New Zealand Summary

We did it! We meandered across five major islands of New Zealand. Here are some statistics and answers to common questions about our trip.

• Time
• Day entered: 4-Dec-2017
• Day left: 19-Jun-2018
• Total # of days: 198
  • Nights slept in van: 176
  • Nights slept in tent: 3
  • Nights slept in hotel/etc.: 18
  • Nights paying for lodging: 39
• Islands:
  • Most time spent: South Island
  • Least time spent: Ulva Island
  • Most paid camping (ignoring hotels): South Island (ignoring Stewart, Ulva, and Tiritiri Matangi)
  • Least paid camping (ignoring hotels): North Island (ignoring Stewart, Ulva, and Tiritiri Matangi)
• Distance
  • Driven: ~26,690 km (~16,681 miles)
    • Island with most distance driven: South Island
    • Island with least distance driven: Stewart, Ulva, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands
  • Hiked: 578.42 km (386.45 miles)
    • Island most hiked: South Island (by a long shot, nearly 2.5 times as much as 2nd place)
    • Island least hiked: Ulva Island
  • Fuel fill-ups: 50
• Money
  • Total spent: $9,933.78 USD ($13,607.92 NZD) 
    • Consists of the costs of traveling full time in New Zealand, including insurance, etc. 
    • Does not include gear or van conversion costs
    • Does not include shipping costs or flights
    • Islands:
      • Most total cost: South Island
      • Least total cost: Ulva Island
  • Average cost per day: $50.17 USD ($68.73 NZD)
    • Island with most average cost per day: Stewart Island (includes ferry costs)
    • Island with least average cost per day: South Island
  • Average cost of diesel: $1.246 NZD per liter ($3.442 USD per gallon)
    • Island with most average diesel cost: North Island
    • Island with least average diesel cost: South Island
• Favorite Experiences (roughly in order of appearance per island)
• North Island:
• Craters of the Moon by Taupō
• The Pinnacles in Coromandel Peninsula
• Hobbiton Movie Set
• Putangirua Pinnacles
• Viewing the eels at Pukaha-Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre
• Lou’s Lookout at Te Urewera National Park
• Mangatutu Hot Springs/Pools
• Orakei Korako Geothermal Park
• Waitomo Caves and surroundings
• Hot Springs Beach in Coromandel Peninsula
• Kauri Coast
• Kauri Museum
• Tongariro Alpine Crossing (in fall)
• South Island:
• Kayaking to and walking through Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary
• Kayaking Otago Harbor at Harrington Point
• Avalanche Peak in Arthur’s Pass
• Slope Point
• Invercargill’s Southland Museum & Art Gallery
• Borland Saddle
• Greenstone and Caples Tracks
• Croesus Track
• Eating at Jackson Bay’s The Cray Pot
• Viewing Fox Glacier
• Oparara Basin
• Driving Highway 6 from Westport to Greymouth
• Driving to Milford Sound
• Key Summit
• Gertrude Saddle
• Driving through Skippers Canyon
• Spotting a Hector’s Dolphin in Akaroa Harbour
• Dusky Dolphins and Sperm Whales at Kaikoura (last try and afternoon sailing)
• Stewart Island
• Sunrise
• Ulva Island & Tiritiri Matangi Island
• Walking through a predator-free island filled with birdsong
• All the different birds and ferns. Varieties you wouldn’t expect!
• Playing ultimate frisbee throughout the islands
• And of course, meeting great people along the way! Thanks for those who opened their doors to us and helped us along!
• Why New Zealand?
• Step into an isolated pocket of the world to see the land of great films like Lord of the Rings (LOTR).
• It is a birder’s paradise. See how birds behave in an environment originally free of mammalian predators.
• There are very little poisonous or dangerous items here. Probably the most dangerous thing is the weather if you are hiking, or traffic if you are driving.
• You can readily see how humans impact the environment. And the effort that another country is going through to restore some of its native landscape.
• It is a English-speaking that has its very own and entertaining twist.
• Lots of hiking of all difficulty levels available, often with huts for sleeping.
• Beautiful places and scenery in a fairly compact area.
• Friendly people.
• Food
• Nothing too interesting here. Immigration here from SE Asia was greatly curbed earlier, so it is only now starting to get interesting food.
• There isn’t anything in particular that I would classify as Modern New Zealand.
• I didn’t really get to try indigenous food, but the staple meal of European settlers there has traditionally been meat and three vegetables (potato, sweet potato, and carrot).
• Uniquely Kiwi:
• Hokey Pokey flavor (ice cream, etc).
• Homemade salad dressing of sweetened condensed milk mixed with vinegar.
• Original marketers of the kiwi fruit (came from China).
• Feijoas (also not native, but they really like them here).