A Terrible Experience We arrived at the Christchurch…read morelocation to be given a 10-year year-old hybrid, apparently just delivered Japan, with all the instructions - the screen and various written instructions on the car - only in Japanese. There was no way to change the screen to English or French (our second language). Of course, no one can safely drive a car when you cannot understand neither the safety instructions nor the way to operate the navigation system nor even the simplest things, like how to set the clock or change the brightness level on the dashboard, which was set at dim. The contract states that renters are fully responsible if car instructions are not followed for overheating or oil loss etc. But we could not understand the instructions on the dash, so no way to know what any warning light might mean. The contract (Clause 9b) states that the contract is null and void if a vehicle is unroadworthy. It was. Any vehicle is of you can't read the instructions. We wanted out. The local manager in Christchurch was excellent and put us in touch with headquarters, who argued for 20 minutes that the car was roadworthy and to trust them that the screen instructions were irrelevant, and not part of the contract. That was ridiculous: all parts of a vehicle are part of the vehicle, screen and safety instructions included. On Google a similar car was selling for less than $6,000. Yup it passed roadworthy inspection ...we were told. No proof was offered, and of course the Japanese language navigation screen had Japan and not New Zealand. The manager refused to include a separate English language GPS system. Finally, after much argument, the contract was cancelled. Three hours lost. We did appreciate the goodwill of the local manager: she was understanding and delightful but caught between us and a very unpleasant manager on the phone from HQ. Advice: read the fine print and stand up to the bully tactics. Yes, James Blond is a few dollars cheaper but buyer beware, "Gold Economy" may well get you a secondhand car with no place to charge your phone and with all instructions in a foreign language. The car smelled of cheap perfume, no doubt to cover up that a previous owner was a smoker. We have just rented from Budget, a brand-new SUV with top-notch safety features and excellent insurance coverage and only nominally more expensive. Off we go to hike.

This family run business, headed by John, is a first class operation, and I appreciate how they…read moreconduct their business. Important criteria for me are: price, business ethics and product offering. I researched all the car rental companies for price, as I needed a car for four months. I obviously ended up here, and was glad I did. I rented an "older" car, a 2005 model, at the "winter" rate of $17/day. Though the rental period would encompass the summer, as I was taking possession before the "summer" rate went into effect, John honored the "winter" rate for my entire rental. Since I was renting the car for such a long period, and not having a private vehicle insurance policy, I had to evaluate the company insurance costs. Though his insurance rates are competitive with everyone else in the industry, John advised me not to take out the insurance, or to only take out the basic insurance and add windscreen protection. Considering the four month rental, insurance costs would have driven up the cost substantially, so I declined all coverage (I'm a safe defensive driver). Regrettably, in the last 10 days of the 4 month rental, I received a severe chip in the windscreen, courtesy of a passing truck, which turned into a big crack, necessitating the replacement of the windscreen. Though the national windscreen replacement company quoted me $450, and John initially quoted me $390, when I brought the car in, he had it re-quoted and it was only $320. Obviously, John could have maintained the price at $390, and I never would have known. But, his ethics prevailed. The car was mechanically perfect, and dealing with him, and his staff during the entire rental period was painless, efficient, and friendly. I would rent from James Blond again, and heartily recommend them!

We had a delightful time, with Meredith as our guide! She picked us up bright and early, and even…read morecame into our hotel lobby area to find us. She had plenty of facts to share, providing the local perspective of how Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. It was a super smooth experience! We went to Hobbiton, and the tour group smartly booked the early lunch slot, meaning that we were able to access the buffet uninterrupted.

During our trip to Auckland, high on our list of things to see was Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves. As…read morenone of us can drive, we can't just "rent a car" (as many people suggest) and drive out to Hobbiton or Waitomo Caves, so we had to find a tour company to take us. My sister researched tour companies and settled on Bush and Beach, as they offered a smaller tour group, as opposed to a large coach with 50 people. (In addition to my sister, husband, and I, there were two other people with us, a mother and son from New York, who were lovely people.) For $395NZ per person (the current price is now $450), the price included admission to Hobbiton (the tour and lunch combo) and Waitomo Caves. While $395 is not cheap, considering it included admission to the attractions (which is now $158 and $75, respectively -- it was probably cheaper last year), transportation (we spent several hours driving), and the driver's time (a full day -- we were picked up from our hotel at 6:45am and returned around 12 hours later), the price was very reasonable. It was a great day, but what made it such a memorable experience was Damian, our driver. Damian is honestly the highlight of my trip to Auckland. He was just so AMAZING. He was friendly and personable, and you could tell he really liked his job and meeting people. On our drive he told us interesting tidbits about the area and history of New Zealand and made the drive very interesting. He was so engaging. If that wasn't enough, he bought all of us "hokey pokey" ice cream, which is apparently a famous flavour of ice cream in New Zealand, and on our way to Waitomo Caves from Hobbiton, he took us to see Waipapa Dam and the surrounding area as we had some extra time. Seeing Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves is a great experience in itself, but Damian pushed it over the top. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]