in many places. If planning travel times via Google maps always add on about 50% extra time onto Google's estimated travel times, to allow for windy mountain roads and plenty of time to take in the stunning views. It is worth taking at least two weeks to explore South Island, especially if you would like to see some more of Southland's highlights including the Catlins and Stewart Island. Mount Cook NP has a stunning DOC campsite with the most stupendous mountain views, conveniently located right at the trailhead for the Hooker Valley Trail. Happy travels to all!
Just returned from a south to north island road trip - cancelled the camper in exchange for a car as I wasn’t too sure about the road and conditions. 2 adults and a 7 year old - 11 days - all up 2600NZD including car, with insurance , accommodations (YHAs =youth hostels with ensuite = private bathrooms/ one holiday park) ..... including all activities, and we did a lot! But excluding food. All drives were 3.5-4hrs or less, with the exception of the drive from Christchurch to Picton Ferry - 6.5. Best trip to date !!! Planning to fulfil my daughter camper van experience for next trip.
Oh ps - booked a relocation car with Jucy and than extended the days - so 5 days free and they paid for vehicle passage on the ferry to north island. The car cost me $361NZD that includes zero access of 17NZD a day, and my ferry passage as driver of the Jucy car - loved the Styla we had.
I love how you told how much your trip cost... That would have been an interesting thing to know when you were in Asia. Maybe not every little thing... It seemed inexpensive in Asia but I don't know how much less it is in Asian compared to Australia and New Zealand.
Came back to this video because I'm starting to plan my trip. We are starting in Christchurch but we only have 5 days. Do you think we can make the same course? It doesn't look like it's possible. Maybe we will have to skip Millford Sound. Any suggestions?
I don't think the same course in 5 days is a great idea. You wouldn't have the freedom to pull over whenever you want :) Milford Sound was a bit far even for us, so leaving it out would free up a lot of time for flexibility!
One thing you learn with rving is to carry a pair of work gloves for doing the black water tank and any other kind of repairs or maintenance while you're on the road. while it is good to take your meals in your RV a diet of pasta and Tacos is not advised, especially if you are prone to become constipated. Eat your fiber! also if you like the flavor licorice is a good thing to have handy.
Oh....you missed the Abel Tasman Nationalpark...one of the best spots. I can highly recommend it to everybody, who visits the Southern Island not to miss the national park in the north and visit Nelson.
Hi guys, thanks for this info. I am from Pakistan and been following you for couple of weeks now - yes not that long. Great ideas for South Island travel. My question is, Is this plan also valid for winters? I will travel to New Zealand in June which i guess is winters in there.
Great video guys. We've just stumbled across your channel whilst planning our NZ trip for this October. Great advice here - really looking forward to getting out there now and start capturing the stunning landscapes for our channel! Subscribed for more of your vlogs!
Great tips! I have seven days on the south island. Is it a reasonable trip to start from Christchurch, head up Kaikoura coast to Abel Tasman, come down all the way along the west coast to Milford Sound, then end the trip in Queenstown (where we will fly out)? I've tried to measure travel time etc., but I've never driven in NZ, so it's hard to say. Also, we are renting a sleeper car, so it is much more compact, which means faster travel? They often have a portable toilet so we can camp whenever. Is that just too much driving? Our plan is to do something each day, such as: Drive to Fox Glacier for the evening, hang out/have dinner. Then the next morning, skydive then drive to the next place, etc. Would love your thoughts.
+CampingCarJoa that included the insurance! It can definitely be done cheaper but if you're only in NZ we highly recommend splurging on a nice Britz Campervan. We're trying out. Wicked Campervan this week and it's just not the same lol
Hi Nate and Kara, the RV/Motor Home you rented, do you have the website/company name, and or can you recommend our places for Rentals that fit 5 ppl and affordable?
My wife and I are planning a weeklong camper van holiday in the South Island and love your youtube posts. Your itinerary is almost exactly the same as ours but I do have a couple of questions... Is it better to camp at Mt Cook for the first night or down by the lake like you did? Also - two nights in Queenstown - is it a must? Can we get by with one. I'm trying to spend additional nights in Milford sound, Wanaka and Franz Josef. THANKS
This is a great video. I pickup my RV next week (15th) for 3 weeks in North & South islands. One questions... If you could have visited one more sight, what would it have been? Happy travelling. Peace from Ireland ✌🏼
Have you any tips to pass on .We are going for 3 weeks.. to the North and South islands in March.Would appreciate any advice.We are from Co.Down.Will pick up motorhome in Auckland.Many thanks.
Very good video! I´m doing NZ for 10 days next year with three friends and we´re planning it now. Do you think is worth renting an rv with toilet and shower, considering they have 4 sleeps, and one wil be unused, increasing the cost per person, or rather a smaller car, staying at hostels?
I know the video is pretty old at this point. But for any kiwis reading my comment, have prices gone up drastically in the last 5 years? I can’t quite find any campervans for the price that Nate quoted in the video. Prices generally seem to be 2-3 times more for the same duration and number of people.
Hi, I'm following the trip in this video but i would like to know the name of the freedom campground at lake Pukaki and some more information about the trip. I'm picking up my rv tomorrow
Me not freaking out that you guys drove through my town even though we didn’t meet I was just exited that you were in the same place that I was in 🤣😃😁😇😊
hi kara and nate nice video and info....anyway im planning for trip for least 20days.. so about this camper is it true that we some places or town does not allow RV in??
I'm binge-watching from the start and I think we have been ripped off somewhere. This video is numbered 104, but according to RU-vid this is the 99th video to be uploaded. We are missing 5 videos!! Perhaps they will turn up in a suitcase somewhere in 20 years time. :-)
Hi Kara and Nate . . I'm so pleased I've come across your videos! I'm travelling out to NZ in March next year to spend a month out there in a campervan, just me and my 14 year old daughter! I know you didn't have children with you, but are there any words of advice/warning that immediately spring to mind from a 'single mum with child' perspective? Thank you :)
Hey Sharon! I think traveling with your daughter is amazing idea :) You will love it! All I can say is make sure you have yummy snacks (Tim Tams are a must) and make sure you see the baby seals!!!! Let us know if you have any more questions :)
Forget the Tim Tams,they are Australian,get Chit Chats,they are Kiwi(NZ) Biscuits,Tim Tams are a cheap copy of the Chit chats,which are way more chocolately,if that's a word,and do the slam,or Chit Chat Straw,as i call it,same action as the slam.
Next week we go to the South Island of NZ. Can you please give me the name of the holidaypark downtown Queenstown? You said on a 5 min walk to the centre of Queenstown...
Hi, we are planning a road trip from Queenstown to Te anau. Could you tell us about the difficulty of drive? Are the roads too steep? Or is it an easy drive?
The road just as you leave Queenstown is quite windy and is cut into the hillside on the edge of the lake so can be quite narrow in places. It is not especially steep for NZ roads. The rest of the drive is not too bad and mainly through farmland. Take your time and pull over into the areas provided to let people past if traffic builds up behind you and you'll have no problems! In a normal car it is a reasonably easy drive, in a campervan it'll be a bit more involved due to how narrow the road can get.
Can I do the road trip the other way round? We are doing a honeymoon trip for 16 days (3 days in north just to complete hobbiton tour and fly down to south for rest of the trip).
NZ is completely enclosed within a dome and as such we do not have weather. We do have a climate. The warmth is created from the hot air from American tourists who have plenty to say but don't have time to listen and learn. The cold is from the icey stares we give Nth American grating nasal accents (in my experience the worst in the world.)
dont want to be picky, good review, good helpful details. but you really only traveled the middle third of the south island. just saying so people dont think that is all there is. and yes dump stations in every town for camper waste, dont need to pay anything for it,
We did a similar trip in 2009 except it was by car and we took the opposite route you did (plus Dunedin since we had more time). My favorite parts were the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound plus the cruise and the Grand Traverse scenic flight with Air Safaris out of Lake Tekapo that went over the mountains. I wish we could've spent more time in Dunedin but we were lucky the day we went because it was windy and we got a great view of the Royal Albatrosses flying. i.imgur.com/VYB8ZBC.jpg
