On a trip around the North island of NZud, and all I can say is Wow! McTool, you have it all on a plate on this side of the ditch. Reasonable roads (nothing can be that perfect!), great food (cook it yourself though), scenery you have to stop and look at and soooo much green around the place. Mind you, the drivers around here are pretty ordinary, but as the girl said at the Car Hire place, they are pretty much the same as everywhere? We have been taking a lot of the back roads around the place. If you are not going over a crest in the road, you are going around a corner, or both.

And for those in Australia:



Good Health

Cheers.

Nick.

$19.95 for a box of long necks is just criminal. That's less than half what we have to pay, you guys have got it good. Drink up

North Island ....NORTH ISLAND I tell ya The North Island is not even half as good as the mainland, If we ( the mainlanders ) cut the cook strait cable that off shore island would float away. Next time you visit come south , if you liked the north island you will love the south island ........ and whats this " car hire " . AND ..VB might be cheap but then it would friggin need to be , I drank it exclusively for years ( yeah sorry liver ), swill ! , Id rather have a stella , becks , fosters, Carlsberg even that Chinese stuff is ok . And I been watching " Escape with ET " and Id love to go to those places ( wouldn't mind a bit of Michelle and /or Giovanna either )

Well McTool, you have done it again....

I had a feeling you were from the South Island. There was half a plan to go to both islands, but common sense got the better of us. There is a bit of a plan to go to the South island next, but no idea when. About 9 out of 10 people we have met in the last 2 weeks tell us to go to Stewart Island, so it might even be the real South Island next!

As to the hire car, well, sometimes you have to go with the flow. I did find a Bike Hire place in Auckland once we got here. Probably a good idea to get the Hire Car though. About every second corner has a slippery when wet sign on it. The question I have is, when do they dry out?

The VB sign was at a little place on the East coast up the Northern end. As Duc906 said, a carton of long necks are about 2 times that cost. It makes you spit when you see a price like that.

Those fishing programs don't give half the picture. Best place in the world for fishing is off Exmouth in WA (so I have been told).

Take it easy.

Cheers.

Nick.

Stewart Island is way cool , The weather aint exactly tropical although the last time I was there the tar was melting on the road .... wreaked my shoes . You can walk most everywhere and the fishing is brilliant , You have to try Blue Cod , it IS the best eating fish , no arguing , it just is . lightly crumbed fillets so fresh they're still twitchin , maybe a sprinkle of parmisian cheese ( yeah I know it doesn't sound like it belongs there but just a wee bit .... ) and don't over cook it . That alone is worth a trip to Stewart Island. If you come this way again let me know . Me and Di live in Nelson ( top of the south Island ) but we come from Invercargill ( bottom of the south ) and we are moving back there soon...... Got a spare bed and a mate who runs charters to and around Stew dial ( local for Stewart Island ) . . Bike hires are a bit of a rip and fair nuff , if your sight seeing a car is better , Do come back ....
Hamish
PS my Mum and Dad have just come back from a holiday in Broome and elsewhere .... drove thousands of K's , had a ball