Luke Reynolds

Denouement Dashboard - New Zealand

Luke Reynolds -

This is the place I will cover the stats of each country as we go.

As usual, follow along at:

Anyway, let's get into it:

New Zealand: 8-18/2/23

Tracks:

Planes: Brisbane-Christchurch = 2,489km

Automobiles: 2,510km in our little van, 'nugget'

Boats: 100km across the Cook Straight in horrific seas

Total = 5,099km

Expenses:

Rough rules: I will count the flight TO that country as an expense IN that country.

Will make up other rules along the way.

Total expense: $6,279.34 AUD

Total Days: 11 Days inclusive

Expense per day = $570AUD/Day

Expenses Breakdown (mathematical, not emotional):

With 'Others' including: Groceries ($264.66), Coffee ($233.39), Snacks, Laundry etc

Travel Bingo:

  • The Influencer - III
  • The TikTok Dweeb - II
  • The Karen - None
  • The Khaki Queen - I
  • The Americans - II
  • The Amateur Tour Guide - None
  • The Strained Marriage - None
  • The Bucket Lister - None
  • The Been Here Before - None
  • The WiFi Warrior - None, except for us chasing the WiFi at every caravan park...
  • The Lone Scandinavian - I
  • The Spiritual King - I

I think the lack of scores on our Bingo Card is mainly reflective of us living as little hobos in a van and mostly staying away from heavily 'touristed' areas. We expect the Bingo Card to look different as we move into more frequented tourist hotspots.

I will send along a full explanation of Travel Bingo another time. Use your imagination.

Tips and Tricks:

  • TravelSpend - get the app, document your expenses. What gets measured gets managed
  • Rankers for New Zealand Campsites - they have a good app that can be dowloaded for offline viewing
  • Google Maps - download offline maps for wherever you are heading
  • Get a phone holder for whatever car you have - then offline google maps for navigation
  • iOverlander is very camping specific and excellent for free camping - but we did not happen to have a Certified Self Contained vehicle in our trip which is required in many areas (basically just means you have your own toilet)

New Zealand Summary:

  • No, we were not impacted by the floods. (Not even once, which seems miraculous)
  • New Zealand is very expensive - I have no idea how people afford to live there.
  • A drive to the shops can be one of the most beautiful experiences given the landscape - at times this is staggering.
  • You need a car - there are just too many spots that you can jump off the main road and find something cool to justify a booked tour bus with a fixed route or simply flying between cities.
  • Filming the Lord Of The Rings in New Zealand was a masterstroke of advertising and filmmaking that is clearly still paying off - and hunting for film locations is fun.

Thanks for reading along.

The next country update will come... after the next country.

Weekly updates will come...weekly.

Luke.