Planning for my NZ Bus tour

Before I arrived in New Zealand, I did some research and bought a ticket for a hop on hop off bus tour that would last approx 23 days.

It was suggested by a family friend as a great way to see the country – especially if I had time. I had NO idea of the different towns/cities it was stopping in, the activities involved in each place, what I was going to see, nothing. All I knew was dat it looked like it went around majority of the island, and that it would probably be a good time.

The ticket itself costed roughly $550NZ = $1,100XCD (close estimate) and I bought it about a month in advance. (It was on SALE as it usually costs around $1,150NZD = $2,300XCD.) I remember being so nervous to purchase the ticket. It was my first big spend from my account that stopped collecting a pay cheque. “Was I doing the right thing?” I thought, “Should I spend all this money this early?”. With the help of a friend (Shout outs to Yahaya Baruwa!) I was assured it was a fantastic idea and to just buy the ticket. So, I did.

I used my first two weeks in Auckland as an opportunity to plan. I reached out to one or two of my NZ links and asked them for their thoughts and suggestions on activities at each stop (cause I sure had no clue). I made a list of things I could do and estimated a budget for each place. I was overwhelmed sometimes because I really didn’t know what was what. I was so used to being the one telling people where to go and what to do in my own country – I found it difficult and sometimes frustrating not knowing the same in this new one.

However, I persisted and with the help of my family friends and google, I came up with a rough idea of what I’d get up to in each place that worked within my budget (THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT THING – BUDGET).

A few days before is when I started to pack. But, I quickly realized that this too may not be as easy as I thought – what should I pack?  Being from the Caribbean, I woulda juss pack shirts, shorts and slippers for each day. New Zealand though is super outdoorsy, and I like doing those things. I had to take into consideration the activities I was planning to do, the WEATHER in different areas, my size suitcase to lug around and an array of other things. This all had me flustered at one point. So again, I turned to online posts as well as my friends. My connections told me (and sometimes even gave me) the right type of clothes to wear, made sure I packed sunblock and that I had thermals (clothing specifically designed to trap heat and keep you warm – coming from a Caribbean country, we don’t use such) among many other things.

Here’s a brief list of things I packed/wish I had packed

• Sunblock

• A flash light

• Sneakers

• A rain jacket

• A day bag (a lightweight bag you bring to carry your ‘necessary’ things while you galavant in each new place)

• Battery charger

• Phone adapter

• Winter hat

• Hoodie

• Micro fiber towel (a towel designed to dry quickly so you don’t have to wait long while you’re on the go!)

• Additional towel (If you can fit it)

• A blanket (to get comfy on the bus)

• A pillow that can wrap around your neck (if you can afford the luxury)

• Bathing suit

• Socks

• Toiletries bag with all you need in it

• My Flag

• Clothes to last roughly 7 days. (In the end I catered for approx 2 change of clothes a day – one for exploring, and one for going out in the night.)

It took me a total of 3hrs to pack everything in a carry on suitcase (a challenge in and of itself) but in the end I did it!

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Luckily for me, I started my tour and spent one night in a town called Paihia, then returned back to Auckland for one night. So I basically had a tester night which was great. I was able to come home and remove a chunk of clothes I wouldn’t have needed, packed an extra towel, and packed more clothes for ‘getting dirty’ activities.

So, I was all set for my bus tour of New Zealand. I boarded the bus on February 14th 2018 and wasn’t returning until mid March. I had half of it planned and was winging it the rest of the way. But, I prepared to have a fantastic time.

More to come next week!

Yours truly,

Global Gyal