New Zealand: Difference between revisions

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== Auckland Accommodation ==
== Auckland Accommodation ==


Two Main options:
Auckland International YHA


Oaklands Lodge in Mt. Eden, short (cheap and regular) bus ride to centre, pleasant and quiet location.
'''Booking number: WEB141239'''


[http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255106-d296126-r33622083-Oaklands_Lodge_Backpacker_Hostel-Auckland_North_Island.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT Oaklands Lodge- Trip Advisor]
Arrival:Sat, 14 Aug 2010


Auckland International YHA - excellent cooking facilities, nearer centre and probably have better travel centre.
No of Nights:6


Might win on convenience- can always book for 6 days then switch to Oaklands if it's no good.  
4 Bed Multishare Mixed (18+) - NZ$26.00 x 6 nights x 1 guest = NZ$156.00


Price-wise I think they are exactly the same - £10.45 a night for an 8-bed dorm.
Cost: NZ$156.00


Because of location and reviews '''Auckland International YHA''' wins...this round... also airbus from airport goes straight there which is handy. Important not to confuse with Auckland City YHA which is apparently crappola.
'''CHECK IN TIME: 2pm - annoying!! I arrive at 9am!'''  
 
Address: 5 Turner Street, Auckland City |
Phone: +64 9 302 8200
 
Reception Hours: 6.45am–11.15pm plus 24 hour access, Check-in time: 2pm, Check-out time: 10am.


== Travel Insurance ==
== Travel Insurance ==

Revision as of 15:56, 15 July 2010

New Zealand

Introduction

That's right. You heard me. I'm going to spend a year working and travelling in the awesome internationally recognised as 'New Zealand'

Recent Activity

  • Auckland YHA International hostel booked for 6 nights
  • First host confirmed
  • Got travel insurance
  • Set up credit card and bought travel uke
  • Rough budget plan made
  • Elin's New Zealand blog can be found here
  • Flight has been booked.

To Do

Get work/holiday visa
Book Flight
Get Travel Insurance
Set up credit card
Buy travel uke
Make rough plan, packing list and budget plan
Book initial accommodation in Auckland
Contact first and second helpX hosts. - First confirmed
Set up NZ Bank Account
Transfer money to that bank account
Buy a giant backpack (sew a flag on the back?)
Buy a netbook for travelling computations
Buy Matt-leg tour ticket
Buy Mum-leg tour ticket

Flights

Hokai, so, flights are actually quite complicated. Here's a detailed page for flights and here's the summary:

Booking Reference: HJC5GH

OUTBOUND

  • Outbound Flight Status: Booked

Outbound Flight

From To Via Date and Time Landing At Flight No Terminal Carrier
London - LHR Auckland - AKL Hong Kong Thursday 12th August 2010 21:05pm 09:00am Sat 14th NZ38 LHR Terminal 1 AirNewZealand



RETURN

  • Return Flight Status: Booked: But must be changed in September 2010

Return flight

From To Date and Time Flight No Class Carrier
Auckland - AKL ? Hong Kong ? ? 10th August 2011 (time) - (time) Flight ID Class: Economy AirNewZealand
? Hong Kong ? London - LHR ? 11th August 2011 (time) - (time) Flight ID Class: Economy AirNewZealand

Auckland Accommodation

Auckland International YHA

Booking number: WEB141239

Arrival:Sat, 14 Aug 2010

No of Nights:6

4 Bed Multishare Mixed (18+) - NZ$26.00 x 6 nights x 1 guest = NZ$156.00

Cost: NZ$156.00

CHECK IN TIME: 2pm - annoying!! I arrive at 9am!

Address: 5 Turner Street, Auckland City | Phone: +64 9 302 8200

Reception Hours: 6.45am–11.15pm plus 24 hour access, Check-in time: 2pm, Check-out time: 10am.

Travel Insurance

WorldNomads Insurance Policy: WNGBR10004182

Nettie is insured as a special item on the policy.

Claims number: +44 (0)845 643 2629 Emergency 24 hour assistance number: +44 (0)845 643 2628

Rough Plan

  • Arrive in Auckland, get over jet lag, deal with bank stuff and other stuff.
  • Stay in Auckland for 2 weeks- try to get in Cape Reinga, the little islands, and Auckland itself.
  • Homestay/farmstay your way round: First to Coromandel across to Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay, Napier region then down to Wellington.
  • Stay in Wellington for a week, then home/farmstay across to New Plymouth region, Taranaki and Waikato back up to Auckland, via Te Awamutu.
  • Enter Matt stage left (Auckland -> Christchurch)
  • Do same sort of thing for South Island as north - stop off in the key places for a week or so (Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin), Go north, round, south home/farmstaying along the way, back to Christchurch
  • Enter Mum stage right (Christchurch -> Auckland)
  • Get a job for 3 months or revisit highlights, hang out doing whatever. If some people were awesome at the beginning, go see them again.
  • Come home with a slightly Kiwi accent, and a set of charming anecdotes where money used to be.

Mandatory activities

  • Pilgrimage to Te Awamutu
  • Waitomo Caves
  • Sandboarding
  • Visiting:
    • Napier
    • New Plymouth
    • Dunedin
    • Stewart Island
    • the Catlins
    • Fox Glacier
    • Milford Sound
    • Auckland,
    • Christchurch
    • Greymouth
    • etc.
  • Maybe a trip to Samoa.

Stray Tour

Ticket is booked- an open ticket. Matt lands in Auckland on the 1st of November, so he will need accommodation for that night. We will be departing from Auckland on the 2nd November and the tour is 16 days long. Hopefully it will be fantastisch!

  • Stray Tour Confirmation Code: 1019835
  • Passenger number/ User Id: 23044

Contact Details: email [email protected] | phone +64 9 526 2140 | web www.straytravel.com

Note: We will need to ring them before hand (I'll ring one or two weeks ahead to confirm departure date)

For More Details on the tour itself see Matt's Page here

Work and homestay Options

Farm and Homestay options - HelpExchange

Couch Surfing.org

Anywork Anywhere

Seasonal Jobs

Horticulture NZ

Seek NZ job hunting

Backpackerboard NZ

Gapyear.com Jobs

Transportation

Buses? Hail yes! Trains? Hail yes! Fake Southern American accents? Hail - wait, what?

NakedBus - cheap. Have more destinations than intercity. Also, cheap.

  • Timetables They seem to be roughly £11 ish per trip (to places that take ~ 4 hours to get to). Considering the Sheffield tram is £3, this seems fair. Cheaper the further ahead it's booked. Nudity not required.

Intercity - more expensive (about twice as expensive as NakedBus) but may need them for trip from airport? They go every hour from the airport to the Auckland city (the quay)

For long distances - an always take a flight

Small trips and tours