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Final Thoughts: New Zealand

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Mt Cook and Lake

New Zealand surpassed my expectations, and while at times tiring and fast-paced, I would not trade my experiences for the world!

Highlights –

  • canyoning outside Auckland
  • haka dance in Maketu
  • volcanic mud bathing in Rotorua
  • Tongariro Crossing
  • trivia night in Wellington
  • bone carving in Barrytown
  • heli-hiking Franz Joseph glacier
  • cinema at Lake Wanaka
  • Christmas Eve dinner in Queenstown
  • jetboating
  • canyong swing
  • New Years Eve celebration in Christchurch

Christchurch CathedralDiscoveries –

  • self-catering is easy and can save me at least $10 per day in food costs
  • if the tap water is safe to drink, refill plastic bottles (do not keep buying water). bonus – you can downgrade to smaller bottles of water which means less to carry around.
  • the toilets have 2 buttons so you can choose between a light and heavy flush (yes, I had to ask someone why there were 2 buttons)

# of Nights Couchsurfing –

  • Zero (the holidays and tight bus schedule made it difficult)

Eating –

  • Mix of restaurants, cafes, and self-catering (everything from rack of lamb to instant noodles)

Average Daily Budget –

  • $115 (more than double the plan)

New Year's Eve Countdown in Christchurch - 2007/8

Let me know if there's another subject or topic you'd like me to cover in my “final thoughts” for each country I visit.

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About Dave

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking. For more of his adventures, follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

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Comments

  1. crambox says

    January 11, 2008 at 6:00 am

    Great just great, short sweet follow up to the month plus 10 days here at the start of this wonderful journey you have begun! Dave i have to say you must look into becoming a writer of some sorts it is just a pleasure to read about your trip.With the pictures and the frequent updates the google maps I hope it does for others what it does for me witch is make this day to day grind of normality disappear! Did you decide how long to stay in Bali or is that a later post? Please keep up the updates when you can I for one cant wait till the next one :smile: .. stay safe

  2. crambox says

    January 11, 2008 at 1:00 am

    Great just great, short sweet follow up to the month plus 10 days here at the start of this wonderful journey you have begun! Dave i have to say you must look into becoming a writer of some sorts it is just a pleasure to read about your trip.With the pictures and the frequent updates the google maps I hope it does for others what it does for me witch is make this day to day grind of normality disappear! Did you decide how long to stay in Bali or is that a later post? Please keep up the updates when you can I for one cant wait till the next one :smile: .. stay safe

  3. lissie says

    January 11, 2008 at 1:35 am

    Ouch sorry about the budget, yes NZ has perfected extracting $ from tourists who wish to face death and survive – quite funny really from NZer point of view. You are travelling pretty fast – if you slow down you will possibly get your budget back under control – Australia can be a similar price to NZ – probably not as many adrenaline thrills though so maybe chill at a beach for a while

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 1:03 am

      Ya – New Zealand’s thrill marketing machine is second to none! I’m actually spending less (it seems) in Australia so far, having already ponied up for my 2 big multi-day tours. I do want to slow down though, and am making some small decisions to that effect now, and will probably recoup more in Indonesia.

  4. lissie says

    January 11, 2008 at 6:35 am

    Ouch sorry about the budget, yes NZ has perfected extracting $ from tourists who wish to face death and survive – quite funny really from NZer point of view. You are travelling pretty fast – if you slow down you will possibly get your budget back under control – Australia can be a similar price to NZ – probably not as many adrenaline thrills though so maybe chill at a beach for a while

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 6:03 am

      Ya – New Zealand’s thrill marketing machine is second to none! I’m actually spending less (it seems) in Australia so far, having already ponied up for my 2 big multi-day tours. I do want to slow down though, and am making some small decisions to that effect now, and will probably recoup more in Indonesia.

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 6:03 am

      Ya – New Zealand’s thrill marketing machine is second to none! I’m actually spending less (it seems) in Australia so far, having already ponied up for my 2 big multi-day tours. I do want to slow down though, and am making some small decisions to that effect now, and will probably recoup more in Indonesia.

  5. Stu says

    January 11, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    I never understood why us toilets dont have the two button flush. Its such a huge waste of water here and a lot of places are having water problems… ohwell…

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 6:03 am

      I’d been using toilets for 31 years and never seen it till New Zealand and Australia. Makes sense to me!

  6. Stu says

    January 11, 2008 at 8:39 am

    I never understood why us toilets dont have the two button flush. Its such a huge waste of water here and a lot of places are having water problems… ohwell…

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 1:03 am

      I’d been using toilets for 31 years and never seen it till New Zealand and Australia. Makes sense to me!

  7. Sonia says

    January 11, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    What about adding some hotel/hostel reviews to your country recaps? (This is something I thought about doing for my CA trip, but I never got around to making it happen.) Nothing too extravagant… maybe just the name, location, a simple rating system. This would be really helpful for those of us looking for lodging recs for our own travels!

    Hope you get to do some Couchsurfing in Oz! If you’re heading thru Perth I can hook you up with some DC expats.

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 6:04 am

      Hmm, I could maybe highlight my favorite one or two hostels and the reasons why. Good suggestion!

      I’m not going to make it to Perth – too little time budgeted for this country. Thank you though!

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 6:04 am

      Hmm, I could maybe highlight my favorite one or two hostels and the reasons why. Good suggestion!

      I’m not going to make it to Perth – too little time budgeted for this country. Thank you though!

  8. Sonia says

    January 11, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    What about adding some hotel/hostel reviews to your country recaps? (This is something I thought about doing for my CA trip, but I never got around to making it happen.) Nothing too extravagant… maybe just the name, location, a simple rating system. This would be really helpful for those of us looking for lodging recs for our own travels!

    Hope you get to do some Couchsurfing in Oz! If you’re heading thru Perth I can hook you up with some DC expats.

    • Dave says

      January 12, 2008 at 1:04 am

      Hmm, I could maybe highlight my favorite one or two hostels and the reasons why. Good suggestion!

      I’m not going to make it to Perth – too little time budgeted for this country. Thank you though!

  9. Ames says

    January 12, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    Wow…. you did it right man! And I agree with crambox… your posts are great, so well written and the pics are just beautiful. You are definitely making these cold, short, and dark days brighter with your posts. New Zealand was always at the top of my list and you have confirmed it…. Makes me think I need significant time to really “do it right”. And know going into it I have better ideas about what I want to explore because there is just sooo much! Please have continued safe travels and am always looking forward to what you will share next!!!

  10. Ames says

    January 12, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    Wow…. you did it right man! And I agree with crambox… your posts are great, so well written and the pics are just beautiful. You are definitely making these cold, short, and dark days brighter with your posts. New Zealand was always at the top of my list and you have confirmed it…. Makes me think I need significant time to really “do it right”. And know going into it I have better ideas about what I want to explore because there is just sooo much! Please have continued safe travels and am always looking forward to what you will share next!!!

  11. Kango Suz says

    January 13, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    I want two-button flush! I want two-button flush! * falls on floor of the Starbucks and does a little-kid style tantrum*

    When I used to write for aboutmyplanet.com I found out about it, and I wanted it then but thought it was something that only uber-hipies knew how to get. Now that I hear all of NZ and Australia have it, I’m upset and feeling very short-flushed.
    Do you think you could fit a toilet in your backpack to bring home to me?

    (Btw, crambox is correct, you’ve become a very talented blogger, definitely my most looked-forward to blog read)

  12. Kango Suz says

    January 13, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    I want two-button flush! I want two-button flush! * falls on floor of the Starbucks and does a little-kid style tantrum*

    When I used to write for aboutmyplanet.com I found out about it, and I wanted it then but thought it was something that only uber-hipies knew how to get. Now that I hear all of NZ and Australia have it, I’m upset and feeling very short-flushed.
    Do you think you could fit a toilet in your backpack to bring home to me?

    (Btw, crambox is correct, you’ve become a very talented blogger, definitely my most looked-forward to blog read)

  13. kelley says

    July 6, 2010 at 1:01 am

    I'm flying into Auckland and will be in NZ for a week. Want to backpack around (and end back in Auckland) but have no idea where to start. Have a suggested itinerary?

  15. Dave says

    July 6, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    If you check out my New Zealand posts from December 2007, you can see a lot of what I saw of the North Island. Specifically, I liked Wellington a lot, and the 1-day hike of the Tongariro Crossing. I also went on a 5- hour canyoning trip out of Auckland which was a lot of fun.

    Otherwise, for me, the South Island was more exciting (with the glaciers, mountain views, and activities of Queenstown).