The New Zealand Experience

As one of the hottest foreign destinations in the world right now for visitors, backpackers and adventure seekers – New Zealand is a place that it can be surprisingly difficult to get a real feel for before you arrive.

Situated as it is on the other side of the globe from most places – you do assume a certain amount of mystery about it, and the possibility of remoteness and adventure available there is something that even sometimes seduces it's Australian neighbor across.

I have recently returned to the UK after spending a year doing a working holiday in New Zealand – and found in many instances that the information I received before I left and the reality of what is there were often at a large variance. And even though that is something that frequently happens in travel (it's why we go to see for ourselves, after all...) what surprised me often both before I left and after I arrived was just how difficult it often was to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Though I have flown off to destinations at the drop of a hat and didn't have much idea what to expect when I arrived, this year long stay was something I had a full year to plan and prepare for. And I used that time well. I read the guide books, (more than one kind and though I swore I would never do so again was in the end seduced by the photography in Lonely Planet) looked extensively online for local information about it, and the tool that generally proves the most useful I talked to lots and lots of people who had lived there, travelled there or where from there.

And yet time and again I found the information I got from all of these sources to be vague at best. Even when I pinned down friends who had visited for specifics, so rarely did I get a clear picture of New Zealand that I started to wonder if I was just expecting too much detail in the answer.

There is almost a strange hesitance where New Zealand is concerned to say anything bad about it. In all of the people I spoke to about it, only one said a negative comment, and I have to admit even then I felt that maybe he was being critical for the sake of being critical. No one ever says a bad word about New Zealand. Which if it were accurate would be a wonderful thing. But the truth is there are a lot of things about New Zealand you should know and think about before you decide if this is the place you want to spend a year of your time doing a working holiday – or if a short stop over there is more to your taste.

So here is my run down of year's life in New Zealand – something to give any one who is considering this a well rounded idea of exactly what to expect when you arrive, and a few tips to make the process smoother if you are keen to head to the land of the long white cloud.

Though this isn't a typical IGOUGO review of hotels and attractions, it's something I feel could be very useful for those who are thinking of spending an extended stay in New Zealand.

There are some great benefits and disadvantages of the New Zealand working holiday visa – something that I suspect can be said of any working holiday visa scheme.

As some one who has constantly had to deal with the unpleasant red tape of the visa system for years in moving from the US to the UK, I am very sensitive indeed to the hassle and over inflated expense that can come with it.

This was a a large part of our decision to spend a year in New Zealand. As I am a US citizen and my husband is a UK citizen, it's not easy for us to travel abroad together in extended stays. And any American citizen who has tried to stay or work in another country in the past ten years will appreciate just how difficult this can be.

This is probably the biggest advantage to the New Zealand working holiday visa. To date the thing I have found the most impressive and the most efficient in all of my dealings in New Zealand was the customs officials and how the visas were handled. I will try to give a good idea of what to really expect from this, and I can tell you that after dealing with the painfully protracted red tape, confusion, and general unpleasantness of the UK Home Office and the US Immigration agencies, New Zealand was an absolute delight.

Best of all – all of this can be done very simply, very quickly and with very little confusion online.

To find out all you need to know about the details of your visa, what it entails and what it may cost go online at: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/

This is a great, easy to understand website and best of all – if you do have any questions you can email them and you should get an actual answer to your question within a few days.

I do recommend that you apply as soon as you can for the visa – as soon as you know what your travel date will be – as a lot of people do apply for New Zealand working holiday visas and they do have a limited amount they give out each year. (We bought our tickets in November and applied then to arrive in New Zealand in April. Though you may not need five months advanced notice, I would recommend you do it as soon as you can.)

When you apply for your visa online it is given to you electronically. This is not your start date, however. Once they issue your electronic visa (you should get confirmation with in 48 hours – we got ours the same evening.) You then have one year to travel on it. It is from the date that you arrive in New Zealand that your working holiday begins.

And it is true that you aren't 100% allowed your visa until you are given it as a stamp in your passport when you arrive – but if you have followed the rules of the visa and applied in good time, this is something that I wouldn't lose any sleep worrying about.

Once you arrive:
After having dealt with so many muddled visa processes, all of them requesting so much information, I was a little apprehensive about our arrival and going through customs. We had sold everything we owned to travel around the world and live in New Zealand for a year – so if we had misread or forgotten something at border control, we would have been in a very bad situation.

I arrived at customs with a binder practically full of documentation to prove our situation if needed.
Again – this was one of the most efficient things about my trip to New Zealand. We arrived in Auckland airport (both times we arrived in the country on our visas) and each time had a friendly reception. After a few basic questions and a scan of our passports we were welcomed into the country.

I should be clear that I do highly recommend you have proof of any documentation they require with you – specifically travel insurance, proof of funds onward flights, and a printed copy that you received when they issued your electronic visa.

However we were never asked for any documentation as it was all already in the computer and they were very relaxed and pleasant about it. It is always possible to get a customs officer on a bad day – but all in all we had very good experiences with them.

The Cost:
One of the selling points of this visa for us was the cost. For a UK citizen in 2008 (check the website for current prices) it was £50 for a one year visa. A UK citizen can apply for a 2 year visa upfront as well. Other nationalities may need to apply at the end of their stay if they want to extend.

For a US citizen this is a particularly attractive working holiday as it is – firstly – one of the very few places in the world a US citizen can participate in the working holiday scheme. (Especially non students) And secondly, because it is free. My visa was a matter of simply writing in the information about my travel, funds and dates and it was issued the same night.

There were no other hidden costs or surprises and even at £50 is an amount which is understandable for a processing fee.


Multiple Entry:

Once you have arrived in New Zealand and been stamped for a working holiday scheme – for most visas this allows you multiple entry. And though this is something that I was aware of, I was still sweating it a little bit when we left for Fiji half way through our stay. Our job and much of our stuff stayed in New Zealand – so if we had returned to find out our visa no longer applied, it would have been a mess.
However, this again was very simple and painless. We returned to Auckland with no hassle at all. Our passports were restamped until our leaving date and we were not asked for any proof of funds or further information at this point either.

The visa process itself as well as customs was a very good and easy experience for us – though it isn't the entire story of the working holiday visa.

For a travelling gap year student or holiday maker who just wants to pick up a bit of cash here and there to supplement their travel funds, this is still a good system. This is, after all, exactly what it's set up to be used for. But this is all is is really useful for – and though I would recommend you give yourself the working option by getting the visa, if your travels take you through Australia or other countries you can work, I would spend more time doing so there.

The system for the 'working holiday maker' is so ingrained in New Zealand that you can essentially become a kind of immigrant labour. There is a whole work system set up for these temporary workers who desperately need travelling money and a place to stay – and in my opinion it is often exploited. The pay is terrible for any of these jobs with three month time limits (the most you can work at any one job while in New Zealand. It's unclear when you apply if you can only work three months at a time or three months entirely with one person – though the latter does seem to be the case.)

There were two of us in a live-in management position working 24 hour shifts 4 days a week and we barely had enough money to live on. And we made better wages than most of the holiday makers were getting.

So it is still very doable – as there are a lot of job options – if you just want to work for a couple of months and top up your cash levels before moving on. But don't expect to earn any more money than that while you are there, as this is very unlikely.

Also – do your research of employers if you can before you agree to work for them, especially if it is a live in position. Many of the jobs that sounded good on paper were, in our minds, unacceptable. The living arrangements for many live-in positions were really bad – generally old caravans or bunks in back rooms. Be sure to check on this before you drive into the middle of nowhere for work.

All in all I can recommend this – especially for students or gap year travellers. You can get this visa any time up until the age of 30 – though late 20 year olds may find it more difficult to accept the wages and work available to working holiday visa holders.

If there is one thing that people love to say about New Zealand to prospective travellers it's how cheap it is. Especially to those coming from the UK with the formerly inflated pound, the idea of New Zealand prices was a traveller's wonderland.

What I found to be true is in part due to the fact that I decided to spend my year in New Zealand in 2008 – when world currencies were fluctuating like mad and inflation was rampant globally – something felt especially hard in New Zealand. I haven't been in New Zealand for much of 2009 – so I can only give information on what I experienced while I was there.

But as global economies continue to flux, it is very possible that a trip you make to New Zealand might reveal something very different.

What I found, however was that cheapness as a concept here was absolute nonsense. Not only was New Zealand not cheap – New Zealand was expensive. Even coming from Britain I found it very pricey.

The chances are that if you are visiting from Europe, the UK, or even the US for a couple of weeks you may not find it that expensive. As prices rise everywhere and as the New Zealand dollar was hit particularly hard at the end of 2008 – the prices there may not phase you much in a shorter trip.
However in longer stays – particularly working holidays – you will very rapidly begin to feel the strains of costs in New Zealand. I find it hard to fathom how New Zealanders themselves manage – as the wages in the country are very low compared to the costs. And what might have seemed cheap for travellers from the northern hemisphere a few years ago with the value of their currency vs the New Zealand dollar, now must find it a much pricier endeavor.

For example – the exchange rate for years for the UK pound to the New Zealand dollar was 3 – 1. Very suddenly early in 2008 it became almost 2 – 1.
Again – something that might not be felt by short visit travellers – but that becomes very difficult for those living, working, or with longer stays.

I eagerly admit that my travel budget is usually almost idiotically low, and I do tend to find most 'cheap destinations' much pricier than I was led to believe. However it was widely talked about amongst New Zealanders while we were there how much the inflation had been rising very recently for them – and that many prices had tripled in the past few years.

This was really hit home for us when we went to Fiji in August 2008. We left New Zealand in late July and returned in September, and in that time there were a lot of prices (primarily with food and gas) that had risen significantly enough to leave us very surprised at our next shopping trip.

But all this is just relevant with out experience – so I will give you a brief run down of what costs you might expect if you were planning to live in New Zealand for any extended amount of time.

All examples will be the lowest options available – as that was all we could afford during our stay in New Zealand while working 4 day 24 hour shifts as managers of a lodge in the South Island with accommodation included, no bills aside from petrol costs, and earning manager wages.

The first thing to know is the standard rate of pay for a worker on the working holiday scheme. Because of the three month time limit placed on you – it is very difficult to impossible to simply 'apply for a job' with out the stigma of being a working holiday maker. (though this might be slightly easier in cities) In which case, you're wage will likely have nothing to do with the job itself and everything to do with the temporary status of you as an employee. Expect around $11 an hour for most positions.

Where this might sound like a decent wage for a part time temporary worker – a good way to value that wage is that you will need to work one hour to buy one store brand, cheaply priced block of cheese.
(or for the women out there who will really appreciate this translation - you would have to work 4 hours to buy one tube of standard Maybelline mascara. (average NZ price, $45)

If you are lucky enough to get a management position (such as I did as both my husband and I had extensive hotel and travel experience and were mature holiday visa workers in our late 20's) then you can expect around $15 ph. If you are lucky you may even get accommodation included, though that can range from anything from a simple but clean and tidy bunk house (such as we had – a small room with a table, bed, fridge and TV and a small heater but with no insulation so was freezing in the South Island winter, and no kitchen or bathroom so we had to share with the backpackers who were visiting the hostel) to a very dodgy caravan parked in the back that you might share with other travellers. Be very wary and careful about what the accommodation is before you accept it, we heard a lot of horror stories about the 'included accommodation' while we were there.

Rather than tell you the simple costs of things in dollars (because this is all relative depending on where you are coming from) I will give you an idea of what is the real cost, rather than simply the price of some some basic necessities.

(keep in mind you will likely earn $11 ph and are limited on how much you can work)

A round trip drive to store (2 hr) in petrol : $80 - $100

Average bi-weekly shop (the cheapest products and store brands - food only) : $100 – 150
(it might be worth further illustrating this cost by saying [at Pac-n-Save in NZ] the same shop at Tescos in Edinburgh was approx £25)

Average one night in double/twin room in cheap hostel/backpackers: $70 (more if you want a private bathroom – though a bed in a dorm will be around $25 pn)

Average rental car price per day (minus holiday weekends): $60

Average budget meal out for 2 : $30 (a soup at most cafes will run around $7, and a single Burger King meal will cost around $12 – which is worth mentioning is generally very good quality.)

**Quick Tip *** Go to Subway. For the best, cheap fast food options Subway can be a life saver for budget travellers in NZ. With sub-of-the-day or value subs for around $3 you can actually have a nice, fulfilling lunch or dinner for around $6 for 2. We never found anything to come close to it and practically lived off of Subway, which thankfully is very good quality there.)

Average beer at a pub (not kidding) : $7

Average flight to Fiji (if you can have it added on to your flight before hand, do so) : $1000 rt

Average 'backpacker car' price: $1,500 (don't expect to get much for your money – though we did get something for around $1,300 that ran and looked decent, we did end up spending almost that amount with mechanics before we sold it a year later for $800 - See my review on cars and mechanics)

Coming from the states I found this particularly pricey as at the time that we were there the NZ and US dollar were very close in value – something that hadn't happened very often.

Carefully look into current exchange rates, fluxuations and local prices before you plan your budget for a long trip. Anything over $12 ph is a good wage, and be very careful about jobs with included accommodation – though I recommend that you aim for this as rent and bills seem to be very high indeed.

New Zealand flights/airports/regulations:

For the most part, certainly where the international flights are concerned, this is pretty standard in New Zealand. As I mentioned in the 'working visa' section – the customs officials are some of the more pleasant and straight forward I've had dealings with, the visa process itself being pretty straight forward and so long as everything is in order I would be very surprised if you were to have any problems with the immigration officers.

On the other hand, where immigration is very reasonable, customs is a little more intense.

Being a smallish country island in the south pacific full of completely unique animal and plant life, New Zealand has a similar customs intensity to it's Australian neighbor. It might depend on the airport you fly into in Oz, but I would be inclined to think that the New Zealand customs is a little bit more strict that even Australia about what you can and can not bring into the country.

So for starters, I would advise that you are very careful that you are extremely upfront with them about anything and everything you might have in your bags or in your possession in anyway. They really will check. I recommend that you look it up online before you go and make sure that you aren't bringing anything in you shouldn't (especially if you are coming from Oz, Pacific Islands or Southeast Asia.)
When you begin your flight to New Zealand you will very soon receive an arrival card listing the vast array of things you can not bring in or need to declare and even scarier the enormous fines that are the penalty for not doing so.

I should probably say that there does seem to be some discrepancy between what all the forms and numerous scary signs as you arrive at the airport say you must declare and what the officials seem interested in. My advice is if you aren't certain or if it is a gray area at all – declare it. You might get some exasperated looks from the busy officials – but it's better than a $10,000 fine.

Also, ANY camping gear that you have will need to be examined and disinfected. Even the boots I was wearing which I had cleaned extensively before I left (reading about this rule) and had only walked the streets of Edinburgh and various airports between – were taken away and sprayed down. They really mean business.

So just find out before hand what is allowed, be overly cautious if you are uncertain – but don't worry about it too much because even though it was annoying each time it wasn't too intimidating where the officials were involved.

Local Airports:

If you are flying in between cities in New Zealand you will be flying on New Zealand Air, for as far as I can tell it is the only (or one of the only) internal airlines. And this has it's extreme advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, the airports that don't do international flights (such as Nelson) are amazingly relaxed.
In the wake of September 11th and the nightmare of regulations and lack of customer service that has dominated the airline industry since – my time coming and going from these little local airports in New Zealand were the most headache free and enjoyably relaxed flying experiences I've had in almost a decade. Demonstrating in my mind how well airlines can still conduct business with out the cavalcade of safety measures.

Nelson is a very small airport with two departure gates and one check in centre. And there are no safety checks at all. There are signs telling you what you can't put on the plane and what luggage limits are, but that is it. You come in, you check in – you get on the plane. It was utter bliss.

But even the bigger airports have their advantages. Auckland airport is pretty good despite how busy it is, if for no other reason than it offers free internet use – a very useful tool to have. The bus system from it is very easy though pricey ($15 one way pp) and it's very easy to get around and the staff are fairly friendly and helpful. (when you arrive at the airport there are two 'Sony' stations -one upstairs and one down, each with two computers online. They are free and are first come first serve.)

When I first arrived Christchurch was a pretty good airport and one I used numerous times locally and internationally in my time in New Zealand – however just before I left they tried to over-automate it with luggage check in all done with machines and yet again lowering the weight you can take with you and it made the whole process a nightmare. So much so that I left for my flight to Fiji furious and stressed out and swearing I would never fly out of Christchurch again. I really wish that airlines would go back to remembering that they are still providing a service to customers, and due to this I've become very harsh towards airlines that disregard this for profits – making me feel less amicable towards New Zealand Air. This was something that was changing drastically during our stay and if continued in the same vein would make them as unpleasant as other airlines in a few short years.

***Quick Tip – If you are flying out of Christchurch airport early in the morning – before 9 am – arrange before hand how you will get to the airport. The city bus was suppose to run in the early morning, but when we showed up to catch it it never turned up, and no one in the city seemed to know anything about it including our hotel. There are shuttle buses which are expensive (around $25) but they are cheaper than a taxi which we ended up having to take in an emergency rush to the airport which cost us an extra $38. ***

There is another New Zealand institution which I find unpleasant and had major issues with, and that was a departure tax. Every time you take a flight that leaves an airport in New Zealand going to another country you had to pay a departure tax. This I think is bang out of order as thousands and thousands of tourists, travellers and visitors will leave every year because they have to. I personally think it is very off to require someone to leave your country and then tax them for doing so.

Having said that – just before we left the country – Auckland Airport had abolished the departure tax (generally around $25 pp) Which made me much happier. I sincerely hope that the other airports follow it's lead.

Also like other airlines, New Zealand has gotten more and more strict about luggage and in adding extra fees – especially in the local flights. Check all of these online at their website before flying so you know what the limitations are.

Alternatively – if you are as annoyed by airlines as I have become and have a bit more time on your hands, then a drive to Picton on the South Island and you can take the ferry across to the North Island through the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds – though not cheap with a car is still a great experience in itself.

This is a something that I think is particularly valuable for all travellers going to New Zealand or anywhere, in fact, where you will be flying on a Round the World or Flexible ticket – as it was something that many travellers we came in contact with were having problems with and that is very difficult to know the realities of until you are already using the ticket.

For many who are considering these options – especially flying from Europe and North America - the Round the World or Flexible Multiple Destination tickets have become a very enticing concept. Where these tickets used to cost significantly more than a single ticket to one destination, in recent times the costs have become much more similar.

For example – when we purchased our tickets for New Zealand late in 2007, many airlines were running deals to get people to buy 'flexible' round the world tickets. Especially airlines like Qantas and Air New Zealand. For us to buy a rt ticket to New Zealand would have cost us over £700 each – and I'm not certain if that included taxes and airport fees.
For a Round the World Flexible ticket with Air New Zealand for the same dates with three stops (one in Hong Kong, one in New Zealand and one in LA – US) cost us £890. It was a very small addition with a lot of extra travel tagged on. (This also had the added bonus of being able to include Fiji in this flight plan for the meager sum of an extra £100 - something I desperately wish we had taken advantage of)

It was all too much to resist and in the end we joined the many other travellers who took this option and suddenly had ourselves a round the world journey.

On paper this sounded very good. We researched different tickets and different airlines – we bought these through a travel agent in Scotland who we were in frequent contact with through one agent. We checked the details of the flight again and again before we decided to purchase. Even being sure we got some of the information in writing from our travel agent – we felt pretty confident when we purchased our RTW ticket with Air New Zealand.

We'd heard good things about Air New Zealand– and on our first flight and stop to Hong Kong we could make no complaints. And over our time in New Zealand I flew with Air New Zealand a lot – and as airlines these days go, they rank pretty well. Their phone line customer service was always pretty good and most things can be done pretty simply on line. As I mentioned in the 'Airports and Airlines' review – they have had a tendency recently to raise their prices and their fees and baggage allowances have gotten absurd, but that seems to be the case with virtually every airline left.

However, after arriving in New Zealand and being there a few weeks we started hearing more and more worrying complaints from other working holiday makers on flexible tickets. It started with one group from Germany who were extremely upset that their 'flexible' ticket, was anything but. Like us they had purchased a ticket that supposedly you could change the date on as many times as you wanted, for free, up to 48 hours before hand. The only stipulation that had been put forth at any point by the airline or our travel agent was that it was dependent on there being seats available on the day you wanted to fly. A very reasonable stipulation – we thought. With a small £25 handling fee to change the date – again, something we thought reasonable.

The German boys – deciding to get home in time for summer in Europe – were told that actually for them to change their date would cost them over $300, an amount they didn't have, leaving them stuck with out work in New Zealand.

As you can imagine, they were less than pleased – and I began to get quite nervous about our ticket. While they were talking, another girl from Switzerland came over to join in the conversation saying she had just had exactly the same experience with another airline.
She had worked as much as she was allowed in New Zealand and when she went to change her ticket it was going to cost her $600. The fee was so much that it worked out better for her to purchase a working holiday visa for Australia and fly there instead while waiting for her original flight home from New Zealand.

We started hearing this again and again – so we wrote to our travel agent again to make certain that all was as we were told it was.
Again we were assured there would be no problem.

It is important to mention here that when you buy a Round the World Ticket – you can only book for 6 months in advance. Therefore, to get the full year you must change your dates at least once.

Pretty soon after we arrived in New Zealand it became apparent that the wages we earned vs the cost of living was going to be difficult for a year, so when it came time to move our dates a few months later we decided to leave in December for the States instead of February – and this is where the problems began.

When we called Air New Zealand – there were NO DATES we could change it to. There was nothing from December to April that we could change it to for free.
What they don't explain when you buy these tickets is that 'subject to availability' doesn't refer to available seats on the flight – but rather the pre-set prices for selected seats on certain dates. Another words - the price bracket they set for their pricing month to month. Because of the sales they had been running when we purchases there were about three weeks during when we booked our tickets that fell into the seating price category we had. Everything after that rose in price signifcantly.

It wasn't as if there was only a few scattered days each month to choose from, or we waited too long to book the tickets we wanted, or tried to purchase in busy flight times – there were NO dates from December to April in which we could change for free. (and this we began trying to arrange in May)

It soon became apparent that the situation was different than we were led to believe - though entirely by our travel agent or by Air New Zealand it was hard to tell. The change fee was actually $75 per person, and for any of the seats that were available it was going to cost us around $300 each to change.

When we contacted our travel agent about this she refused to be of any service and only repeated that once we were out of the country we had to deal with Air New Zealand – that they had no more to do with the ticketing process.

In the end we found one date – 12 days after our original leaving date – that we could change our tickets to for $100 each. However it was about two months of hassle and trying to communicate between New Zealand Air and our travel agent. And luckily we were quite flexible about this. Had we wanted to change it to March or April as we originally wanted, then the price would have been significantly higher.

I'm not certain about how this works with other airlines – only that I heard complaints of exactly the same thing with Qantas and two other airlines I'm not familiar with.

If you don't want the 'flexibility' aspect of your ticket – or don't mind paying a bit extra for it – then the RTW ticket can still be an excellent value. But be very careful about what you purchase if changing the date for free or for a small fee is something that will be important in your travels.

This widely practiced activity for the traveller and backpacker in New Zealand is not quite as dubious as it first sounds. Actually standing for 'Willing Workers On Organic Farms.' This is something that backpackers get very excited about and I myself – even with a work visa – was very keen to join in in my time in New Zealand.

This is an international program (though I never heard the term until I was in the southern hemisphere) available in more countries than New Zealand. And before I review it here, I want to be very clear that as it is an international organization – I can not comment on the organization as a whole, and have no idea how it is practiced or executed in any country outside of New Zealand.

First let me run you through the basics:

WWOOFing is a program that is set out for young people, students, and backpackers to stay with a local family/couple who work some sort of organic farm. Giving the idea lots and lots of leeway, this can be anything from a large organically certified farm producing local produce or raising local animals to a small family run farmstead with an ecologically friendly scheme or a small organic garden patch, vineyard or orchard.

The idea is that the WWOOFing scheme allows the travellers who want to experience this local way of farming and working the land a chance to do so by participating in the farming, working a bit every day and getting a free place to sleep and free meals with the family.

In exchange the family gets to share the knowledge and experience they have gained on their organic homestead, get a few hours (generally it is arranged for four) of extra help, and a general cultural exchange of ideas in the evening.

I think in theory this is a good one. And this is one that many many backpackers in New Zealand take advantage of. To join this scheme you pay $45 NZ for a years membership which consists of them sending you a booklet full of all the 'organic' farms who participate.

This is where the problem arises, and why I would be more than hesitant to advise that any one take part in this. But before I go into my own experience and many of the worrying experiences I know that others also had – I will say that a lot of people use it, and a decent handful (often very young European travellers) said they really enjoyed their experience with it.

However – there are a few major problems with this that I will talk about first, again that I can only be certain are problems within New Zealand.

Firstly – the book is pretty seriously out of date. Or if it's not, then it is not checked up on in Any way whatsoever. Something I am pretty certain of. There are hundreds of entries in the book and many that we called no longer participated and even more no longer did the thing they claimed in the book. Also you often find adds for someone wanting 'laundry, cleaning and childminding' Basically free labor in exchange for a bed.

Which brings me to the second and more worrying problem. As far as I can tell there is no verification of any of the participants.
This is something that very young trravellers are taking part in, mostly in remote locations and often with out their own transportation (often single women.) It is something that in my opinion if you are going to do it needs to be very carefully monitored by a central body. This is very obviously not the case, and it even lacks any true kind of forum or method of complaint if you do have a problem with a WWOOFing experience. There is no rating system whatsoever for those who visit these 'farms' to know what others have experienced there. You can only hope to go by word of mouth, in which case what did you pay the $45 for?

And the other biggest problem I had with the scheme is that it simply doesn't offer what it says that it does. If regulated – this would be a very good way for those travelling on a low budget to have a place to sleep if needed for a few weeks. But it is set up to be a learning experience and a cultural exchange with some daily work involved, and that is a long way from what it actually is.

As I mentioned in an early review in this journal – the working holiday backpacker is to some extent exploited in New Zealand, and this really comes out in the WWOOFing program.

There are some very good options within it – and even I had one very good experience WWOOFing. However, for the most part, and even to some degree with the good experience, there is a sense that you are free labor.

An example of the problems are summed up nicely in our first experience. We showed up to do a week's WWOOFing at what was listed as a "honey house, B&B with honey museum, and organic farm" outside of Nelson, with separate private accommodation for WWOOFers. Though we hadn't intended to begin WWOOFing yet, we were both very interested in learning about bees and harvesting honey, so we signed up for a week. We spoke with the owner several times and felt decently comfortable with it.
When we arrived several things became immediately apparent. There was no B&B (never was, or no longer, we weren't sure.) There was no 'honey museum.' In fact, there were no bees. Of any kind. And there had been no bees for almost a decade.

What we did find was a middle aged woman in her home. There didn't even seem to be a proper garden. She was friendly and though seemed a bit uneasy was welcoming. We soon found that the 'separate accommodation' was an unfinished, uninsulated shed/art studio with no bedding. Because it was winter – she decided we had better stay in her daughter's room who was out of the country. Suddenly we were sleeping in some one else's house, not quite sure what to do or what the protocol was. It was all very uncomfortable.

The next morning early we had breakfast and then she told us what we would be doing: digging a ditch for her house's drainage pipe. It was one of the oddest experiences I've had in my adult life. It was like being sent for to live with an eccentric aunt who had lots of chores for you to do to earn your keep. We spent the day digging a ditch – during which she came out from time to time to check and tell us how many more hours we had to work. There was nothing relaxed about it – she timed it to the minute. And this was winter – so the idea that you work in the morning and can explore the area in the evening wasn't valid. By the time we finished we had about an hour to walk the hill behind her house before it got dark.

We were not happy and left before the week was out – once the ditch was done.

We did have an excellent experience with a fantastically helpful family planting trees on an island north of Nelson – privately left on their solar beach house. Probably the best option in the WWOOFing booklet. But even so the working was nothing to do with 'organic farming' and was just planting trees on their property. Something I enjoyed – but still not what the book advertises.

And it is also worth mentioning that you should NOT be surprised if, as a WWOOFer, you are farmed out to friends and neighbors. They do treat you almost as 'owned' labour who they can do what they want with. They won't ask you if you'd mind helping out – they offer you to their neighbors if they need work done. (something that happened to us twice which I did not feel comfortable with at all.)

All in all I can not recommend this as it is. Though a great idea, I think it is badly run at best and outright dangerous at worst. I did speak to one young German girl who had been left to stay in a shed in a very remote area on a horse farm and they refused to take her to the bus station to leave until they were going themselves weeks later. She was stuck there for 6 weeks – and one day they required her to work for 13 hours.

If you do undertake this – do so with care, and best if you have your own transport.

If you manage to get anyone to give you an accurate description of New Zealand weather before you arrive, then I commend you. You have achieved the impossible.

I grew up in Texas and moved to Scotland when I was in my 20's. Not an easy weather transition to make, but one that I went into fully aware and with resignation – even determination. Yet after 7 years of life in the rainy, cold downpours of Scotland (and somehow always going on holiday in the winter rather than the summer as well as two of the worst Scottish summers in recent memory) I was desperate for a change of weather. A real, change of weather.

In the year leading up to our time in New Zealand I asked again and again what to expect when I arrived. 'What is the weather like?' was always my first questions. I knew not to expect subtropical Pacific Island weather, nor the arid heat of it's neighbor Australia - but I did want some idea of what I would encounter through out my time in New Zealand.

But time and again, and virtually with out fail the answers from visitors and locals alike was always the same. A perplexed shrug, a crinkling of eyebrows and then the inevitable 'I dunno – kind of changeable.'

I accepted this the first few times, but as our moving date was nearing it's end and I came closer to the reality of our move leaving Scotland just as summer was due to begin and arriving in New Zealand for the beginning of their winter – I wanted to know more.

And so I prodded, 'How cold does it get?'
Always the answer. 'Not too cold really. There are places in the south island that it gets cold.'

Again I tried, 'How hot are the summers?'
Once again 'Not too hot. Hotter than they are here (Scotland)'

Then the most important and terrifying question of all, 'How much does it rain?'
And this answer was always, inevitably the same. 'Not too much. Not as much as in Scotland.'

Great. I was fully informed.

I read travel guides, I even checked online weather forecasts. But it was extremely hard for me to get a good idea of what weather I might expect through out the seasons – perhaps not aided by my desperation that it be different to Scotland as by this time my ticket had been purchased and I was on my way. Surely some of the renowned South Pacific and Southern Hemisphere heat would prevail? Some of it's sun be a part of my new life on the other side of the planet...

Before I illustrate too clearly what the weather is actually like in New Zealand, I will admit that I did miss the hottest of the summer months, and was not in the coldest region of the coldest months.

However, this is what I found.
New Zealand is wet. It's a very wet place. And it's pretty cold.
We spent most of our time in the fall, winter and spring in the central part of the South Island – a region known for being dry and airy and very cold in the winter. And even so I found it to be quite a wet place. True, that this well known 'dry' part of New Zealand is not as wet as Scotland, and certainly has more sunny days. But it also gets very, very cold in the winters here. This is ski country, and in the height of winter (July – August) you can get a lot of snow and some very very cold days.
To say it's 'changeable' is an almost negligent understatement. Scotland's weather is changeable. The Mid south in the US has weather that is changeable. What you get in New Zealand is unfathomable.
You can get snow on Christmas day (the height of their summer) and blazing hot days in winter. The springs and falls are desperately unpredictable, and all you can really know is that several days with out any rain of any kind brings pause to locals.

I experienced one day in November that began it's life with promise of t-shirts and shorts and ended with me bundled in full winter gear as we got almost 6 inches of snow.
The winds in this region of the south island are incredible – and Lake Tekapo New Zealand is easily the windiest place I have ever lived in my life.
It was a place that's weather system changed daily, drastically – it was difficult to get a handle on.

And the more subtropical North Island – well, I didn't spend much time up there myself, but it was always wet when I did. With a few minor exceptions, in the entire year we were there I almost never saw the news report of weather without there being rain clouds over the north island. It seemed to rain there consistently.

The upside is, no matter what time of year you visit, you might get to experience any one of the seasons. Wind is everything in New Zealand, and you will hear constantly from locals about 'nor'westers' and how that changes drastically what seasons it is. Depending on whether you get the Pacific Island winds or the southern Antarctic winds completely dictates what season you are in in New Zealand.

But if you ask me the term 'The land of the long white cloud' is just a nice way to say, 'It's rains alot.'

It is true of every destination that there are things that are simply untrue that you heard about it before you arrived, things you heard differently – different opinions and viewpoints, and hidden secrets yet to be discovered. All of these things are one of the great things about travelling – finding out for yourself where these myths and truths fall for you – and discovering new ones on your own.

But for me there seemed to be a lot of the things I had always heard to be 'fundamental' things of New Zealand that did not seem to exist, as well as lots of things I have never heard it's praises sung for – which I rate highly for anywhere in the world.

So even though this is based solely on my own experience and opinion, here's a little look at things that I found to be truths and myths about New Zealand.

Coffee:

Though you may never have heard this, New Zealand is the king of gourmet coffee. Italy and France and Seattle may hold all the titles for the cultural pastime of cafes and coffee drinking, but in my experience nowhere I've been has had such consistently outstanding coffee as New Zealand.

I did remember vaguely reading in a travel guide before I arrived that there was coffee better than Italy in New Zealand, but I disregarded it completely as it certainly must have been a misprint or joke. I will admit fully that I haven't yet sampled Italian coffee in Italy for myself – in which case I can not claim New Zealand's dominance over it. However – I can confidently say that of all the coffee I have tried in the world – the best coffees have all been in New Zealand. The difference for me being that not only can you get an exceptional cappuccino in a nice city cafe or restaurant, but any dive along the highway in the middle of nowhere as well. Find a little grubby bakery or restaurant in the back country and you are still likely to get one of the best coffees you've ever tasted. (It might be a good time to mention how excellent many of the bakeries are as well. If you get a chance to have a bacon and egg slice – do so. Try local bakeries, as you can get some amazing foods and pies there.)


Wild, Open and Free:

I don't think I'm the only one who came to New Zealand for the freedom, the peace and the wide open spaces. Planting myself firmly in the middle of the South Island – an hour from nearest town with a shop in one direction and 2 hours on the other with only a few small village sized towns in between I was sure I'd found exactly that. And I can't deny the open spaces – especially in areas on the central South Island and Otago. You can drive for an hour through country that looks almost like New Mexico or Nevada with out seeing a thing.

The problem is – it's very very difficult to enjoy it. If you like group hikes and tours – then you're set. New Zealand is teaming with pricey tours that will take you to all of these places. And if you've got a lot of money to spend for sight seeing flights to remote areas, walking passes or tours – then you can get to some very good places.

But if you want to just get out and go walking – you're not going to find it an easy prospect.
Coming from Scotland where there is no law of trespass and loads of open space in the highlands to wander where, when and how you want to, I was completely taken aback to arrive in the wilds of New Zealand to find everything so tightly regulated. And not just in the national parks, either.
Everything seems to be on designated walking trail – and even if you don't pay the extortionate guided walking fee prices (over $1000) in many cases you will still have to pay a fee to sign up for the walk and sometimes these waiting lists are for months in advance.

Even in the less desirable places – because there is so much tourism in New Zealand based on these activities, very often you will be sharing the walk with a lot of other people.

And even if, at last you find a walking trail you are allowed to go on for free, with no guide or permit or other hikers – it will have to be a day walk because you can't camp there. You can't camp in New Zealand outside of a camp station or a designated path hut where you will pay around $15 per person to pitch a tent or share a cabin with other hikers. You can't light fires or cook food – which does of course make camping something else entirely. And often you need a permit for this, too.

If you don't mind any of that – then New Zealand will be a paradise of walking for you – as there are wonderful walks through incredible scenery everywhere at your disposal. But if you're looking for something a bit less...tamed, you might have a strangely hard time finding it.
(***Tip – though I didn't go myself, I heard other travellers say this was better on the west coast of the south island, and it was a bit more relaxed there in terms of regulations. This you would have to check for yourself, however. A very good day hike for free with out too much company can be found in Lake Tekapo – up to Mt John from the lake itself, or indeed around it, and in the Hooker Valley near Mt Cook.)

Beer:

Again, another thing I'd never heard before I arrived that New Zealand does well – and that always surprises folk when I tell them now that I am back. I had heard plenty about the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and other wines of the area, but never once heard the virtues of New Zealand beer, which is glorious.
If you are a fan of beer at all – whether simply for the joys of a pint or because you have a discerning palate where all hops brews are concerned, you will love the beers of New Zealand. If you get a chance, sample them both in the North and South Island as you get very different beer – and a constant argument between the islands over which is better. In Auckland – try a Lion Red – easily found in any pub or bar in Auckland. This is the pride of the north.

In the South Island, be sure to sample the delightful range of Monteiths – my own personal favourite. They have a beautiful selection of really nice beers from blondes to darks and summer and winter varieties. These are good in the pub, but I personally recommend you buy them in the shops (at a much more reasonable value) and sample them in your favourite scenic spot or with a BBQ. But whatever the case, you must try the local New Zealand beers in your stay as they are superb.

Fish and Chips:

Even though I'd heard New Zealander's claim it before, coming from the UK I wasn't expecting to find it so true. But even after 7 years in Scotland I am happy to proclaim that New Zealand has the best fish and chips I've ever tasted. And I'd even have to give my runner up prize to Australia. Even in small out of the way chip shops the fish was amazing and the chips crispy and perfect. The price was ok – a little more than I was used to paying but the difference in quality was immense. Especially on the coast – if you get the chance to have fish and chips from any coastal area then do so. Immediately. Possibly the best fish and chips I had anywhere in the country was from a small vendor on the shores in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. A must try for any visitor.
(and icecream. Did I mention the ice cream? All my positives seem to be food, but I can't end this little segment with out talking about how spectacular New Zealand ice cream is. Try 'hokey pokey' if you get a chance. It is a revelation.)

There are a lot of things to learn about and know if you're planning an extended stay in New Zealand. I've outlined some of the most important or surprising of those - and for the most part you'll discover the rest for yourself along the way. But here are just a few more little things to know about your time in New Zealand:

Parking:

If you are going to be driving in New Zealand - and if you're staying a long time then you probably are - then I very strongly recommend that the first thing you do is buy a Rules of the Road book. You can find these in any bookshop and some corner shops, and it will cost you around $10. And believe me, it is very well worth it.

For the most part, the driving rules are pretty general - especially if you are coming from another country that drives on the left. But there are a few things they are very, very picky about, and it is good to know these up front.

Parking was something that burned us not just the first day we had a car - but in fact the first 20 minutes. In New Zealand (certainly in Auckland - but I think this applies to all of their cities and possibly towns) you must park in the direction of traffic. Which ever way the other traffic is parked - be sure to park this way as well. And you will want to be especially careful about this in Auckland. We parked in a legal parking spot, paid for parking (just in the wrong direction, apparently) and from the time we stopped the car to walk ten feet back to the hotel door to get our luggage a traffic warden had come, written the ticket and gone. That 5 minutes cost us $40. It wasn't even until we read the Rules of the Road book that we realized why we had gotten a ticket.

And don't think you are excempt from crazy parking rules by parking in a parking garage. Here there are often time limits (if you go over these limits you are automatically charged an extra $11) which there is no leeway on at all. But more importantly - more strangely - there are areas with in the parking garage which are on these very short time limits and not only will you get charged, but you will then get a parking ticket. One one hour stay in a parking garage in what was apparently the wrong floor for long stay parking costs us $7 for the parking - $11 fee for going over, and a $30 parking ticket.
This was the next day in Auckland after our first 'wrong direction' parking ticket. (It might be noteworthy here to say that neither of us had ever had a parking ticket - or in fact a ticket of any kind - in our lives until our first two days in Auckland.)

So I highly, highly recommend you read over the rules of the road and be very certain when you park that you are allowed to do so - and in that direction.

Public Holiday Surcharge:

There is a practice in New Zealand, as well as some other Southern Pacific countries, which I found hard to swallow, and that is the public holiday surcharge. It's something you should expect at any restaurant, hotel or attraction in New Zealand. If you book for any of their local public holidays - expect to pay an extra fee for everything. (you can get a good idea of how this works as most restaurants will post a 'public holiday surcharge' fee alongside the regular price on the menu) There's nothing really you can do to avoid this, just know when their public holidays are and expect to pay a little extra if you go out on these days.

Taxes and IRD Number:

If you are on a working holiday in New Zealand then not only will you pay income tax - you pay quite a high income tax. The taxes in general in New Zealand I thought were extortionate - and given what we were earning it seemed we were paying an awfully high rate of tax. Again - this is something you must just deal with while you are there, but you should be aware of it before you go when you are planning your budget.
When you arrive in the country you must apply for an IRD Number. (an equivalent to a Social Security or National Insurance card) This is a moderately easy process which you can take care of in any New Zealand tax office or post office. The relevant documentation you need can be found on their website.

One thing that you will need to know though - and something I found very odd in this process is the proof of employment. You can not get an IRD # until you have had an offer of employment. But you can not work until you get an IRD #. An offer of employment - to qualify - must be on the original letter-head paper of the employer and have an original signature.

We had our copy emailed through and the officials at the tax office scoffed at it, telling us we could have just made it up. Now - utterly aside from the fact that a letterhead is not exactly the lone science of the official business world - I couldn't quite understand why we would want to make up a fake job so that we could pay tax on it.
Whatever the case, this made the process a bit more difficult. So if you have been offered employment before you arrive in the country - be sure to have them mail you an official offer of employment so you can expedite your IRD # - which you will need to get paid.

I should also mention that one of the things your told when you start paying the high rate of tax, is that you will get much of it back in your tax return when you leave the country. This was something we were somewhat counting on to pay for a large part of the rest of our trip.

It's a somewhat complicated process of figuring out what taxes are due back, (which you and your employer/s must do the figures for yourself) and that usually will be mailed after you have left the country as they need proof of your return flight date. (a copy of the ticket, usually.)

The problem with this was, we did the figures, had all the sums and sent in the forms with the amount we were due back as $500 (approx) each. Not quite as much as we had hoped - but still a good amount for our next leg of the trip.

However, rather than getting that amount in our accounts when the time came - we got $294 each, with accompanying letter and no explanation whatsoever as to why the amount was vastly different.

By this point we were between the US and Britain and couldn't manage to work out the problem with the NZ tax office, which never got back to us.

Car Mechanics:

If you buy a backpacker car while in New Zealand - the chance is very good that you will have to visit a mechanic at some point. If you have no knowledge about cars yourself before you go - then you could invest in no better pastime than to familiarize yourself with the basics of car maintenance and repair.
Where mechanics world-wide will often try to do a little more work on the car then you had intended when you went in - every single experience we had with mechanics in New Zealand ended in a shouting match where they refused to give us the keys back if we didn't pay the 'new' bill.
My best advice is to avoid them at all if you can. I'm sure there are good,honest mechanics there - but I don't know who they are and can give no recommendations on where you might find them. Word of mouth would normally be my suggestion - but that was how we found all of ours, and the locals who had suggested them seemed to think these 'additional' costs perfectly acceptable. The prices weren't just an extra $20 here or there, either. One gave us a total bill of $270 (we double and triple checked this with them as we had already been burned once) and when we showed up to pick up our car suddenly we owed them over $600.
If you do have to deal with a mechanic - get EVERYTHING in writing, and don't allow them to do ANY extra work on the car if they ask, no matter how small.

Other that that advice, the best thing I can offer is - Good Luck.