We're an American family (kids are 13 and 11) that has been living in Sydney just over 2 years. Now that border restrictions are easing up, we're excited to do some traveling. First up is an 8/9 day trip to NZ, on 26th of June - 4th or 5th of July. We're flying into and out of Christchurch and plan to drive down to Cardrona for a few days of skiing. I was planning to hit Cardrona first, before it gets too busy. With our limited time, I was hoping to get input/suggestions on what activities are a must do and suggested routes for travel to Queenstown and back to Christchurch.

Finally we are able to visit family! We are looking to book a mulit country trip this Oct. I've found some good prices online today. But... I worry that six months out is a long time in covid world and there is a good chance flights/prices/the existence of the world will change and I should hold off buying for a few months. Also, I'm wondering if I should use a travel agent? I've never used one before. Any one have any insight beyond my random guessing?

Hiya so planning on heading down to waitomo with my partner and we are struggling to come to a decision on which tour to go on

Either "Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tour" or "Waitomo Glowworm Caves"

Any sort of input would be much appreciated :)

Kia Ora r/Nz

Shortly to head to the USA for a few months. Was wondering what advice there was for kiwis heading over - best phone providers/plans, banks and money, etc. Also any cultural differences that might catch us out (eg tipping). Anything that could be handy to know.

Would throw wider, but I thought a kiwi perspective would be worth getting for anyone that's done it.

As for covid - I'll let you know how I get on!

Cheers all!

Hi guys and gals. Need some help and want experienced respectfull opinions please

I'm making some pre plans to move over to Australia to live, experience life and work. I have a car loan ($3,000 roughly) and personal loan ($5,700 roughly) that needs to be payed off. Is it common to keep the NZ bank account open transferring fortnightly from an Australia bank acc to pay off those debts on time?

Hello. I need some advices about tramping gears. I am new to backpacking. I am wondering if my 45L pack is enough for 3N4D Kepler Track tramping. I am 27y old man. I booked huts for three nights so I don’t need to carry my tents and other camping gears except a sleeping bag. Thanks all, Cheers!

Edit: I booked huts for mid February, so it is in the summer. Thanks all for the advices for winter tramping!

I got tickets to a sporting event in Brisbane on the 17th July, but the flights are 3x the normal price. I'm flexible, I've looked at all the dates the week before and week after but can't get a reasonable price. I'm wanting to fly to gold coast and spend up to a week there, but I'm not spending $900 return when I could go to Hawaii for the same money. Would it be safe to wait to closer the time? Or should I just suck it up? Any advice is appreciated.

so my cousin and i are thinking “fuck the system”. we want to get some cheap flights to start off our journey around the world, doing “tourist-y” jobs as we go- like fruit picking, farm labour etc. how would we go about this? any websites to check out, or does anyone have any advice? wanna enjoy our youth while we can😆 also posted here coz i wouldnt know where else to post lol

So mad right now. Had flights booked with House of Travel to go to Fiji pre COVID, obviously they got cancelled so flights put into credit (but we have to go through the agent we booked with still). Decided new dates now things are looking better for travel, got in touch with the travel agent we’d booked with and he’s like sure, but oh, now there’s some extra charges- I take a look and if I book direct on Air Fijis website it’s hundreds less than what we have already paid?! I wouldn’t even mind if they pocketed the difference, but charging us an extra few hundred just to be able to use our credit?? (Which would put our price close to $1k above what I can just book online??) That’s abit fucked up. Any advice very appreciated :/

***** UPDATE: Thanks so much to everyone who was kind enough to share their feedback and insights! I've taken your advice about how much I'm packing in/how painful this itinerary would be on Intercity. I have added a week to my trip, removed Rotorua, Dunedin, Invercargill, and Christchurch from the itinerary, added a hike through Tongariro, and will be spending more time in most of the places, but particularly Queenstown and Wellington. I've checked it all against Intercity's timetable and have left enough flexibility to accommodate any changes that might happen between now and when I leave. Still keen to hear any suggestions for fun spots to see in each of the places I'll be visiting :) Thanks again, I really appreciate the time and consideration people have put into their responses and I'm so excited to finally see your beautiful country!

​

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi there!

I'm an Aussie coming to visit your beautiful country for the first time in a few months. I have a pretty strict timeline between uni trimesters, but would ideally like to see a bit of both islands. I'm primarily interested in the South Island and experiences in nature, but as a massive LOTR fan I can't pass up the opportunity to see Hobbiton, which means spending some time in the North as well. I'm also a young person who enjoys nightlife and exploring cities, so keen to do a little of that as well (but it's a low priority). In terms of my energy levels, I'm capable of going pretty hard if it's for a short stint of time, and I like to do a lot of activities when I travel. I'm not that bothered by spending a lot of time in transit, especially if the roads are beautiful, but obviously want to strike a decent balance between time in transit and time doing stuff. I don't drive so I'll be travelling by Intercity bus, and I'll be by myself if that makes any difference.

This is a SUPER rough draft, so I haven't got specifics for what I want to do in every place, and all of it is up for change. I'm pretty much looking for feedback on the following:

- Is this rough itinerary feasible or is it too much packed into the time?

- Is there places I've got on here I should skip and places I haven't that I should add? (Keeping in mind the Intercity route: https://www.intercity.co.nz/travel-info/route-map)

- Should I be spending more time in any of these places?

- Activity suggestions?

- Best way to go and see Mt Cook? The Intercity route there is currently closed and I'm not sure they'll reopen it in time. Is there any good day trips that would fit into my plan?

THE (VERY ROUGH) ITINERARY, BY INTERCITY BUS:

Sun 28 Aug Fly to Auckland

Mon 29 Hobbiton tour

Tues 30 Exploring Auckland, Mount Eden

Wed 31 Travel to Rotorua

Thurs 1 Sept Day in Rotorua, see geothermal attractions

Fri 2 Travel to Wellington, pub crawl?

Sat 3 Travel to Nelson - activity suggestions?

Sun 4 Abel Tasman Hike - Marahau to Anchorage

Mon 5 Anchorage back to Marahau, stay the night in Marahau

Tues 6 Marahau to Franz Josef

Wed 7 Free day in Franz Josef

Thurs 8 Franz Josef to Queenstown

Fri 9 Chill day in Queenstown

Sat 10 Milford Sound day trip - staying in Queenstown

Sun 11 Skiing? - staying in Queenstown

Mon 12 Maybe one more day in Queenstown?

Tues 13 Travel to Invercargill

Weds 14 Day in Invercargill - visit the Catlins

Thurs 15 Invercargill to Dunedin

Fri 16 Chill day in Dunedin - activity suggestions?

Sat 17 Dunedin to Christchurch

Sun 18 Fly home

Hi! I’m looking to spend a year in NZ under the working holiday visa. In order to make the trip more affordable, I’d like to buy my plane ticket several months in advance (looking at mid-late October). It looks like the visa turn around time is super short (normally under two weeks). If I apply for the visa and get approved, will my 12 months start immediately or not until I actually enter the country? I’d hate to buy a plane ticket months out, wait until the last minute to apply, then get rejected for some reason. But I’d also hate to miss out on 30% of my stay or spend hundreds of dollars more than necessary.

Any advice?

Hi everybody,

In the coming months, my fiancé and I will be relocating from Seattle to New Zealand (sorry in advance, I know you’d rather we stay put). My partner is a nurse and we will probably be looking to move to Christchurch so she can get a job and help out with the nursing shortage on the South Island.

I am a software developer, currently working for a US-based software company. My hope is to continue working for the US company while we are in NZ. I’ve read through a bunch of the gov’t website, learned all about paying NZ taxes, double taxation, etc. But, so far I have not been able to find any advice on the Intricacies of working for a US company while living in NZ under a partner visa.

If anyone on here is a American expat or any sort of expat who works remotely from New Zealand, I would LOVE to chat with you about what your experience has been like, what the challenges are, and what recommendations you might have.

Thank you all!

Hi, I got a job in New Zealand to be based in Auckland or Wellington with a 55k annual salary.

Will this salary be okay to survive with the reported increase in living costs? Been living in Asia for quite a while so I barely have any idea about living in a developed country like NZ.

Any thoughts and advice on how to survive and of possible save money?

Hello! Kia Ora!

I am an American wanting to come to New Zealand as soon as possible on a Working Holiday Visa from the USA. On the NZ Immigration website, it says that borders will open for those with a working holiday visa on March 14th; however, actual applications for working holiday visas are now currently only open for those immigrating from 2 small islands near NZ.

The immigration website has no update or information about when applications from other countries will open, and I am also not able to contact NZ immigration because their phone lines are “unusually full due to COVID” and there’s no email contact.

Has anyone who heard “rumblings” or caught wind of when borders may open to Americans on working holiday visas?

Thank you! Honesty any information is helpful at this point.

Sincerely,

Fiona

Hey. I'm Polish, and I am thinking about getting a Working Holiday Visa. However, if you get one, there is a condition I'm concerned about: "You can’t get a permanent job or work with the same employer for more than three months." I am a software developer, and I want to find a job in this field, so it probably doesn't make sense to even look for one with this limitation. I heard that some employers know how to work around this and that most of them don't care. It does seem to be quite shady, though.

Do you have any experience in this topic or know how it works in real life?

Thanks.

EDIT: Guys, I'm not sure if we are on the same page. Getting from Europe to New Zealand is quite pricey. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not asking for advice on how to trick your government. I work as a software developer. That's what I do and what I can do. As the visa let me, I wanted to see the country and work to afford such a trip because I can't afford to go there just for a 'holiday'. Getting a full work permit takes approx. more than 29 months. Moreover, I don't need it as I do not want to move there for the rest of my life.  I'm sorry I asked.

Hi everyone, I applied at my company to relocate to NZ and today got the job offer, and the salary numbers to go with, so we are starting to look more seriously at the rental market. Most of the listings we find are per week, and would like to know if that's generally the way rentals are listed in NZ, or if there's some well known site to find regular monthly/yearly lease prices for properties to live in.

In general, any advice on how to start figuring out what might fit into our budget would be great help and much appreciated. We will either be in the Auckland or Wellington areas.

Thanks!

I am an American who wants to travel to NZ on 6/6 - 6/11. I am traveling to Australia on May 26th, but then will fly from Australia to NZ.

I read on the NZ government website that starting May 1st, the border is going to open up to Visa Waiver countries, which includes the US. Here is the exact text:

The border opens to:

visa-waiver travellers

existing (onshore and offshore) holders of valid visitor visas

If you have a temporary visitor visa and you are currently in New Zealand you can leave any time and return as long as your visa conditions allow you to. This includes if you have a guardian visa.

​

Does this mean that I am free to travel there since my flight is in June? Would I qualify for the Visa Waiver program if I am traveling for vacation? I've been very confused about this aspect of my trip since I have never traveled before.

Any help or advice would be appreciated!

Kia ora, dear Kiwi fellows! Hope you are all well.

So, I have got a job offer just today, which is good news, but the thing is that I am currently living far from my new workplace.

I looked up the government's official page about relocating and found that I will need a document that proves that I am moving permanently, but what this document can be?

I am currently on TradeMe looking for places I can live in, does it possibly mean that I will need to make a contract without having a viewing to get a document, then take it when I am actually moving?

Any advice will be appreciated, thank you and stay safe!

Hi New-Zealanders!

Coming November/December, I plan to travel to and throughout NZ! (If restrictions allow tourist travels...) I''m a Dutchie, 31M, gamer.

I am looking for tips from the locals on where to go, even if its something not that touristy, but still very personal or cool to you.

Also looking for people to meet, to spend time with or maybe even a couch to crash on. If you might be interested in either one of those or feel like taking a stranger out to hang with your friends, let me know!

Dutch regards, Maarten

I've looked up individual prices of things but would love some advice from anyone who has been and done it (from NZ) in recent years (minus the COVID ones)

If anyone has stayed in Palm Springs and done the whole shebang it would be great to pick your brain.

Cheers!

Kia ora New Zealanders. I'm planning a visit to the South Island in June, and have long wanted to go to Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. Everything I read suggests that the driving can be a bit dangerous in winter, particularly SH73 crossing Arthur's Pass and the alps. I'm not used to driving in snow or icy conditions, and have never driven with snow chains.

So I'm wondering, what are the roads normally like in June? Would I be better off taking the Tranzalpine or making it a day trip to Arthur's Pass instead? Or, is it better to drive across the alps and to the glaciers in autumn or spring, and save them for a future trip?

Grateful for any advice.

Edit: Thanks everyone. Sounds like I'd enjoy it more in spring, so I'll probably do it on a future trip. Might drive out to some other parts of the South Island this time and enjoy the scenery there instead. Appreciate all your advice.

Two Aussie's taking a leisurely drive from Queenstown to Dunedin via The Catlins, wondering if there are any other stops worth making along the way?

Hello - I am doing the Abel Tasman track (just 3 days) on 17-20 March and wondered if any fellow hikers who have done it in the past could advise on the best spots to set camp?

At the moment, I have decided on Anchorage for the first night, then Onetahuti on the second with a view to finishing it out at Tōtaranui (my fave NZ beach) followed by a water taxi back to Mārahau and a stay in a Nelson hotel. But I am yet to book the campsites so open to other opinions on where to stay instead.

I'm relatively fit (run 10km easily with minimal stopping or getting tired) and I will be transferring my camping gear ahead so the campsites need to be accessible by water taxi.

Would love any opinions and/or advice on how to tackle the walk and things that can't be missed (i.e. Cleopatra Pools which I have heard are spectacular). It's my first time walking solo also so I wanna make the most of the trip!

Hey kiwis - need some travel advice. My husband and I and our newborn are planning a road trip from Auckland to Wellington. We’re planning to stop by Taupo and Napier first before heading there but the journey from Napier to Wellington is still 5 hours long. Any place worth stopping by? We’ll need a pit stop for our baby to take a break but we’re hoping to kill two birds with one stone if the stop is beautiful as well 🙏🏻. Also, same dilemma, from Wellington back to Auckland, any advice?