Finally, on a whim, we chose to go to New Zealand, a place on my "bucket list" and certainly a place that should prove to be memorable. I purchased round trip, direct flight tickets from New Zealand Air for two of us at a cost of $2,467.80. This flys us from San Francisco to Aukland, NZ which is the cheapest of the airports in their country. Choosing to fly into or out of differing airports adds several hundred dollars to each ticket. We felt we could utilize the savings for our adventure by choosing Aukland, "The City of Sails."
With tickets purchased, the next chore is to decide on whether or not to purchase a pre-planned "drive yourself" tour. This would make things easy in terms of planning, but a 14 day pre-planned trip was close to $7,000/per person. I spoke with others who have been to New Zealand, read on-line comments, and purchased two guide books from Amazon before deciding that we are just going to go and rent a car and explore on our own.
In terms of Guide Books, I tried to find the most recommended and useful ones and initially purchased DK Eyewitness Travel: New Zealand but I found this book not to be the most user friendly. I then purchased Fodor's Travel:New Zealand and found this much more user friendly in terms of suggesting drives, places to eat and stay, etc. I was hoping to find something like the AAA books available in the USA that list prices of places to stay, etc. but so far I have not seen a book with this information. However, with a bit of internet searching, you can discover these things.
I did learn that if you are a AAA member in the USA, the New Zealand Automobile Club will offer you reciprocal benefits while you travel in NZ. There is a AA in the Aukland airport where I hope to pick up appropriate travel books and maps.
My next thought was renting a car in New Zealand. From what I read, there is a high excess damage cost that they collect at the time of rental unless you somehow lower this cost. I learned that if you use your VISA card for the entire rental, there is a waiver called "Collision Damage Waiver" or CDW that is given to you. I must still confirm this fact with VISA before starting our journey.
Next is what type of vehicle do I need for October? This will be Spring in NZ and there might still be snow in areas of the South Island where we wish to go. Many people want to rent camper vans for a freer traveling style, but I think we will plan to drive in a car and stay in motels/B&B's/ or hotels to mingle more with the locals. One thing I learned is that many rental companies will not let you take the vehicle on the inter-island ferry that leaves from Wellington, on the North Island to Picton, on the South Island. You must turn in the vehicle in Wellington and obtain a new one in Picton. Apparently, this is done at the time of your rental. We will need to do it twice since we are returning to Aukland from the South Island.
The cost of the ferry for seniors (>60 years of age) is $120 New Zealand Dollars (NZD). It takes about 3.5 hours to transit and only departs twice daily. It is suggested to book several days in advance.
The currency in NZ is in NZD and one NZD = $0.64 US. I called Chase Bank to obtain about $500 NZD prior to our departure so we have at least some local currency to work with.
My next order of business will be to book a hotel in Aukland so we have a confirmed place to stay on our arrival. We leave San Francisco on the evening of October 14 but because of the advanced time difference of 19 hours, we arrive on the morning of October 16 even with a direct flight. We have planned to go tango dancing in Aukland on that arrival evening so we need a place to rest and adjust for the time change. Hotels are fairly expensive in Aukland, as they are in most major cities, but I thought we would stay for two days to explore the city and surrounding areas before leaving.
Another problem I encountered is cell phone incompatibility. I use Verizon in the USA that uses a technology called CDMA (code division multiple access) while wireless telephony in NZ uses GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication). My iPhone cannot simply have a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) bought in NZ and slipped into my phone. I can rent a phone in NZ or consider buying a new iPhone 6 that will work on multiple protocols. I am considering a new purchase as I write. The new iPhones are released today but certainly are not cheap.
There is still much to do and to plan but we are already beginning to feel the excitement of a new adventure!
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