Your New Zealand adventure gets closer and you might be stressed with all the preparations and you’re probably scared like hell if everything goes well as planned. But: “No worries“, “She’ll be right“!
How much stuff do you need to pack?
We arrived in Christchurch with one large travel bag and one small carry-on bag each. That’s supposed to be enough for a whole year?! Yes, it is. Totally.
Towards the end of our adventure we realized that this was one of the most liberating experiences of the whole year. We learned that every ‘thing’ you own is also a piece of burden that you have to carry around through life. It was a mind changing experience to start over from scratch with nothing but your family, and your curiosity to learn more about this new environment. An amazing pioneering spirit started to develop in our minds.
Pack some clothes
Thanks to the pleasant climate conditions in New Zealand, you really don’t need to pack lots of clothes. You’ll have no need for a super insulated skiing suit, even if you intent to go skiing in one of the few skiing areas. More important are wind-proof clothes as New Zealand is known to be windy, not only in Wellington but also along the coast and on mountains.
Bring a pair of good hiking boots, as they are quite expensive to buy in New Zealand. For everyday-life, if you want to be a true kiwi, you’ll only need a pair of jandals/flip-flops/thongs/rubber-sandals and shorts. They’ll do no matter the weather or the temperatures!
Hiking equipment
If you plan to do lots of hiking and camping trips, you may want to bring a quality tent. But be careful: New Zealand Biosecurity controls at the airports are very strict. You’ll need to make sure there is definitely no single seed of piece of dirt on your equipment (also on the boots), or you’ll have to pay for a cleaning fee and run into extra delays at arrival. Needless to say that it is strictly forbidden to import any kind of seeds/fruit/meat/cheese/etc.
Next: 10. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the time of your life!