New Zealand Planning

If you've already committed yourself to a trip to New Zealand or just thinking about, then this page is for you. Below is a good process to follow:

#1 - Get Passports Ready

US Passport

So why is this the first step? Because in the USA at least, it can take months to either get a new passport or get one renewed. TIP: AAA Club is a great place to help you through the process. What happens if you're running out of time and you need your passport right away? Then you'll have to show up in person with cash in had to your nearest Passport Agency. If your passport is current, then you are good to go

 #2 - Deciding on When to Travel

Unless you're coming to New Zealand for winters sports, shoulder seasons (Spring or Fall) are best to avoid the summer season crowds. Kiwis love their summers, so when schools is out so are Kiwi families  along with hordes of tourists. Competition for campsites and attractions during the summer can be intense.

We chose the month of November for our trip as it's springtime with flower displays.  We flew both into and out of Auckland, seeing most of the North Island first and then heading to the South Island as the spring weather warmed up. This strategy worked fairly well; however, spring weather can be changeable and quite cool at times.

Kiwis we met recommended coming in March/April after public schools are back in session but also while the weather is still warm and mild.  In this case, it's better to fly into Christchurch to see the South Island first, then tour the North Island and fly out of Auckland. Another benefit is many vans rental companies need more vans in Auckland to get ready for their next season and can offer discounts. Our friends Leslie and Al did go in March/April and did indeed report warmer weather with less rain than we experienced.

#3 - Transportation and other Reservations

Next you'll want to get your plane reservations settled.  You'll have a wide range of airlines to choose from, but we picked Air New Zealand because they were offering great deals on tickets at the time. You can easily sign up online for their email updates on their ticket sales. For the best value, check out their premium economy seats.

Many European travelers had high praise for Emirates Airlines as a good deal for the money, both in ticket pricing and the amenities offered.

If you're not staying in one place, you'll need some means of transportation. One option is using their bus and coach transport, or traveling by rail. We rented camper vans for the maximum travel flexibility. You'll find no shortage of van rental companies in an online search. Here is just a partial list of companies offering vehicle rentals:

• Maui New Zealand
• Wenderkreisen (the one we used)
• Iconic Motorhomes (the one Jill & Mark used)
• Wicked Campers (used by many of the younger crowd)
• Juicy (also popular with the younger set)

You might also consider buying a vehicle and then selling it back at the end of your trip. We met several people who had bought their vans and then sold them afterwards through TradeMe - a Kiwi site similar to Craigslist.  An enterprising young man from Sweden had bought his van through TradeMe, fixed it up a bit, drove it for almost two years, and then sold it for a profit. He did have timing on his side in buying the end of the fall tourist season and then selling at the beginning of the spring season.

Since we were traveling during the spring shoulder season, we really didn't experience much trouble getting campsites, tickets to attractions, or even ferry sailings with short notice. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would call ahead a day or two to make sure we could get in. However, most of the time, we just showed up.  HOWEVER, if you are traveling during the crowded summer season, you'll need to be careful about planning ahead and setting up reservations ahead.

 

#4 - Research Materials

We started out by assembling recommendations of sites to see and things to do in New Zealand from a variety of sources including online and from friends. Below is an interactive map made from these recommendations:

 

After checking out several tour books, we bought Lonely Planet's New Zealand  available via Amazon as either a paperback or Kindle book.

Also we ordered the National Geographic Adventure Map of New Zealand. Yes - you'll need a paper map as you will not have cell/data coverage for your navigation apps in much of the country.

CamperMate is a great app for your smart phone that's available for both iPhones and Androids. It not only operates as a finder for campsites, but also for finding the nearest grocery store, gas station, or public toilet.

Also, we got recommendations from Kelly Cathlow of Iconic Mortorhomes New Zealand (Jill & Mark's Van rental). Kelly has great pointers and tips for both the North Island (PDF) and the South Island (PDF).

#5 - Packing

With the wide diversity of climate zones and changeable weather, you'll need to pack different layers of clothing for all kinds of weather. We experienced a range of warm sunny shorts & tee-shirts weather to biting cold with a possibility of snow in the air (sometimes within a few minutes). Rain gear is a must pack.

If you plan to bring any camping or hiking equipment, you'll need to clean any dirt off your equipment as New Zealand is very picky about visitors bringing in soil born contaminates. After landing, we were held up at NZ customs for about 20 minutes until they have decontaminated one of my hiking boots to their satisfaction.

 If you are coming from the USA, you'll need to bring at least one (we brought three) electrical adapters for your electronics. Of course, you can buy them from Amazon. Please note, these are difficult to find in New Zealand so it's best to bring these with you.

 

#6 - Staying Connected

You'll also need to decide how you plan to communicate once you have arrived. New Zealand has two major cell phone systems Vodafone and Spark, which tend to have inter-lapping coverage. However, much of New Zealand does not have any cell service at all.

We tried are variety of options, each had it's advantages and drawbacks.  Both Mark and I selected international travel plans from our USA carriers - AT&T and Verzion. The advantage of these plans is the ease of USA calls/texts to your friends and family back home; however, these plans are more expensive with limited data transfers and problematic connectivity.  Both Jill and Peter bought cell phone chips for New Zealand.  These worked better for connectivity and are much cheaper in for local calls/text. However, international calling/texting is problematic. We found it best to use AT&T or the Verizon plans when contacting friends and family in the USA and to use the NZ chip phones for local calls/text. For more information about mobile phone use in New Zealand try this page on Immigration New Zealand.

WiFi is generally available (mostly for a small fee) in towns and cities. Most Holiday (RV) Parks have some kind of coverage by one of two major companies. Generally speaking, it cost us around $5/week for decent WiFi connectivity payable online with credit or debit cards. For more information on Internet and WiFi access in New Zealand.

#6 - Money Matters

• Cash. As of this writing the NZ dollar is $0.70 US dollars (approximately 2/3) which means your US dollars will go further in New Zealand. As part of your preparations, it's a good idea to let your bank(s) know of your upcoming travel and ask about what exchange rates they charge for foreign purchases. By shopping around you may find some credit agencies with better exchange rates. Getting cash is relatively easy as US credit and debit cards work just fine. For piece of mind, you might bring some NZ dollars with you or get come cash upon landing at the airport.
• Tipping. Generally tipping is frowned upon by Kiwis as they do not want foreigners to get the habit established.  However, the downside of no tipping is quality of service often suffers. After getting frustrated by the lax service by waiters and waitresses in restaurants, we announced as we sat down that we were Americans and we tip for good service.  Worked like a charm.

#7 - Tips for Traveling 

• Expect to be confused at first. Despite the fact New Zealand is a more modern English speaking country, it can be disorienting at first. Crossing the International Dateline and gaining or losing a day in itself is confusing. Also crossing the equator means the seasons are reversed, colder climates are to the south (not north), and driving is on the left side of the road. Everything seems turned around at first - even the water in toilets swirls in the opposite direction.
• Kiwi Speak. Yes Kiwis (New Zealanders) speak English, but they definitely have their own brand of the language. The accent is similar but softer than their neighbors in Australia. However, their idioms and expressions tend to be different. For example on the North Island everything is "BRillANT!" (for great, awesome, cool, etc).  While in the South Island you are more likely to hear "Lovely" in more of a softer singsong voice. Ordering coffee at one of NZ's excellent cafes can be confusing at first. Lattes are no problem and you'll get what you expect.  However, both flat whites (coffee & milk) and tall blacks (two shots of espresso with water in a tall cup) took some getting used to. Then there were the surprises - sometimes a milkshake was just shaken milk with flavoring (nothing more). It pays to ask how milkshakes are made before ordering. For more check on Kiwi Speak online.
• Driving. Even if you are used to driving on the left side of the road, New Zealand offers new challenges, such as: narrow winding roads, roundabouts and one-lane bridges.  It took us about three days to get used to New Zealand roads and even then something surprising was always popping up. It almost goes without saying that you'll need to drive defensively and stay alert at all times.

For another view on traveling in New Zealand, try our friends Leslie and Al's blog post on Kiwi Speak, Observations, and Peculiarities.