new zealand

07Feb 2016 - 04MAY 2017
(still updating)

Starting in Auckland, we drove west to Piha, then drove up to Northland through Waipu Caves, Whangarei, Matauri Bay and up to Cape Reinga. Driving down South through Dargaville, we stopped by to dive at the Poor Knights Island, through to Coromandel, and unfortunately got robbed in Karangahake Gorge. Having to find work, we worked for 3months in Brick Bay/ Warkworth, and continued our travels to the Lower North Island, passing by Auckland once again, Hobbiton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Lake Taupo, onto the Pacific Highway Coast towards East Cape, down to Gisborne, Napier and Hastings, and onto Tongariro National Park. Travelled over the Forgotten Highway, we finally made our way to Wellington, were we volunteered in a house with a family in Paraparaumu to obtain our passports again, then catching the ferry to the South Island.

GOOGLEMAP LINK HERE

Travel Route

Starting from Picton, and Nelson, we walked the Abel Tasman Great Walk, then drove up to the tip Spit Farewell. All along the West Coast to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, we made our way to Wanaka and Queenstown, Milford Sound, down to Invercargill, and up along the East Coast past Dunedin. Detouring inland towards Twizel and Tekapo, we made our way up through Timaru, up to Christchurch, and across Arthur's Pass to work at Franz Josef Top10 for 3months. Applying for an extension, we spent the last 3months of NZ in Arrowtown, Queenstown, catching thep lane out to our next destination - Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

GOOGLEMAP LINK HERE

Preparation

01. Deciding the Date
02. Buying the Visa

03. Booking Flights
04. Deciding a Place where to stay

01. Date. We didn't really have much choice, seeing that
we had to fly out of Australia by 11th February. We also
had a good paying job, and as we were at a hostel, we
assumed it would be great to make use of the good
wages here in Australia, and also make use of the whole
year too! Also, reading that February is again a calm
month after summer in New Zealand, we hoped to
travel around Summer/Autumn and early Winter around
both islands, then hopefully find work when it gets too
cold and more diffcult to travel around due to the snow.
Time of Year – February. Tick

02. Getting the Working Holiday Visa Permit. Once again,
as Maltese, we are eligible for a year Working Holiday
Visa, or WHV, as long as we are under 30's. Direct website
Direct webste (https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa), we got accepted after 4days, lodged on 01/Dec-2015 and accepted on 04/Dec-2015, the amount of Aud155.11 (Eur106.26).
Visa – Accepted! Tick

03. We decided it was best to start in Auckland (North Island), as not only flights were cheaper, it made some more sense to travel around The North Island due to the time of year. Booked a one-way flight from Adelaide (closest airport) to Auckland on the xx , amounting to xx.
Transportation? - Sorted! Tick

04. We wanted to try something different after staying in a hostel for too long. Contacting people on Couchsurfing, we wanted to experience something different by having a local assisting us in to settle down, and managed to find a guy who also would help with finding a car, setting up a bank account, and tour the City. We had never done it before, so we created a mutual CS profile in order to make it easier, and tried getting back some feedback from friends to look more legit.
Roof under our head once more? Tick

Date

Flights

Visa

PlacetoStay

We’ve tried our very best in keeping record day-by-day of things we’ve done and seen, thoughts, new customs we've learned and also some basic knowledge or information of the place we would be currently in and with the trip visits.

Come join us in reading (a very detailed – sorry) diary and live and experience emotions of the places visited, mostly written on-the-go. It is divided into 8 sections with a summary of what happened, information regarding some places of interest we passed through, references, and the day-to-day diary.

Please Note:

Please bear in mind these pages to follow is a diary, as stated, and the majority of the time is written on the spot and at that point in time. Language may not be up to standards, repetition is common, and may use short or slang words which can only be understood by people who would be aware of such connotations. If you have any doubts, find any mistakes or think anything is offensive, please feel free to drop by a reply/message and will explain/update accordingly.

Thanks in advance for your interest =]