Ten spring days of Dunedin hills, harbour light and open Otago road
Late September at Momona is all changing weather. You get a bright clear morning, a squall off the Pacific by lunch, then low gold light over paddocks dotted with lambs. It's the time of year when the Otago Peninsula wakes up, and the National Day Golden Week crowd turns up with big plans for 29 September to 9 October. You step out of the small terminal into air that smells of cold grass, and the drive into the city is 30 minutes of easy State Highway 1. Booking your Dunedin Airport car rental ahead is what makes that first hour feel calm instead of frantic.
GO Rentals is where the savings are. It has eight listings averaging $1,078, starting at $775 for a Toyota Yaris Hybrid, with a Corolla Hatch Hybrid at $795 close behind. Hertz runs from $1,097.38 to $3,029.39, so the same week can cost nearly three times as much depending on the badge on the keys. If you're after cheap rental cars at Dunedin Airport, lock in a GO Rentals or Europcar price first, then see whether anything nearby beats it.
Most cars here seat five and plenty are hybrids, which suits the Peninsula's winding coast road and the long climb of the Southern Scenic Route. Spring can bring frost on the Central Otago passes and sudden showers on the coast, so a Mitsubishi Outlander at $935 or a Pajero Sport at $1,435 gives you more grip and boot space for heavy bags. Pick a pickup time that gets you on the road before the afternoon wind arrives, and check the weather before heading inland, because mornings can be icy even when the day turns warm.