Chasing Faith and Love

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going solo in NZ: Itinerary | Auckland | Wellington | Picton & Kaikoura | Christchurch | Queenstown | quirks & perks of solo travelling |

2022’s been a year of firsts – I resigned from my first job and went on my very first solo trip, spending 30 days slowly exploring New Zealand (albeit in winter). You may ask, why NZ of all places?

I’ve always held a fascination for New Zealand, a country known for its rolling green hills and snow-capped mountains, that I’d only ever watched in movies growing up (especially the Narnia & LOTR movies) but never had the chance to visit.

I’d been waiting for their borders to open for well over a year, and once they made the announcement in mid-2022, I booked my plane tickets and began planning for this trip. I chose to go during winter, a welcome respite from Singapore’s eternal sweltering summer. After all, there’s no place better than the land of sheep, hobbits and boundless natural beauty to clear my head and rejuvenate.

If you’re a fellow solo female traveller, and want to experience the joys of solo travelling in a safe yet vast & beautiful country, NZ is a pretty good place to start. Read on to find out how I planned my itinerary and spent 5 weeks exploring the most stunning country I’ve ever visited!

This is first and foremost a trip diary, with many seemingly insignificant details to help jog my memory many years down the road (but I reckon I’d have had even bigger adventures by then).

Pre-trip planning + Discounted Booking via Klook

I used Klook to book our activities and logistics for this trip, since Klook offers great prices and significant discounts compared to other sites. For ease of planning & comparing prices, I’ve linked all my Klook bookings below:

• SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium Ticket in Auckland
  • General Entry Ticket (Off-Peak Weekend)
  • Cost: SGD$31.99/pax
• Weta Workshop Tours
  • Full Experience: There and Back Again (4 Hours)
  • Cost: SGD$66.39/pax
• TSS Earnslaw Cruise to Walter Peak Station
  • TSS Cruise + Walter Peak Farm Excursion
  • Cost: SGD$81.22/pax

Remember to use my referral link to sign up for a Klook account for $5 off your first purchase!

Overall cost of this trip + how I stuck to my $50/day budget

All in, my trip (40 days in both NZ and Sydney) cost under $10k! Here’s an approximate cost breakdown for my trip; all prices are in SGD, which is stronger than the NZD (saving me a fair bit of money):

• Transport
  • Singapore ✈️Auckland: $2500 (SIA Premium Economy; Economy was ~$1.9k)
  • Auckland ✈️ Wellington: $125 (AirNZ, inclusive of checked baggage)
  • Wellington ⛴️ Picton: $65 (Interislander Ferry)
  • Picton 🚌 Kaikoura: $41 (Intercity bus)
  • Kaikoura 🚗 Christchurch: gas money for my friend
  • Christchurch ✈️ Queenstown: $137 (AirNZ, inclusive of checked baggage)
  • Queenstown ✈️ Sydney: $280 (stopped over for a family vacation)
  • Sydney ✈️ Singapore: $740

I bought my plane tickets when prices were still fairly high (due to high demand) and had many one-way flights (more expensive than return tickets), so the prices were a wee bit steep.

• Accommodations
  • $3110 for 30 nights in Airbnbs/aparthotels/motels, ~$105-110/night (cost would have been almost halved if I hadn’t been a solo traveller)
• Insurance: $230 (1 insurance plan for NZ+Aus)
• NZeTA + International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL): $39
• Pre-booked activities: $520 (including the Klook bookings above, a llama trek & ski lessons+equipment rental)

After seeing the eye-watering costs of the accommodations, plane tickets & pre-booked activities – not to mention my limited suitcase space – I planned to stick to an average budget of ~SGD$50/day, inclusive of food/drinks/shopping/entertainment.

Surprisingly, I managed to stick to this low budget, with the bulk of my daily expenses going towards eating lunch out daily for $15-20/meal & groceries (to make my own breakfast & dinner), with wiggle room for occasional shopping (but nothing too expensive).

I used Spendee, a free phone app that I’ve been religiously using ever since I started drawing a salary, that allows me to log every purchase and keep a tight watch over my spending. It was especially handy during this trip, since it autosaves the currency & exchange rate you’re spending in and converts the numbers to your home currency. (no this isn’t an ad, I just love the app)

Auckland Itinerary (13-19 Jul)

Wellington Itinerary (19-28 Jul)

Picton/Kaikoura Itinerary (28 Jul-1 Aug)

Christchurch Itinerary (1-6 Aug)

Queenstown Itinerary (6-11 Aug)

All the other posts in this series

• My itinerary: 6 cities in 30 days
• Auckland
• Wellington
• Picton/Kaikoura
• Christchurch
• Queenstown
• Quirks and perks of solo travelling for a month

Be sure to follow my Insta or like my Facebook page to stay up to date with my latest travel adventures, day-to-day doctoring and life updates! Until next time!

xoxo,
Faith

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If you’re interested in exploring my blog, click here for an index of all the posts I’ve ever written (travel, doctoring, psychology, random musings), or check out my most read series below:

• the Chasing Dreams series: a series chronicling my thoughts, dreams & changing ideals over the years (since 2018), including burnout, quitting the rat race, migration and trying to find my path in life
• the (not-so-definitive) guide to doctoring: Getting into Med School & FAQs | Surviving your Clinical Years | MBBS Tips | Life as a M1 // M2 // M3 // M4 // M5 during COVID // Life as a Doctor (monthly series) | Chasing Careers series

I’m Faith Nadine Choo, a 26-year-old locum doctor (NUS Med’21) and startup CMO from Singapore. I enjoy blogging about life as a doctor, my travels and psychology. In my free time, you’ll catch me baking, writing, exercising or spending time with my loved ones!