Starting our trip on New Zealand’s North island

amandabethabc
Oct 16, 2024
3 min read

This part of the trip was planned starting with just a week in the north island, then we added a week in the south island, then another week, mostly in the south island. Suffice to say more things kept getting stuffed into this trip so the schedule is a bit harried. A note about the way we’re traveling - we’re staying in youth hostels but never in the bunks, always in a private room. We eat primarily from grocery stores, cooking (or microwaving) food. The total expense does not include cell phones or plane rides but I think pretty much everything else. We’re keeping a log of expenses and can share more details if anyone is interested - I always love to see what other people spend on their trips.

We arrived in New Zealand October 9th, making it through a very thorough customs check where they went through all our gear and took our tent for special screening, we were relieved to pass. Took a train to downtown Auckland and walked (2 miles) to our youth hostel. Put our bags away and went for a walk around that area, made dinner in the hostel then went for another walk to Mt Eden, got quite lost and ended up walking back in the dark. Total expenses: $237.51

October 10th was supposed to be a day to recover from jet lag, but we found out that walking 15 miles after a 23 hour travel time that we had done yesterday eliminated jet lag, so we woke up ready to explore. We took a ferry to Rangitoto Island, a predator free island with no services, just trails and bird watching. The trails were over lava beds which are very jagged and uneven, and I discovered that maybe I did have some jet lag and I tripped and sliced my hand on the rocks. Still had a great time, birds were all new to us and prolific, the views spectacular. Ended up walking close to 20 miles that day so sleeping was once again pretty easy. Total expenses: $179.88

The 3rd day we packed up to spend the night in a bunkhouse on Tiritiri Mantangi Island, a trip we booked months ago as the bunkhouse sells out quickly. This island is also predator free but is part of a scientific reserve, they have worked to restore the native plants and animals and it’s become a breeding site for many of these birds and is managed with a small army of volunteers. We got a guided walk (to ourselves!) and learned how to identify many of the birds as well as some of the history of the island. We had dinner then went out at night as Koji described. It was one of my favorite days ever, the scenery and birds were just magic. Total expenses: $185.28

October 12th we explored Tiritiri some more then took the ferry back to Auckland and got ready for our next day. The day was very windy and the ferry ride very bouncy - it took days to be able to sit without feeling like we were still on the water. Total expenses: $132.36