Comments and photos send by our clients after touring in New Zealand:


What happens when the Jurgensons, Canadian Miata enthusiasts and long distance tourers meet up with Ron Hazlehurst of MX5 Rentals? An exceptional touring holiday covering both the north and south islands of New Zealand, that’s what. From the far south, in Invercargill to the far north of Manganoui and the 90 mile beach, the east and west coasts of both islands, the tour of a lifetime in an MX5 with the top down was undertaken.
The Jurgensons and in laws, the Nobles, were met at the airport in Christchurch by Ron and taken to his place to pick up the cars. Both the NC’s, gleaming in the sun, were awaiting us for our New Zealand adventure in the sun. Little did we know the fabulous roads and breathtaking landscapes that lay ahead. Except for some superslab driving (motorways) around the major urban centers, sealed roads in New Zealand follow the contour rather than the straight line. New Zealand roads were designed for the MX5 and the driving enthusiast.
As MX5 owners in Canada, we believe that the top was designed for overnight storage, security and refuge in downpours. During our 26 day tour, aside from overnight parking, the tops were up for maybe a total of a day and a half. The rest of the time we were blessed with sun or on a few occasions light drizzle which we drove through with tops down.
The roads are exceptional amusement. Roads are posted at reasonable speed limits which allow the driver to use their discretion in deciding how much vigour with which corners can be driven. The cars, both in excellent condition and state of preparation, let both drivers concentrate on the business of driving without worrying about the serviceability of them.
All drivers have different temperaments with regards to their driving style. This is true about the both of us on this tour. One of us was of a touring temperament and the other loves the thrill of G’s in the corners. Both of us came away with having been thrilled with the holiday. With regards to touring and sightseeing, both islands offer jaw dropping features and landscapes that are many and varied. The mountain and coastal roads of both the north and south islands offer fantastic sights and opportunities to enjoy spirited driving.

Thanks Ron,
It was a fantastic experience and I will be have great things to say about MX5 Rentals to anyone traveling to to New Zealand and the South Island. The trips success was due to the car ability to make the most of the environment - as well as the company and scenery.
I look forward to using you again.
Regards, Jonathan Spicer, Archengine Architects

NZ is definitely the most beautiful place on earth and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thanks so much for accommodating us. Jolene and Raymond Liow

To the team at MX5 Rentals.
With delight, I am writing to thank you sincerely for helping to make our honeymoon as wonderful as it was! Our experience with our little MX5 convertible was amazing to say the very least. This was without doubt the perfect way to see the stunning scenery of the South Island!

In the hope that you will perhaps use our story as an endorsement to show other potential customers, I’d like to reiterate how blown away we were with the service that you provided.

Six months before our honeymoon, my wife (then fiancée) and I had booked a small convertible with another company in Greymouth. We both had our hearts set on touring the South Island in a car with the top down. Content with our booking and very much looking forward to it, we understood that everything had been sorted. That was until a few weeks before our honeymoon, when we rung to check the capability of the car’s stereo. In the ensuing conversation, the rental company we had booked with denied having ever set aside a convertible for us! They said that there is nothing they could do and we couldn’t have a convertible. We were gutted. After a Google search, we could only find one other hire company that offered convertibles… MX5 Rentals. Unfortunately, we learnt that MX5 Rentals were based in Christchurch and we needed to pick the car up in Greymouth (on the other side of the South Island). My wife decided to phone MX5 rentals to ask for some advice.

We had an absolutely ball in our MX5. We loved the unique and open view of the scenery, the slick handling, the sporty look and the dozens of positive comments and smiles we got from onlookers everywhere we went. So thank you for giving us our convertible and helping to make our dream honeymoon everything we wanted it to be and much more.We’ll be back for more!
Yours sincerely,
Tim and Beth Southey.

New Zealand in an MX-5 – the only way to go!
by Neville Fair

I thought I would share our driving experiences in New Zealand earlier this year with the club members (This is probably not suitable not suitable for a Sunday run as we covered over 7000kms in 4 weeks!). A couple of other club members have also been to NZ this year and hired an MX-5 from the same company we did. All have thought that the roads are great and ideally suited to our favorite car.

I had been told by several people that the New Zealand roads, particularly on the South Island, were great driving and they weren’t wrong!! The roads are a bit like Melbourne weather – if you don’t like what you have currently you just have to wait for half an hour and you’ll have something completely different.

We had heard that there were a number of companies that hired MX-5s in NZ and I found MX-5 Rentals in Christchurch on the internet (http://mx5rentals.co.nz/index.htm ). The car we had and also the supporting service (pick up and drop off at airport/hotel) were great. At the time we went, the company had 3 NBs but they now have 2 NCs as well. The rental for the 16 days was very reasonable (and even better when you factor in the exchange rate where the Aussie dollar gets around $1.25 NZ) and there was no limit on distance traveled. In addition to the car, we also hired a roadster bag which sat on the soft top (when down) or in the roof “cavity”. These bags are made by an MX-5 enthusiast in Auckland and for an extra $1 per day we were able to store jackets etc quite readily. Unfortunately they don’t seem to work on the NC! A couple of photos below show the bag “in action”!

We hired an NB for our 16 day adventure and basically drove anticlockwise around the South Island, starting and finishing in Christchurch. In total we drove 4,500kms in 16 days – yep we were on the road for quite a bit of the time but if you go for a driving holiday you may as well drive! Several of the roads in the South Island are fantastic with good surfaces and plenty of scenery. The roads on the North Island aren’t too bad either (except we were not in a 5!) Some expat Kiwis thought we were crazy hiring a convertible, but in the 16 days we had the car we had the roof up 6 times. Twice because of light rain and 4 times because it was too hot!! So for more than 95% of the trip, we were topless (so to speak!)

The Beast (Red NB8A 1999)

Filled that car! – including the roadster bag that fitted on top of the soft top

We left Christchurch and drove north toward Kaikoura. The first hour or so was pretty straight forward with very little traffic but after Cheviot we had a great drive to Kiakoura. It is quite a bit like the Great Ocean Road as you are driving right beside the sea. After Kaikoura we headed for Nelson (Where we were going to stay for a couple of days. The road from Blenheim to Nelson is very twisty and really gave me an opportunity to get the “feel” of an NB as it is quite different to our NC (not going to get into any comparison debates!)

Around Nelson (northern part of the South Island) there are some nice drives. Going to Picton via Queen Charlotte Pass (after going through Havelock) is scenic and very twisty but the speed limit is low (50kph!) but going to Cape Farewell is a very different story! It was a fairly straight forward start through Kaiteriteri but then we came to Takaka Hill – WOW, what a hill! It was a fantastic drive; fairly fast corners and very little traffic. When we did encounter another vehicle, they usually pulled over to let the red sports car through. The other great thing was that we had to come back the same way! It was an enjoyable drive all the way to Port Puponga which was as far north as we could go in the car. Quite a mix of driving conditions and scenery and great top down driving!

Whilst the drive down the west coast was pleasant the next memorable roads were near Queenstown. Crown Range is very twisty with a number of 20kph advisories and hair pin bends – good fun! Queenstown to Glenorchy (apparently this is Lord of the Rings country) is also a very enjoyable drive both for the road and the scenery and once again there is only one road in and out.

Many of the roads are in the (glacial) valleys and follow the contour of the mountains/hills – hence the twisty bits!

Next stop (and road) was Milford Sound via Te Anau. Pretty straight forward from Queenstown to Te Anau and scenery was varied but the drive to Milford Sound was a VERY nice drive – so glad we got the 5!. Not a lot of traffic and the only hold up was a one way tunnel not far from Milford Sound.

Next stop Dunedin. Not much to comment on the road from Queenstown but not far from Dunedin CBD is the Otago Peninsular. This has a nice twisty route along the coastline (but slow speed limit). All in all a good drive to Portobelo and then we took the alternate (summit) route back to Dunedin. The summit roads (Otago Peninsular, Port Hills and Acaroa) were very twisty, fairly narrow and there is nothing (apart from small trees and grass) to stop you going over the edge – certainly keeps you focused!

We then traveled from Dunedin to Akaroa (not far from Christchurch) via Mt Cook. Most of the driving was straightforward but there was some great scenery and even in the middle of summer there was snow on some of the peaks.

From Christchurch we traversed the Port Hills which start just outside the CBD. A number of people had said how good the 70 or so kilometers of road to Acaroa is and we found that whilst the road was twisty and quite challenging the drive was spoilt a bit by a number of slower drivers. For the most part drivers had pulled off when they saw a faster driver but not here!! Nevertheless a worthwhile drive and probably a lot better “off peak”.

At Acaroa we went for a drive on the summit road – VERY twisty but you need to keep your eyes on the road and not the scenery. I remember thinking this would be a bad time to experience an earthquake as there was no guard rail and there was nothing to stop you if you went over the edge!

Our last trip in the 5 was from Akaroa to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass (which is an obvious short cut!) Twisty roads from Akaroa to Christchurch and then very straight road for about an hour and then the steady climb (and turns) to Arthur’s Pass; great weather and scenery and a fantastic drive up to the pass and back. Whilst at Arthur’s Pass we met an English couple who told us they had a 5 and they were curious as to how we managed to tour in one. I showed them how the boot was packed, the husband made the comment “That’s a work or art!”. As the trip progressed I had become quite adept at utilizing ALL of the boot space in the NB!

The next day we returned the car and we were driven to the airport where we caught a plane to Wellington. Here we picked up a hire car (unfortunately not an MX-5) and commenced our 12 day trip (3000km) around the North Island. Initially I had thought of taking the 5 to the North Island but it was going to cost about $250 each way on the ferry. The flights were $40 each and to be honest, I had had enough of packing everything into the boot of the 5 each day!

The North Island was quite different to the South. The roads were, for the most part, straighter and the scenery, in my opinion was not as good. There were a lot more small towns as well (the greater proportion of the Kiwis live on the North Island). There were a few “memorable roads on the North Island. Wellington to Martinborough is a nice drive through the mountains. At the Bay of Islands we chose to take a bus trip that travels along 90 Mile Beach which was a good trip (but not twisty!) The road back from Point Reinga (northern most tip of NZ) is quite twisty but the road to Auckland (via the west coast) has a fantastic stretch of winding road through the Waipoua Forest which was magic – would be ideal for a 5!

On our last full day in NZ and we set off from Auckland for Coromandel. The west coast of the peninsular is very twisty and at time very narrow and slow. The east coast has some great scenery and roads – shame about the car we had at this stage though!!

In conclusion, I would offer the following information regarding driving in NZ:-
• Many slower vehicles will pull over to the left to let you pass and sections of road that would normally have double white lines in Australia have broken lines so you can easily pass slower traffic (if they pull to the left!)
• There are lots of 1 lane bridges and it doesn’t seem to matter which way you are traveling you always get the give way sign! Beware though - quite often the approaches to these bridges are blind and many people coming the other way do not slow down.
• Maui/camper vans formed mobile chicanes everywhere on the South Island but for the most part traffic was very light. The number of Maui vans may reduce during other time of the year.
• At intersections, people turning left have to give way to those turning right, something like Victoria used to be – bit tricky when you are not used to it
• BAC is 0.08 (not 0.05 as in Oz).
• You only need an Australian license to drive in NZ for up to a year (do not need an international permit).

All in all we had a great time driving in NZ and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone (in a 5 of course!). I would say that the roads in the South Island are MX-5 Nirvana! Some of the roads in the North Island aren’t too bad either but there are a lot of population centres.

Hi Ron, this is the only photo of the three cars, we had stopped for a
coffee on a side road south of Timaru.
We had a great trip around the south Island starting of course at
Christchurch, up to Hamner over to the coast up to Blenhiem,Nelson,
Westport, Franz Joseph, Wanaka, Queenstown Dunedin,Timaru Banks Penisula and
back to Christchurch.
The three NBs ran well and with the good weather for 90% of the trip the
tops stayed down. Not only did we see our beautiful contry we could smell it
as well truly a great part of New Zealand.
Thank you for the cars and picking us up at the airport. My wife and I are
thinking of doing it again in perhaps a years time.I have been speaking
fellow MX5ers and I think you may very well see some more of us in the
future.
Thanks again from the six aging teenagers.
Morrin & Janice Layton

 

Ron met us at Christchurch airport and took us to his base, where we filled in the paperwork and squeezed our bags into the boot (no problem, we could have taken more..), showed us how to operate the roof and talked us through a few points about driving the car.
Then time to sink down into the seats, fire it up and get moving. From previous brief experiences with sports cars I had expected to have to learn the right technique for getting the car moving, but it turned out to be easier to drive than my standard Nissan, with a smooth clutch, slick gear change and willing, torquey motor. By the time we were in second gear I was feeling confident, enjoying the healthy burble from the exhaust, and smiling.
Overall impressions of the MX5? Easy, fun and satisfying to drive. Definitely a practical car for touring. David and Glenys, NZ.

"OK, as a sports car enthusiast I freely admit I'm biased.......but......the ONLY! way to see the beautiful southern island of New Zealand is from the open cockpit of a true sports car and the BEST! way for a visitor to get into a true sports car is to hire a Mazda MX5 Roadster from Ron Hazlehurst's MX5 Rentals of Christchurch New Zealand. For the rental cost of a small, boring, "buzzbox" from one of the large rental companies, we were able to enjoy fantastic roads and scenery driving a brilliantly prepared MX5 NB RS Roadster. From the time Ron met us at the airport, the whole experience was a positive and enjoyable one.............truly the only sad moment was having to say good-bye to the car and return home. Nor do you have to be a enthusiast to enjoy touring in an MX5, Ron's cars are in excellent condition and easy to drive. I unreservedly recommend MX5 Rentals New Zealand to any couple planning a tour of New Zealand......thanks Ron! and thanks New Zealand!
Col Ellis, Winston Hills, NSW Australia."