# Oz/New Zealand backpacking views? (also cheap MH hire?)



## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

Whilst bashing out what to do next winter to avoid the UK, the top of the wifes list is either backpacking Vietnam/Thailand or NZ/Oz/Fiji/Bangkok on a round the world ticket.

We'd probably take a small tent and back-pack and use hostals and it appears campervan hire in NZ and Oz is quite pricy indeed.

Very early draft stage at the moment so looking for comments/ideas/thoughts and phone numbers of friends in NZ who will let us borrow a campervan  On a serious note, we have considered an eBay buy/sell for when we're over in NZ.

All very very very very rough....

But if anyone has done this of recent, any ideas of budget for, say, a 4-5 month trip all in? We're guessing at £10-12k for us both (not each).

Thanks in advance


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## PAT4NEIL (Jul 21, 2007)

Hi Ryan and Mel

Sounds great, weve only toured Thailand and had a fab time. Once youre away from the touristy places the prices come down a lot.

Havent really back packed though, I like some creature comforts, but if youre fit and well and adventerous then you will be fine.

I have heard of people who have done a swap of motorhome in Australia and New Zealand, would you trust anyone with your van. Could be a cheaper way of doing it as long as it feels right for you.

I enjoy reading your blog, so keep up the good work.

Pat


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## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

CHeers.
Thanks for your message earlier too - I hope you got my reply.

We have considered AND RULED OUT a motorhome swap. Our tiny camper is perfect for us, but not for many others. I'd be happy to use someone elses though (lol!) on a hire basis as I have good credentials and can prove mechanical sympathy and good knowledge etc. But no, I'd not lend ours out. 

Sounds selfish. Oh - it is 

We also like creature comforts but also like adventure, so may well be worth a go.... Beats Spain/Portugal over winter  (Says he currently on the Algarve lol!)


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## PAT4NEIL (Jul 21, 2007)

Yes I got your message thanks.

I guess swapping is not everyones cup of tea.

I also would find wintering every year in the same place a little dull, although I think in general those that ended to Spain and Portugal had better weather than the last couple of years.

From November we will be free of normal restraints and might in fact go down to Spain, Portugal or Morocco for a few months in the winter.

Depends really if there are any work prospects in this country, if so we might have to take that instead.

We are embarking on a big project and are hopeing to build an expedition vehicle base on an army truck, it will take a while probably 1 year with a few try outs locally. Then if all is well we will be heading over to south America for a year or two, depends if we do north america too.

Its a beautiful sunny day here in the south of England today.

Our friends Dinger has mentioned you to us, so through the blog we feel we know a bit about you. Much better at blogging than us, we need a lot more practice.

Pat


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## andrewball1000 (Oct 16, 2009)

NZ:- I have friends who have done it by MH hire and would not bother next time as it was expensive. Others hired a car and stopped at B&Bs or Backpacker hostels. They had planned and booked the B&Bs in advance and had a great time. There were also Backpacker buses like Kiwi Express on which you can buy a round ticket and stop off where you like for as long as you like then continue when you want. They know and stop at all the BP hostels.

Allow yourself long enough on both islands and have a great time. With the Car hire you needed to change cars between islands to save taking them across on the ferry. Not sure if this is still the case.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

andrewball1000 said:


> With the Car hire you needed to change cars between islands to save taking them across on the ferry. Not sure if this is still the case.


It's not necessary, but easily done and saves a lot of money.

Taking a Hi-Ace Camper both ways on the ferry was almost £300 it would have been £125 if we have travelled as foot passengers.

A Full size m/home would have been even dearer.


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## thegamwellsmythes (Jul 29, 2008)

We toured a bit of Australia about 10 years ago using hostels in the cities and hired cars between them staying at campsites in a little tent that we took.

I'm sure you've realised but don't forget how big it is and how long you could be driving for. We went from Sydney to Adelaide in the car and did not far off 2000km. It's only one corner of the place.

Make sure you buy a small tent, lightweight sleeping bags and an Eskie (coolbox) when you are out there to keep food and drinks (beer) cool.

If you go over our winter it is their summer holidays so popular places may be busy.

Over Christmas and New Year big cities like Sydney are very busy in the hostels so you'll need to book from the UK in advance.

Use a mix of hire cars, buses, trains and planes and you'll see just as much as you would with a motorhome but it will be cheaper.

We've travelled through most of South East Aisa as well. Get your first accommodation set up and allow yourself a bit of time to get used to the mad lifestyle over there before you start to travel about. Again Christmas and New Year will be busy so you might need to book ahead. Probably no need to camp in SE Aisa as you can normally find cheap bungalows anyway. Not sure how you would camp anyway. Do a bit of research in advance.

You could look at Intrepid Travel for a few itinerary ideas. We have used them to save the hassle of organising things ourselves when we are only out there for a couple of weeks. Normally we do a combo of thier trips and our own organisation.

Have a great trip. We'll be in India next winter over Christmas.

Intrepid Travel

I've just read it though and it sounds like I'm lecturing, sorry.....


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## Solwaybuggier (Mar 4, 2008)

I was interested to read this post - we're thinking of Vietnam/Thailand/maybe Cambodia for 6-8 weeks this time next year. We've been to Thailand a couple of times (to booked hotels) but our son came back from a world trip absolutely raving about Vietnam and I think that would be the main focus. 

I suppose we would be backpacking - ie we'd use rucksacks not suitcases - but from what I can see hotels and food in Vietnam are very reasonable, so we'd not be roughing it too much. I certainly wouldn't anticipate camping - due to the heat and the wildlife. (Last time we went to Thailand we stayed in a hotel on Ko Phangan - one evening there was a very loud bang on the bungalow door, which was fortunately locked. We discovered a large gecko had run into it!)

Like you we're very much at the early planning stage - good luck whichever option you plump for.


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## andrewball1000 (Oct 16, 2009)

Stanner said:


> andrewball1000 said:
> 
> 
> > With the Car hire you needed to change cars between islands to save taking them across on the ferry. Not sure if this is still the case.
> ...


I wasn't inferring that you have to hire twice. The car hire company sorts it all, you leave one at the Ferry and they meet you the other side with the next one. It just saves them paying for car ferry and keeps their cars in the right place. Probably applied to me as I was doing a one way drive.


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

1. David Elliott of Wellhouse has a campervan hire fleet in NZ as well as the UK

http://www.wellhouseleisure.co.nz/rental.php

2. My son did 3 months in NZ (hostels) and a couple of months in SE Asia last year on £4-5k. He did some work in NZ bars and restaurants, but mainly worked in the hostels cooking for other guests to eke his money out. NZ is not cheap.


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## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

All good advice and info - thanks.

So SE Asia would be hotel/hostel then. Was thinking of maybe a hire car and tent for NZ rather than MH to keep costs down so glad this has also been mention.

"Use a mix of hire cars, buses, trains and planes and you'll see just as much as you would with a motorhome but it will be cheaper" - good tip - and no lecture taken!!

Everyone seems to rave Vietnam and to be honest we know nothing about it... Research required...

Just googling maps and RTW tickets to see what is available.

Any best time of year for these places? And how much in advance do you need to book a ticket?


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## lifestyle (Apr 27, 2008)

My son ,bought a old mini bus ,already had a mattress ,made up a bed frame.bought a gas stove and freezer box and travelled the whole length of Os.
He said it was cheaper booking from Os ,to tour NZ .
Les


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

We saw lots of these 
https://bookings.jucy.co.nz/ssl/NZJucy130/webstep2Jucy.asp?refid=&URL=
when we were over there and some people we talked to had got really good deals for hire longer than a couple of weeks.


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

Some of our friends have done Auz and have had good success with Wicked Campers. Not a camper in the true sense of the word, more like a cheap Jap import van (some 4x4) with an improvised bed and some camping equipment thrown in. Oh and hardly subtle either, most are spray painted. But you are talking £35/day including insurance

Some friends of ours got a deal for £50 for 10 days as the van head to be back in Melbourne for another rental so cheaper to hire it out for a few quid then transport it back or pay a driver etc.

http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/cheap-campervans.html

The other option is of course to buy one - the Auzzies love Gumtree (hence why they use it over here to buy and sell their vans when they go and do Europe on 'Van Tour' as they call it).

On the face of it some of the 'vans' look pretty cheap, but I'm not familiar with the registration / insurance system but I've got some contacts in Aus - couples we've met on our previous euro tours give me a shout and i'll pass on a message if it helps.

http://brisbane.gumtree.com.au/f-Ca...rvan-motor-home-W0QQCatIdZ18374QQgalleryZtrue

Aus doesn't appeal but maybe it will in a few years 

Watching with interest.


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