What I wish I'd known in New Zealand.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." -Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring.

Well, this post on New Zealand  was going to be a lot different than what it ended up being. To put it bluntly, the original draft consisted of a full on rant about how I absolutely detested a NZ bus/tour company and how my experience of New Zealand was basically ruined by a backpacker bus.

A few days of planning and soul searching mid-trip I decided to ditch said bus tour. It was either that or I was going to end up leaving perhaps one of the most beautiful countries on Earth with a bad taste in my mouth.

Well, besides the sulfury eggy taste from Rotorua.

And so I dedicate the following post to those out there contemplating a trip to New Zealand. And er, perhaps can avoid making the same mistakes I did. 

1.) December-April is insane in terms of tourism.

Holy snap, New Zealand! For some crazy, misinformed reason, I assumed that NZ, relying on the rest-of-the-world's schedule, wouldn't experience surges of tourists until our northern hemisphere months (May-August). I was very, very wrong.  Everyone wants to get out of their own personal snow-hell (here's to you, NE North America) and are looking at New Zealand to holiday in. Which unfortunately, unless you've hired a campervan to spend your nights in, you are looking at booked-solid accommodation. It's not a last-minute trip this time of year, that's for sure.

This empty road is deceptive.

2.)  Know your tour.

Ok, so I mentioned I may have been stuck on a hell tour. Said tour in question was Kiwi Experience. They are more of a bus-pass system with a side of touring, with the driver who acts as a tour promoter/hostel booker/guru of everything.  Sounds good in practice....and in choosing them I did like most, based on good reviews on TripAdvisor and a price tag I felt I could live with.

Now, before I get on my soapbox, there were  people on my bus that did have a good time. They were predominately under the age of 23 and mostly had no real fixed plan of New Zealand aside from partying and were OK with getting stuck in towns for several days. Which is really the target group Kiwi is looking for. For the 'I have X date to be in X airport'  or 'Drinking parties are not why I came here' well, your patience might be tested.

Yeah.

The biggest problem I had with Kiwi Experience wasn't with the partying, but with lack of organization as well as information that could have prepared me to negotiate the hurdles that came up. Yes, travel has issues, (just ask anyone) but when you book a bus pass/tour, it's implied the service you paid for is covered and uh, reserved.  What booking doesn't tell you is that KE will only book you for one 'sector' of travel when you purchase a pass ticket. This means if you purchase a pass for the entire country, well, you're only good for where that pass starts in (ie: North Island, South Island).

Talking a long walk off a short pier....

 During the high season of travel, passengers that haven't reserved individually all of their sectors (note: you would have to know this to do this) won't get on buses departing to other sectors. In comes me, and I find this out two days in-tour. I'm left scrambling to figure myself out of my last stop in Queenstown with a flight that departs Auckland on a set date. This ultimately led me to a last-minute plane ticket. Yeah.


3.) Because campervan/rental car is the way to go.

I'm no New Zealand tourism expert, but I'm sure they would agree with me that something is lost going on a bus tour in New Zealand. Yeah sure, it's convenient and...potentially informative, but at some point driving past one two many interesting stops was frustrating. I could imagine a lot more flexibility in seeing New Zealand if I had my own set of wheels. Of course, as a single traveler, this is not the most affordable option either, so bring friends or family, or make nice with someone.

4.) New Zealand is pricey.

Oh jeeze is it not cheap. New Zealand's definitely a place to save for, and it's better to come here willing to spend than not . I'm not saying it's completely out of a super-budget price-range, but I was shocked how expensive activities were here. The best things in New Zealand are outdoors, granted, and hiking is free, but transportation, adventure activities  (glacier walks, bungee jumps, kayaking, dolphin swimming, glowworm caves...you name it), food, and lodging cost a lot more than I had seen in Australia.

Apple picking: working holiday in Hobbiton.

5.) Go in with a plan (if you have set dates)

This might have been my biggest blunder. I'm working on being a little more flexible with my travels, and trying not to trap myself with reservations (nothing says inflexible like a plane ticket) but I'd be lying if I'm indirectly not a type-A, try to figure out everything in advance type traveler (resulting in me procrastinating on everything else in the meantime, such as, ahem travel blogging.)

Feeling a bit sheepish.

I kinda just left it up to my so-called tour to determine everything for me to see in New Zealand.  When I reached my make-or-break point mid-tour and  chose to escape rather than spend another day losing my mind, I had no idea where to go or what to do. I made a quick choice and spent my four days in one town. While I had a great time, I may have been able to fit in some more sights had I had a better idea of what else was out there. Even if you go on a tour, have an idea about what you want to see- in case you have to abandon ship.

I made like this fur seal and beat it.

6. Bring a sweater.

I learned this first in Tasmania, then in New Zealand. It's an island, yes, but it's not the Caribbean. This water comes from Antarctica.

Swimming? Nope, nope, nope.

It will get cold at some point, somewhere, even in the middle of their summer. So don't forget some warm clothes.

7. Bring good outdoor shoes.

So uh, I literally wore out my shoes in New Zealand. Granted, I've been hoofing it around the world since October 07, but I didn't anticipate replacing them as quickly as I did.

You were supposed to get me through China!!!

Much and more of New Zealand is outside, and requires a bit of walking/hiking/climbing. I luckily managed to find a shoe store to get some new kicks after wondering why my knees were aching for days marching up mountains and back.

So bring a good pair for New Zealand- the more comfortable and durable (and rain/mud/anything outdoors-proof), the better!

8. Distances are greater than you think.

Speaking of being on the go, how about traveling through New Zealand? Looking on a map, New Zealand looks relatively small.  But it's really not. So don't try and fit too many towns in day by day. It might take a little longer than you think.

Driving Queenstown to Auckland.takes how many hours!?!?

9. Leave your food at home.

This goes for Australia too. Their bio-restriction rules are strict. Leave anything organic (food, plants, products) back where you came from. Heaven forbid you bring a banana.

They'll feed you to the sheep.

10. Time.

I saved this one for last, mostly because, I have an issue with this argument. It seems to be a point made in travel that anything less than three years in one spot is not enough time to see a location. Example: You spent X days in X city/region/country? That's not enough time.

Two weeks was just enough, though with three weeks I could have seen more of the North Island. My point is, go for however long you can (some travel is better than no travel), but to have a fairly good 'holiday' I will advise a minimum of three weeks.

But don't be surprised when you start planning to come back for more.

It didn't seem like my blog would ever see life again, but I'm working onto finishing writing about Papau New Guinea, and closing on Australia. Stay tuned!