Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hire
Rates offered by most outfits for renting road or mountain bikes range from $10 to $20 per
hour and $30 to $50 per day. Longer-term rentals may be available by negotiation. You
can often hire bikes from your accommodation (hostels, campgrounds etc), or rent more
reputable machines from bike shops in the larger towns.
Buying a Bike
Bicycles can be readily bought in NZ's larger cities, but prices for newer models are high.
For a decent hybrid bike or rigid mountain bike you'll pay anywhere from $800 to $1800,
though you can get a cheap one for around $500 (but you still then need to buy panniers,
helmet, lock etc, and the cost quickly climbs). Other options include the post-Christmas
sales and midyear stocktakes, when newish cycles can be heavily discounted.
Boat
NZ may be an island nation but there's virtually no long-distance water transport around
the country. Obvious exceptions include the boat services between Auckland and various
islands in the Hauraki Gulf, the inter-island ferries that chug across Cook Strait between
Wellington and Picton, and the passenger ferry that negotiates Foveaux Strait between
Bluff and the town of Oban on Stewart Island.
If you're cashed-up, consider the cruise liners that chug around the NZ coastline as part
of broader South Pacific itineraries:
P&O Cruises
(
www.pocruises.com.au
) is a major
player.
Bus
Bus travel in NZ is relatively easy and well organised, with services transporting you to
the far reaches of both islands (including the start/end of various walking tracks), but it
can be expensive, tedious and time-consuming.
NZ's dominant bus company is
InterCity
(
www.intercity.co.nz
)
, which can drive you to
just about anywhere on the North and South Islands. InterCity also has a South Island
sightseeing arm called
Newmans Coach Lines
( 09-583 5780;
www.newmanscoach.co.nz
)
, travelling between Queenstown, Christchurch and the West
Coast glaciers.
Naked Bus
(
www.nakedbus.com
) has similar routes and remains the
main competition. Both bus lines offer fares as low as $1(!).
Seat Classes & Smoking
There are no allocated economy or luxury classes on NZ buses (very democratic), and
smoking on the bus is a definite no-no.
