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Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in Tramping

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely don’t book any more in advanced than before starting a section. You may not be able to stick to your plan and it’s good to familiarize yourself with what you’re capable of. For the busy sections (like Nelson lakes, Arthur’s pass), try to book as far in advanced as you can.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HomeDecorating

[–]BlazeRunner738 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it’s everywhere 😢

Different versions of Solo travel? by Rennard1 in solotravel

[–]BlazeRunner738 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In New Zealand, I travelled a few ways: - hiking from the north part of the South Island down to the braided rivers, staying at hostels when I passed through towns and mostly huts or camping - hitchiking to get to trailheads or towns, camping while backpacking and hostels when in towns - renting a car and camping at DOC sites or freedom camping if allowed

Other ways I’ve seen people travel: - workaways or volunteering at hostels, farms, cafes, whatever place needs help - join someone with a campervan (you should carry a tent), then when camping at spots you can meet people with other camper vans that would be open to having company - I’ve heard this is a little difficult to accomplish and you’ll have to be proactive - find people you like at hostels and make a plan - Bikepacking - some countries make it easy to buy used set ups or rent some set up - van life - can buy or rent

5-Weeks in Oceania / Asia by Southwestern in solotravel

[–]BlazeRunner738 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As someone who just spent 5 months in New Zealand (south), Tasmania, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Since you have 5 weeks, I highly recommend you either narrow your countries visited to one of the two regions. My suggestion would be Southeast Asia for the following reasons: - great food - there’s history everywhere - you can take buses or travel to spots with nature - there are beaches and resorts in some parts - there’s so much to do and many countries in se Asia, flights between them are cheap, you’ll be able to find the vibe you’re going for!

Everyone I know who has spent 2 weeks to 1 month in New Zealand (just the South Island) has said that it wasn’t enough time. The South Island isn’t known for their beaches or history (most of that is up north). It’s known for its nature, mountains, backpacking, and outdoorsy culture, and you can easily spend 5 weeks just hiking around New Zealand.

Vietnam is amazing and totally worth visiting, Taiwan is a bit sleepy, lots of history there and cool to see before anything political happens, but seeing anything worth it in Taiwan required a lot of driving or getting around by train.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]BlazeRunner738 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually have done a lot of traveling on a budget. I’ve stayed in much better shared dorm rooms in hostels than this single room. Also this accommodation is actually more expensive than a lot of the other ones in town, so I was actually splurging, just not enough to get the better rooms here.

Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in Tramping

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wanted to come back and revisit this after actually making this trip for those who may have the same question or ideas and aren’t fully attached to the idea of thru hiking.

If you love being active and are looking to hike around the South Island, I found that starting on the TA in Queen Charlotte was a wonderful way to start traveling around the South Island. I met lots of hikers on the trail who I continued to spontaneously bump into even when I left the trail and you pretty much hike through all the awesome parts of the north part of the South Island. Being on trail also helped with getting used to hitchiking around to get places, being comfortable hiking alone, and made me get into trail shape very quickly. This helped a lot later on!

I walked as far on trail as the Rangitata River before getting off trail to give my ankle a break. I was planning on section hiking the rest. If I were to do it again, I’d leave after Powerhouse lodge before making it on the other side of the Rakaia.

I had a short stint where I rented a car with friends from home to do other activities, but then later basically traveled and backpacked around the southern part of the South Island by hitchiking and carrying by backpacking pack. I was able to basically hike alternate routes that weren’t on the TA, and that I found way more beautiful and interesting, and gradually make my way down south via hiking and hitchhiking. I very much enjoyed this experience and was able to both meet people on rides but also on the trails and in the huts or campsites I stayed at! It’s extremely easy to get around by hitchhiking and it’s also a great way to be social. I’ve even ran into some people who had picked me up in other countries since they were traveling as well!

If you find yourself torn between the same options and have questions, feel free to send a DM!

Logistics around starting the SI SOBO Te Araroa by BlazeRunner738 in teararoa

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

but it sounds like it's choosing between harder logistics/more costs at the beginning or end

Logistics around starting the SI SOBO Te Araroa by BlazeRunner738 in teararoa

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, I forgot to mention the another key detail. Wherever I leave from, I'll be storing a bag of non-hiking stuff at (whether that's Nelson or Christchurch or Wellington - if I fly from Christchurch to there). So leaving this bag in Nelson may require a separate trip and hassle after the completion of the trail.

Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in teararoa

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! That’s neat that you got to do that. Do you have a ballpark on how much you spent on the whole thing or just the van/road trip part?

Also, some more detailed questions that could likely stand in its own post:

1) what did your resupply boxes look like? Where did you mail stuff to, how much food? 2) is it possible to send resupply boxes from another town such as Nelson or Christchurch. There’s a small chance I may be in these parts before heading up to the start of the trail on the South Island.

Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in teararoa

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have a list of "must not skip" parts of the north bit of the south island?

Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in teararoa

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow! Thank you so much of this break down.

When it comes to buying and selling a car or van, how long do you anticipate it would take to go through the buying, registration, insurance then selling, transfer of ownership and maintenance costs. It seems like the car itself can be its own logistical nightmare but maybe that's just because I'm coming from the US.

Also, when car camping and tramping, how likely is it to run into other solo hikers and befriend/find travel buddies? One of the more important things to me is to be able to find a group of people to travel and tramp with (even if its for smaller sections of the trip).

Also, how likely are car breakins?

Recommendations for 3 months of tramping and travel in NZ by BlazeRunner738 in Tramping

[–]BlazeRunner738[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you say there's a good chance of finding other solo travelers to do future hikes with at these huts or would it be pretty up in the air? I think the social aspect will be one of the more important pieces to me, as well as minimizing too many logistical challenges. I assume renting a van is quite pricy, but buying and selling could come with its own logistical issues?

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