Quote:
Originally Posted by CivicBlues
Hey Donk, so we've decided to go to NZ this year and booked 3 weeks in May. Going to fly into Auckland and make our way down to Christchurch with a rental car.
Prolly going to hit up the usual tourist sites in the North for a week and then do 2 weeks in the South.
Wanna see in the North: Auckland > Cathedral Cove > Rotorua > Worm Cave > Tongariro
Don't know if it's better to drive the whole way (taking the ferry between the islands) or loop back into Auckland (or Wellington?) drop off the car and fly into Queenstown and then get another car from there. Price wise, it's about the same surprisingly as 1-way car rentals are super common it seems. Anyways any thoughts on this?
Then in the South wanna see:
Abel Tasman > Kaikoura > Franz Josef > Wanaka > Queenstown > Milford Sound > Mt Cook > Lake Tekapo > Christchurch
Realize you probably haven't been to that many places since your doing a WHV and umm...working? Or maybe you have *shrugs*. Looks like you're based in the North. Why did you choose that town? Any tips for saving money and stuff I should be aware of? Hotels seem reasonable compared to N.America...is there a catch? Driving tips? Sounds like speed cameras are going to be a thorn in my side again. I'm guessing google maps directions underestimate drive times too?
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I dont think you can go wrong with literally any itinerary. Just prey the weather does not go to shit. When we went down south of north island, it was raining the entire week, didnt get to see taranaki like i wanted to.
Cathedral cove was amazing, keep in mind you need to park about 1hr away, take the shuttle, then walk 30 minutes to get there. There is no parking at the loop.
Or...... about 200m before the loop, theres a house with "day parking" for 20$ or something. I did this, because im lazy, and the shuttle was done for the day, plus i arrived just before sunset and did not have time to dick around.
Auckland..... is just another major city honestly, i tend to avoid these while on vacation, depends what your activities are like for your 3 weeks.
Rotorua was epic, i have never seen natural geysers, they are littered in this area. Spend the money, and go to the natural hot pools. Reminds me of japanese onsen.
Tongariro was worth it as well, lots to see in that area, there are a few short 1hr hikes to waterfalls and such from gravel parking lots.
As for the worm cave.... i didnt go, but if its anything like Australia, its all photoshopped tour images, and highly dependent on the time you go. At best, you will see somewhat glow from the worms. I believe night time is best if you want the full experience.
Cant comment on flying vs ferry and south island, you will need to report back dawg. Slightly jealous of you planning to go to Milford Sound, that was #2 of my NZ must do, but the surf got me instead. Never made it to south island.
I did one month in Raglan, last two months in Hamilton. Why here? Because i prefer mid sized towns. More importantly this trip was about surf + future of work.
Raglan = surf
Hamilton = work. Note: Hamilton is not much of a "tourist" destination.
The speed cameras trigger 1km over the limit, they are spread all around NZ. i would not worry too much, if your only 10k over, its like 40$, 20k over, 80$, just add it to your trip cost. Or if your a nun, then do the speed limit.
Drive times are quite accurate i would say, dont forget to add 30mins-1hr to your drives for stops, food, piss breaks, etc.
I did airbnb for 95%, when the GF came down for 2 weeks, we sorta did half hotel half airbnb depending on the scenario. BOOK EARLY if you can, lots of places had 0 vacancy, but this was over xmas break, and we sorta did day by day plans, not weeks in advance.
Other saving money tips.... honestly i look for the cheapest place to stay possible, then dont feel bad spending money on food, experiences, etc. At the end of the day the place you book to stay is just a bed, thats all. The gf did open her wallet in Rotorua for hot tub in our unit, she got the D as reward.
With that being said, my trip is coming to an end, the Snow thread is giving me PTSD for returning to vancouver in a few days
Floods, cyclones, earthquakes:
As some of you heard, there was record rain this year in NZ, Auckland had massive flooding.
The road to Raglan near me collapsed.
Both roads to Cathedral collapsed and infilled
Then a cyclone hit
Then an earthquake hit south island and caused more damage
Bed bath and Beyond decided to do a promotion, the locals will no longer be buying from BBBY
Work
Was overall a success, the company is onboard with me coming back yearly as a temp. Now i gotta convince the GF to sizzle down and let me go yearly for x months.
Never seen a praying mantis in real life before, these guys for some reason show up on ac equipment
Expenses
Prices estimated in CAD:
1400$ - Flight direct round trip
6500$ - 3 months of stay, mostly 1 month furnished units off airbnb
2200$ - Car purchase
670$ - Car maintenance - repairs - insurance - speeding fine
1100$ - Gas: 6000kms / 500km tank
1000$ - Surf board / wetsuit / broken fins
500$ - First drone
600$ - Second drone
3000$ - Food
300$ - Clothing
500$ - Experiences / tours
200$ - Travel insurance / phone plan /
Total: 17,790$ estimate for 3 months
Or 10,270$ with below "income"
+1500$ Car sold on auction (was expecting more... when i bought the auction went to 2200$, maybe because i bought in Auckland...)
+6000$ Employment
Overall
100% worth it, anyone who can, i would highly suggest a work holiday to any country.
Bored with life? = work holiday.
Wife divorced you? = work holiday.
I got a few days left here, as the locals say:
sweet as
