New Zealand - Taupo, Turangi, or Mangakino? (3-4 Months)

[Paul79UF]

My fiancee and I will be going to New Zealand in early January 2010 for about 3-4 months.

We're considering staying in the Central North Island area to be within driving distance to all of the parks, lakes, rivers, wineries and other recreational areas.

We'll be buying a used car, so transportation won't be a problem.

We're both about 30 years old, prefer to cook at home, and love hiking/fishing/kayaking. We'd like a relaxing, safe, and budget friendly extended vacation. We plan on renting a house (probably unfurnished) and buying the basics like chairs, air bed, dishes, etc at The Warehouse.

I've been searching a real estate rental site and there are plenty of listings in the three areas listed below.

Which of these locations would you choose for us and why?

1. Mangakino - small town, limited stores, lowest house rental prices $

2. Turangi - medium sized town, big grocery store, slightly more expensive $$

3. Taupo - big town, lots of stores/malls, The Warehouse, most expensive $$$

The prices in Mangakino are very attractive, but will we feel unsafe if it is a "low income" area or does it have a safe small town feel with friendly people?

Turangi sounds like the perfect compromise between the lack of services/shops in Mangakino and the higher prices in Taupo.

Taupo sounds lovely with tons of services/restaurants/attractions but if we're spending more on the house, we might feel less like taking 2-3 day mini-trips to other areas.

________Bonus Questions _______________

1. Is buying a used car easy in Auckland? Do you think a dealership would be willing to buy back the car for half price or more after 3-4 months and a few thousand kilometers?

2. Does the Vodafone Mobile Broadband service work in small towns? Is it painfully slow? Taupo has the best 3G coverage, but I'm hoping it works decently in the smaller towns.

I look forward to all your thoughts.

Thanks!
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[johnny_mac]

hey there. Yes your 3G would be usable in Taupo, neighboring areas can only get you signal for calling, 2g and 2.5G.. and the major 3G locations are far out there in wellington and auckland. Taumarunui can also access 3G which is 2-3 hours from taupo, but not as fast as you could get in taupo.

buying a used car in auckland is easy! selling it would need time. check out http://www.autotrader.co.nz/ where you can buy and sell your car.
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