From late November to early December 🌸 Lupin season, the weather is nice in early summer
🌤️🥶 There is a large temperature difference between day and night, with some places dropping below 10 degrees at night. If you’re sensitive to cold, bring warmer clothes.
🗻 If you plan to hike, it’s recommended to bring a waterproof jacket as it rains easily in the mountains.
⭐️ Stay in the North Island for the first and last 2 days (for rest and transit)
Stay in the South Island for 10 days
A self-drive trip for 2 people
Costs calculated per person
1️⃣ Flight tickets✈️
🐴 4,644
⭐️ Includes seat selection, front two-seater area on 🐴 airline, one section is considered a quiet zone (behind business class)
✈️ KUL-AKL, AKL-KUL 🐴 4,104 🐴 Airline 🧳 35kg, direct flight over 10 hours
✈️ AKL-CHC, CHC-AKL 🐴 540 Jetstar 🧳 23kg, 7kg carry-on (carry-on luggage was weighed on the return trip)
2️⃣ 13 nights of accommodation🏠
🐴 3,466
⭐️ Mostly Airbnb/motels
⭐️ Approximately 🐴 350-700 per night (Queenstown is more expensive)
⭐️ Coffee, tea, salt, and pepper are provided
🔆 Even for a one-night stay, some hosts prepare a simple breakfast in the fridge (milk, bread, avocado spread) and cornflakes, and also give two pieces of Whitaker chocolate
3️⃣ Car rental🚗
⭐️ 10 days in the South Island 🚗 Pegasus 🚙 Toyota Corolla station wagon 🐴 1133
⭐️ 2 days in the North Island, same model car 🐴 249
🛢️ Gas prices vary by region, around 2.5-2.6 NZD per liter, see Figure 17
🔎 Use Gasby to find nearby cheaper gas stations, see Figure 18
4️⃣ Activities
Hiked four mountains in the South Island, which were donation-based and did not require tickets
Te Anau Blue Glowworm Caves 🐴 385 including boat ticket
Queenstown Deer Park 🐴 148 per vehicle
5️⃣ NZETA & IVL (entry visa, valid for 2 years, can be applied through the NZETA app)
🐴 141 (NZD 52) ⭐️ The app is cheaper than the website
➡️ NZETA – NZD 17
➡️ IVL – NZD 35 (will increase to NZD 100 after 1/10/24)
6️⃣ eSIM📱
➡️ Vodafone (30 days, 28GB)
🐴 123
Accommodation in New Zealand was cheaper than I expected
I really enjoyed the countryside, close to nature, and there were a few nights we stayed next to cattle and sheep, which wasn’t smelly at all. I will share more about the accommodations in the next post.
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