NZ tips

Lol I know I should have just inserted these pointers in my post on New Zealand but I was so overwhelmed by the whole experience, I wasn't able to put my thoughts in a proper sequence and I ended up just talking about it in general. 

I'm pretty generous to be honest even when you didn't ask me for the tips, I'm just going to give out a few of them in the form of FAQs okay? I hope it will help.

1. Which part should I go first - the North Island or the South Island?

To be honest, if you have all the time and all the money in the world, explore both at the same time! But if you could only choose one, do start with South Island. Especially if you're on a private getaway or if you want to run away from all the hustle bustle of the city life. The North Island is more about that bright lights city vibe hence it's more packed on that side but South Island is so easy breezy cover girl yeap you know what I mean.

2. Can I cover all the great places in South Island?

I don't know. Can you? Just kidding! Of course you can, provided that you have all the time in the world as I mentioned before. I had a list of places that I know I must /go or I will die/ so I made sure to include everything in that span of time.

Some of the points of interest that you MUST go, despite what crazy reviews you read online:

• Milford Sound
• Mount John Observatory
• Franz Josef Glacier (we skipped this one but we regretted it to this very day)
• Lake Wanaka, Lake Hayes, Lake Paringa, Lake Pukaki, Lake Mapourika, Lake Tekapo mmm basically all the lakes there oh my I cry again in my heart just recalling back their scenery
• Arthur's Pass
• Castle Hill (hi sayang, remember this? remember how my heart broke thinking of this?)
• Hobbiton Movie Set (some people say it's not worth the bucks but we both enjoyed it so much, especially when you enjoy the Hobbit trilogy just as much)
• and
• all the
• places
• in 
• NZ

3. How did you guys move around? Where did you guys stay?

We rented a self-contained campervan, one that allows us to do freedom camping at the campgrounds. We cooked, ate, prayed, slept in it. We had no problem on that except for the fact that during the first night, we couldn't sleep because it was 2°C and the campground that we went was not a powered site so we had to depend on our diesel to keep the heater on. But since we didn't know that fact, we didn't bother filling up our fuel just yet and so we had to brave the night away although it ended up with us just waiting for Fajr to arrive and pray and just drive off to our next destination already. The next few days, not wanting to overestimate our capability to endure the cold night, we ended up camping in holiday parks - this is the campground that provides electricity to your campervan so you need not worry you would shiver yourself to death like we could possibly do. But it was indeed an experience so we were glad we went through it. 

Always check on the kilometres/miles in between the places or towns that you are visiting to make sure that you get there in time. You can't really drive at night (it's usually already dark by 6pm) because there were no street lamps or what do you call that thing? unless you are already entering the town zone. Knowing the distance also helps you to ensure you are able to go to all the places that you want to go.

4. What about food?

We did grocery shopping in Christchurch - they have halal meats but you gotta know where they are selling. They don't have that much of halal restaurants in South Island so we ended up eating lots of seafood. But there were tons of halal restaurants and cafes in the North Island - Auckland especially. There are Muslim-owned cafes and also places that are certified by FIANZ. But the price oh mai gah I cannot sugarcoat this ok the food is super expensive. Our first night in Auckland, we were on the verge of breaking down because we needed our chicken and rice fix (not really 'we' though, it's just me - I need chicken and rice to survive) so we went to this shop called Kebab on Queen and it cost us more than 100 bucks for just two sets of meal. It was so bloody sedap of course but oh my, the price made me cry again in my heart.

5. Which season should we travel on?

I have been reading a lot about the seasons in New Zealand and everyone said the same thing - it's more bipolar than me, it changes all the time. It was meant to be spring but winter decided that it loves to stay so it stayed! Hence the nice temperature in the mornings, crazy wanna-kill-me-is-it temperature at nights. But we did see the transition from winter to spring which is so damn beautiful I cry again for the thousandth time of course. It was said that the best time to go to NZ is during the summer but since everyone knows that - so everyone will go at the same time, making it super packed and even more expensive during the summer. This is the truth. If you have skin made of leather and piled with crocodile's skin, you can just travel towards the end of winter - it's more cheap this time around and it's easier to go to the places without advanced bookings etc. But please do it at your own risk, I don't condone this act because I know I will die in such climate.

6. Please don't pretend like you didn't visit Auckland. 

Okay. You got me. I don't really like Auckland because it reminds me of Kuala Lumpur as in the Bukit Bintang part of it. I see so many familiar faces not because I know them personally but because I can see that Malaysian stamp on their foreheads. The cars there are everywhere as well, people are on the roads all the time and it's so busy. Defeat the purpose of my 'peace & serenity' getaway vibe lah for sure. But the weather is great, super bearable and I finally got to wear my not-so-thick cool long coat without faking my coolness on camera because it wasn't that cold. So Auckland's cool but this time around, Christchurch has my heart.

7. What's one thing that you cannot forget about your trip?

Everything! One of it is definitely the nights in South Island (take it easy, I'm not sidelining North Island ok you need to read my reason) - I have never seen so many stars, so bright, so clear, so like school children during a morning assembly because they were so many. Of course I cried again when I saw such view (also partially because it was too cold and my bones seemed to be breaking on its own). I didn't to take photos of these magnificent views because I was so overwhelmed by it. Also the people there are so nice although the OGs of New Zealand (the Maoris) look pretty scary and pretty much the same, they are all so nice and warm people to be around with. My favourite part of the whole trip is also the road trip itself! We entered and stopped by so many towns ok I can't even remember their names anymore. My favourites are definitely Wanaka and Franz Josef. Just kidding, I have more but I honestly forgot their names. 

8. Should I just get a tour guide instead?

Ha ha. I don't know, it's all a matter of preferences. It was our initial and final decision to explore things on our own. I love things moving at my own pace. We didn't need to wait for anyone and we can just come and go whenever we want so nope, I don't think you should get a tour guide for that. Driving is easy in New Zealand because they drive on the right side just like us in Malaysia so it shouldn't be a problem for any of you. It was basically just Sansan and I all the way so if we can survive it, why can't you? 

9. That's it? Those are all the tips you have for me?

Well uhm, I can't really figure out other questions ok. But I have some - you gotta get a simcard if you can't live without one. We didn't get any because our campervan came with a GPS + free WiFi and while in Auckland, we didn't bother to use WiFi anyway because our itinerary there were actually packed so we just rely on the hotel's WiFi instead. I think it's best to leave the internet behind if you're going with your partner on the trip because you will be more present for each experience despite how small the moment is. Everyone has also been asking us about our budget there so what I can say is for 8 days in both South Island and North Island, it cost us nothing more than RM10k inclusive of airfares and our hotels during the first night in Christchurch and the all the nights in Auckland. The truth is, you can have a cheaper itinerary if you know what to get and where to go. Since it was our first time, I didn't dare rent independent campervans or book cheap cruises because I don't want to risk it so I ended up hiring and booking all the popular choices. You can also get cheaper airfares if you know when to buy them. My tickets weren't bought under promotion as well so yes, you can definitely save more if you would just plan properly and precisely. 

Ok I think that would suffice for now. Oh yes another one, don't forget to bring lots and lots of chilli sauce (as for us, we had our own stock of McDonald's chilli sauce packets so we just brought these with us instead) if you can't go a day without eating spicy (yep, that's me). My third night in Auckland was ruined instantly when my fried chicken came in regular flavour (I never eat regular flavour ok please this is such a disgrace to my tastebuds) and they have no chilli sauce to compensate for it. Amazingly enough, we also forgot to bring the chilli sauce out together with us when we decided to have dinner so please learn it from me.

I think that's it lah for now. I shall write again if anything else comes up although I think the probability of that happening is close to none so goodbye now, see you!