New Zealand: January 2007 - March 2007

In New Zealand, we stayed at holiday parks and campgrounds the majority of the time. We only free-camped or stayed with friends on a handful of occasions and we never stayed in a hotel. We also cooked almost every meal in New Zealand ourselves and only went out for lunch or coffee a couple of times at cheap restaurants or cafes. After food and lodging, our third largest expense was transportation at $701.12. We ferried back and forth between the North and South Island and took a bus from Wanganui to Wellington and from Dunedin to Christchurch. We also rode the train from Christchurch back to Auckland at the end of our trip because we ran out of time to bicycle.

*We classify food, lodging, and miscellaneous costs as daily costs. Food and Lodging are pretty obvious. The only thing to mention is that beer is included in the Food category. Miscellaneous costs include toiletries, internet cafes, stamps and postage, haircuts, laundry, gasoline, phone calls, and any other small costs we need to keep us going on a daily basis.

**We categorize our non-daily costs into the following categories. Gear is the maintenance of our existing gear as well as new purchases. Maps and guidebooks are also included in this category. Fees, Fines, and Tolls includes visas, banking fees, and any other official fees we are required to pay. Entertainment is used for park and museum entry fees, guided tours, movies, books, and any other activities we do which require payment. The Transportation category includes bus, train, taxi, subway, and ferry rides including any fees we have to pay for the bicycles. Health includes trips to the doctor and medications as well as any immunizations boosters we need.