Travelling around camping etc and staying in country cabins / motels is very doable. Its a tourist friendly place, and very safe to travel within.

For specific nz fishing info, check out the NZ Flyfishing Forum (not a plug moderators, just directing this chap to a good source of local kiwi fishing info) at www.flyshop.co.nz

While a guide is not essential a day or two initially with a good one will help orient you, and help teach you how and where to find our trout, as well as introduce you to the Kiwi style of sight fishing. This will ensure you have solid foundation for the remainder of your trip and make your available fishing time that much more enjoyable.

There is another thread current on this forum re nz, take a read and have fun! And dont believe those dvd's. Whilst there is a lot of 'easy' fishing available, these dvd's sometimes take years to film... not every day is a trophy fish day!

Chris