Planning the first week in NZ

We’re coming down to the wire — and we are almost ready to depart for New Zealand.  As we mentioned, we went ahead and booked two nights in Auckland.   As of yesterday, we have also booked a flight to Dunedin (which is in the southern part of the southern island) on May 12.

Our plan is to start at the southern most part of New Zealand, and over 3 months work our way north back to Auckland.  In August, we’ll depart from Auckland to Australia.

Auckland is a big city — the largest metro area in NZ.  One fun fact is that they have a free electric bus called the “City Circuit” which runs during the daytime around the city every 15 minutes.  We hope to use that and other city buses to get around the first few days.

The trip to Dunedin should be quick and easy.  The flight on Virgin Blue was only $58 USD each (one way).  Our current thinking is that we will use Dunedin as a hub for a few weeks while we explore the southern cities such as Invercargill and Queenstown.  While hotels run $50-$75 USD per night, apartments are much, much cheaper.  So hopefully we can find either an apartment or a room for rent.  There are plenty of rooms for rent in the $75-$100 USD per week range.

Getting a lay of the land in NZ