My Super Low Costs to Travel Around New Zealand for One Month

Lash at Mission Bay Beach – Auckland

My Super Low Costs to Travel Around New Zealand for One Month

You’re not going to believe this, but…

During my first month traveling around New Zealand’s North Island, from March 13-April 13, 2014, I spent a total of just $207.50 NZ / $173 US. Seriously.

In addition, I paid $75 NZ / $62.50 US for a Tour of Hobbiton movie set.

That tallies up to a grand total of only $282.50 NZ / $235 US for one month of travel around New Zealand.

That’s it, I kid you not!

sipping espresso at Nespresso store in Auckland

That includes:

* 2 ½ weeks in Auckland

* 1 week at a small farm near Cambridge

* 1 week at Lake Taupo

* 3-day trip to Tongariro National Park

* All accommodation

* All meals

* All transportation

* All personal needs

* All internet usage

* All activities and entry fees

finishing up Coast to Coast Walkway in Auckland

During my 2 ½ weeks in Auckland I enjoyed the following activities:

* Hiking the Coast to Coast Walkway

* Auckland Museum

* Auckland Art Gallery

* Day trip to Devonport by ferry

* Day trip along Tamaki Drive and hanging out on Mission Bay Beach

* Sightseeing around CBD, Auckland Marina and the fish market

Elsewhere I participated in the following activities:

* Hobbiton Tour

* Afternoon at Lake Karapiro

* Sightseeing heritage walks around Cambridge and Matamata towns

* Cycling at Lake Taupo

* Mountain biking near Taupo

* Hiking in Tongario National Park

Break down of expenses:

Accommodation $0 :))

Food $59.50 NZ / $49.60 US

Coffee $29 NZ / $24 US

Transportation $75 NZ / $62.50 US

Internet $2 NZ / $1.65 US

Personal items $32 NZ / $26.65 US

Entry fees $10 NZ / $

Hobbiton Tour $75 NZ / $70 US

TOTAL = $282.50 NZ / $235 US

How did I manage to keep my costs so very low?

landscaping for HelpX

That’s mainly the result of doing back-to-back HelpX gigs. During my first month I stayed at three HelpX hosts, working about 4 hours per day in exchange for all my food and accommodation.

That’s why my accommodation cost was $0. That’s also why my food costs were so low. The $59 NZ I did spend on food was for extras I couldn’t expect my hosts to buy especially for me, such as cookies and coke, when they don’t normally keep such things at their houses.

I also ate out a few times when I took off on all-day explorations. For several of the those day-long excursions, I took packed meals from my host’s homes with me. Other times I bought cheap meals out.

My internet use was nearly zip because all my hosts had excellent wifi at their homes, which I was able to use as much as I wanted.

the cute doggie I helped take care of in Taupo

I only had to pay for wifi once when we were staying at Tongariro National Park for 3 days. My hosts didn’t have wifi at their cabin, so I went out to a local cafe each day. Even then, I only had to pay directly for wifi once. Otherwise, I just bought a coffee while working on my laptop.

My overland transportation costs were super low, thanks to Naked Bus. I paid just $10 NZ from Auckland to Cambridge and another $10 NZ from Cambridge to Taupo. My host near Cambridge kindly drove me to Matamata for the Hobbiton Tour, Cambridge town and Lake Karapiro when I wanted to explore. She didn’t charge me petrol or taxi fees.

I lucked out on visiting Tongariro NP for three days because my hosts had a cabin up there which needed some painting. So I was treated to a very scenic RT drive around massive Lake Taupo and through the unusual countryside between Taupo and Tongariro NP.

The entire three days the weather was crap, so we didn’t get to do any hiking or cycling. But my host kindly took me to see the famous Chateau Tongariro, the Whakapapa Ski Fields and the national park visitor’s center. On the way back to Taupo we stopped to hike around a small lake (in rain. Sigh).

My hosts also took me cycling around Lake Taupo and mountain biking on some of Taupo’s off-road trails. That was awesome!

My biggest expenses were the following: 

Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium free shuttle bus – the only free ride I got in Auckland!

Public Transportation in Auckland $55 NZ

Man oh man, public transportation in Auckland is expensive! From the suburbs where I was staying into the city by train, it cost me $11.20 RT. That was a 30-minute ride each way, but it cost me more than traveling overland on Naked Bus from Auckland to Cambridge, a 4-hour journey.

That meant each time I explored Auckland I had to spend $11.50 NZ just to get to the city and back! Since I went into the city 4 times, I shelled out nearly $46 on train rides. I also spent $11 NZ taking a RT ferry to Devonport, a 12 minute ferry ride across the harbor.

In total, I spent $54.80 NZ for public transportation in Auckland, just to go sightseeing. Far out – compared to SE Asia, that’s completely outrageous.

Then again, it’s all about perspective. A young British couple I worked with at my first HelpX gig thought Auckland and its transportation were cheap! Their British currency got them $2 NZ for each GBP (pound). So from their perspective, everything was half price!

Hobbiton Tour $75 NZ

I don’t normally go in for such touristy tours as a movie set or anything remotely touristy. But The Hobbits and Lord of the Rings are very, very special novels for me. I grew up on them. In fact, they greatly inspired me to lead the travel life I lead now. So in New Zealand I just had to go see Hobbiton! Despite the hefty price, it was well worth it.

 Espresso Coffee $29 NZ

I’m an espresso addict. But not just an addict, a very persnickety addict. Even among top quality espressos, I only like certain ones. Sheesh, what a coffee snob I’ve become!

So I make sure to travel with my own French Press and most excellent dark roast espresso for use at homes, hotels, hostels and guest houses. When I’m out in town, I often stop at a cafe for espresso, which is an expensive habit. Still, over the course of one month, it only amounted to $1 per day. So that’s ok.

OTHER EXPENSES

Thus far, I’ve only reported my on-the-ground-daily expenses during my 1st month in New Zealand. That explains how much it cost me being here traveling around for one month.

But there were actually many other costs involved in this trip to NZ. I had to buy flights to and from NZ, supplies I needed while here, my HelpX membership and a New Zealand guidebook.

Here’s my fab pink hoodie vest that I bought in Malaysia for NZ

I bought all my supplies in Malaysia and Sydney, Australia before arriving since I knew that NZ was expensive. Supplies included clothes for working HelpX gigs, cold-weather clothes, toiletries and a new suitcase.

These flight, supply and miscellaneous expenses amounted to approximately $600 US. Spread out over my 3-month trip, they’ll cost me about $200 US per month.

I always add my flight and miscellaneous expenses to my monthly daily expenses to arrive at a total monthly cost.

So, adding those extraneous expenses to my first month of travels in NZ, I reach the following total:

$235 US + $200 US = $435 US for one month of travels in New Zealand. Ta da!

Check back in late next month when I’ll report my second month’s expenses in late May. I estimate they’ll be about the same, if not lower. During my second month in NZ, I will not be joining any expensive tours like Hobbiton . Nor will I rack up expensive public transportation fees like I did in Auckland.

However, I will be spending 3 days and nights on my own, as a quick break from back-to-back HelpX gigs, so that will be relatively expensive. I estimate it will cost about $100 NZ / $80 US.

Otherwise, I’ll have the random personal expenses, espressos and perhaps one or two entry fees.

I’ll let you know next month exactly how it goes!

Meanwhile, you might also enjoy:

My First Impressions of Auckland

Photos of Hobbiton Movie Set

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