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New Zealand

My First Experience Traveling Solo

New Zealand, Oceania

When I was pursuing my master’s in Australia, I embarked on my first solo trip. I wanted to go to New Zealand during my semester break. I wondered when I would ever be this far away from home or in this part of the world. My desire to travel was kicking in, and I wanted to explore New Zealand, so I asked a couple of close friends if they wanted to join me. Unfortunately, none of my buddies were able to join me due to personal reasons.

While planning my solo trip, there were several instances when I thought to myself, “I can’t do this,” and wanted to cancel. However, my desire to travel overrode all of those concerns, and let me tell you, it has been the most wonderful one-month journey I have ever experienced.

As, I prefer to travel on a well-planned itinerary, I made this trip extra organized and extra cautious, as if nothing could possibly go wrong. If something were to happen to me, I’d be on my own.

Traveling alone can be intimidating. I was terrified when I first went solo.

Multiple emotions were racing through my mind, but I reminded myself that I had come so far and that this would be fine as well; I can take care of myself and do it, and I needed to prove it to myself, so I set out on my quest.

PREPARATION

Kiwi Experience Itinerary

1. PLAN OUT THE TRIP

As I was traveling alone and I don’t know how to drive back then, I decided to take Kiwi Experience Hop-On Hop- Off bus tour to explore the places I wanted to visit in New Zealand. Therefore, I booked this tour ahead and arranged my 30 days holiday including travel time.

Hop-On Hop-Off

If you are interested to travel in New Zealand going solo, I would highly recommend Kiwi Experience.

For More Information and Booking

2. FLIGHT TICKET FROM AUSTRALIA TO NEW ZEALAND

Book your flight in advance to get the best deal on flights. I booked my flight three months in advance.

Flight Booking

Jetstar Airways is a fantastic airline if you are flying from Australia to anywhere within the country or to New Zealand.

Book Your Flight

3. TRAVEL INSURANCE

TRAVEL INSURANCE

I got the travel insurance from World Care.

Get Your Travel Insurance
In my opinion, travel insurance is essential because you never know what the future holds. In addition, travel insurance is required when applying for most visas or traveling to certain countries.

4. APPLYING FOR VISA

To travel to New Zealand, I needed a visa, so I prepared all of the documentation and paperwork by myself and sent my passport to Sydney-New Zealand Immigration to obtain one. Even during the visa process, a lot of anxieties ran through my head, such as, what if my passport gets lost on the way? What would I do? A passport, as we all know, is one of the most significant documents to have when visiting a foreign country. Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult; everything went well, and they returned my passport to me along with the visa by DHL.

5. TRAVEL BANK CARD

I found having a travel card to be extremely useful while traveling. It makes traveling easier because you don’t have to carry a stack of cash with you.
Travel Card

If you have a Commonwealth Bank account, ensure you get the travel card, it will come in handy.

Get Your Travel Card

6. Packing

Buy from Amazon
When traveling during the winter, it is a good idea to bring some warm clothes with you, and you can buy more once you arrive in the country. Thermals are a must-have item; they are extremely useful, especially in extremely cold weather or when you want to wear fewer clothes. Stay Tune for the blog post Winter Essentials
As this was my first solo trip, I purchased my first GoPro Hero 4 and all of the GoPro accessories so that I could take pictures and videos whenever I wanted without having to ask random people.
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon
When backpacking, it is essential to have the right size bag for your body height and the most comfortable bag that you can wear for an extended period of time.
In my experience any backpack that is perfect for your body height and with a lot of paddings around the shoulders and back and hip area it gets very comfortable to carry around, even for long periods of time.
As I was traveling alone and backpacking, I could only bring a limited number of clothes, therefore I arranged my clothes in a vacuum storage bags and packing cubes to keep all the items organized. so that I won’t have to take everything out every time I need to find something from the backpack.
Trust me when I say that these two items are essential when traveling to any part of the world. Save time by getting ready quickly and not having to pack as frequently.
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon

ARRIVING TO NEW ZEALAND

From the airport, I took a direct bus to the city center. Since the bus had Wi-Fi, I was able to locate my way using Google Maps. It was still dark when I arrived at my stop, so I walked around for about 30 minutes and asked around for directions, but no one knew the exact location of the hostel, so I kept wandering and got lost again. Then I decided to buy a coffee at McDonald’s and figure out where I was going. Fortunately, I was able to find my way to the hostel within 10 minutes.
During this moment of being lost, I cursed myself, thinking, “Why the fuck did I decide to do this trip?” What’s the matter with me? Also, I was able to calm myself during this difficult moment; you can do it too; now that you are here, you must try to find your way; it’s only the first day; you will be okay. And you know what? I felt accomplished when I arrived at my hostel and checked in. I was overjoyed and pleased with myself.
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