I came to hate coach travel as a youngster a long time ago in England. Family day trips to the seaside by coach from home in Crewe to Rhyl in North Wales ( a mere 65 miles) or Blackpool (80 miles or so) were  seemingly endless. Small, slow , exceedingly uncomfortable coaches, the roads often winding,  and no motorways to speed the journey. It always seemed to rain continuously so that you couldn’t see outside. The inside of the coach windows rapidly steamed up and then ran with condensation. A claustrophobic mixture which was just about manageable UNTIL….the passenger in front lit up their first cigarette and began happily puffing smoke. Immediately this induced a seriously queasy feeling, inevitably followed soon after by full nausea for whatever remained of the journey – and sometimes that was a lot of miles!! Such was my aversion to coach travel that in subsequent years merely to approach a coach produced first apprehension, then nausea a short time into the journey. For the last forty years, since passing my driving test, I have studiously avoided coach travel. That is until last year!!

Planning a recent journey of a lifetime ‘down under’, my wife and I decided to hire a car to get around exploring  North Island New Zealand. This we did. But we also decided that we wished someone else to take the ‘travel strain’ once we moved on to South Island. Rail was our first thought. Researching we found that the rail network had its limitations and was a non starter. What  alternatives remained? You guessed….COACH TRAVEL!! 12 days on coaches to be precise. Oh dear.

Coaches it had to be then, whatever my reservations and reluctance. I therefore approached this leg of our trip with some trepidation. Hopefully I would not make a spectacle of myself and embarrass our fellow travellers.

Looking back now I need not have worried. The whole coach based round trip was an absolute pleasure, a marvellous experience, and totally carefree.

So what exactly wrought the transformation? In a nutshell it was the spectacular beauty of New Zealand itself, plus the splendid coach service that was available for us to use.

The New Zealand wide integrated coach network (operated by InterCity Group) consists of  InterCity Coachlines which “offered scheduled quality point to point bus transport on modern coaches at economic fares nationwide” and Newmans Coachlines   which “provided premium coach services between major cities and to and from New Zealand's key tourist destinations.” Our journey involved coaches from both lines utilising the daily scheduled services.  If you prefer your independence, and seeing different faces from day to day, rather than the same coach load of people as per standard coach tours, then this is the way to do it. You can enjoy the freedom to book to travel as and when you want to, anywhere you want to, to your own itinerary, and with a lengths of stay suiting your preference at each destination. There are various passes available, but in particular the ‘Flexi-Pass’ is worth considering closely. It represents excellent value. Basically the ‘FP’ involves purchasing travel hours : current rates,

• 15 hours only NZ$169.00

• 20 hours only NZ$225.00

• 25 hours only NZ $275.00

• 30 hours only NZ $32500

• 35 hours only NZ $375.00

• 40 hours only NZ $425.00

• 45 hours only NZ $469.00

• 50 hours only NZ $515.00

• 55 hours only NZ $559.00

• 60 hours only NZ $605.00

 with further details, can be found on the InterCity Coachlines and Newmans Coachlineswebsites http://www.intercitycoachlines.co.nz and http://www.newmanscoach.co.nz on either of whose coaches the hours can be used. To get some idea of how far your ‘hours’ will take you on South Island, the coach journey from Christchurch to Dunedin takes just over 5 hours, for a distance of approximately 230 miles. Set this against the facts that South Island is about 500 miles from end to end, and nowhere more than 160 miles wide.

The roads (‘SH’- that is State Highways) that we followed on South Island were mostly generous well made single carriageways, and not very busy at all, as evidenced by passing drivers waving acknowledgements to each other. At a few locations (eg Haast Pass) the roads narrowed and became more sinuous, even a little treacherous in places. Although the coaches work to a timetable, stops were made at beauty spots / viewing points with time offered to take those important pictures. We did not at any time feel rushed or pressured.

 The regular ‘Coach Stops’ were uniformly well appointed -offering refreshments, full meals, toilet facilities- were well timed and were unhurried. One especially memorable stop (I think it was en route from Franz Josef Glacier to Greymouth on the west coast) at Pukekura featured a restaurant building to the outside wall of which was fixed a giant model sandfly, with the premises  operated by a Kiwi gentleman, Pete, who has gained world renown for the superb quality of his possum pies, and to a lesser extent for his possum pate!! Sad to say we did not try either.

Coach time keeping throughout was excellent, as were all connections, transfers, and extremely convenient outside hotel drop offs. The coaches, without exception, were first class: with comfortable seating, air-conditioning , a smooth quiet ride, toilet facilities, and, for me above all, non-smoking. On some of legs of our journey innovatively designed coaches, featuring extensive glass roofs, provided an enhanced panoramic view of New Zealand's beautiful landscape, particularly so in the mountainous areas.

 The Coach Captains (as the drivers are called), again without exception, were extremely professional, humorous and  provided a regular (but not intrusive) stream of  useful observations, information, and anecdotes which enabled us to make sense of the landscape, land use and history as we went along. Make no mistake you will learn a great deal : totally painless and enriching. You probably already know about New Zealand’s 40 million sheep, and certainly about its excellent wines. We did, too, but we were totally unprepared for fields full of commercially raised deer, and the lasting evidence of the country’s own ‘Gold Rush’!!

My aversion to coach travel is no more. Based on our experience I can think of no better way to discover the delights of this wonderful country.

I can heartily recommend  the reasonably priced scheduled coach travel,  as a way of getting around: experiencing and appreciating what  New Zealand has to offer us all as international travellers.

...also 'Visit New Zealand'    http://www.swanelite.co.uk/nz1/

and 'Taieri Gorge Railway'    http://www.swanelite.co.uk/Taierigorgerailway