When it was time for my trip to New Zealand, I debated so much on the things to bring along because I would be travelling through winter, spring and summer. I wasn’t really familiar with the weather in New Zealand either as it was my first time visiting. Throughout my 6 months of travel there, I have changed and replaced some items that I brought. I hope that this information may be useful for anyone intending to travel to New Zealand.
Backpack or luggage?
I initially went with a luggage but decided to change to my Osprey Farpoint 40 backpack on the very last night before I left. I was glad that I brought my backpack even though the space can be quite limiting throughout my 6 months of travel there. As the landscape in New Zealand is not always the same, having a backpack was the most convenient for me.
I travelled with my Osprey backpack, a smaller daypack and another bag with smaller items such as food
Clothes?
I travelled mainly with these clothes items.
My Blue Eagle Creek Packing Cube: 4 dresses, 2 t-shirts, 2 long-sleeved top (includes 1 merino wool top I used mostly for hiking), 1 tank top, 5 underwear
My Black Eagle Creek Packing Cube: 2 leggings, 1 skirt, 1 shorts, 1 yoga pants, swimwear and 2 bras
I was based mostly in the North Island during winter so I didn’t have to use as many layers as those would have to further south. I also didn’t really hike too high so I didn’t bring along any special hiking clothes either.
My Tip: Instead of rolling my underwear, I simply stacked it on top of each other to save space within the packing cube!
My blue Eagle Creek packing cube was a great help in fitting in a lot of my dresses and tops. Really, get one.
Shoes?
I had a pair of TEVA sandals (for hotter days), casual shoes, slippers (mostly for hostels) and my hiking shoes (which I wore all the time so I never packed it in my bag).
My Tip! Bring a good pair of waterproof walking (or hiking) shoes because the weather is quite unpredictable here.
I didn’t really use my TEVA sandals as much as I wanted to as the wind could still be too cold sometimes, even in summer.
Toiletries?
I bought most of my toiletries there including the bag I kept it all in. Basic items are quite affordable and my toiletries bag was big enough to fit a few 250ml bottles so I travelled with just this bag of toiletries. I did eventually transfer them into smaller travel sized containers to make space for me to include any souvenirs I wanted to buy along the way.
I also brought along a small bag of makeup on my travels. I had a slim green pouch that I could keep in my toiletries bag and it could fit my mascara, eyeliner, a small eyeshadow pallette, eyebrow powder and a small tube of perfume.
My Tip! Buy toiletries in New Zealand itself if intending to stay longer than a few weeks. Bring your own makeup though as it is quite expensive here to buy basic makeup.
Most of my toiletries here. I transferred some into smaller containers to maximise space in my bag and also to make it easier if I have to travel through air.
I packed my toiletries into sealable sandwich bags to prevent spillage as I travel. I maximised the remaining space by including small souvenirs that I bought on my travels.
Electronics?
I brought my laptop, chargers, kindle, camera, portable charger, external hard disk (for my photos) and 2 phones (which was useful when one died on me)
My tip! Bring a smaller laptop if you wish to travel long term. I regretted bringing my usual laptop as it was quite bulky and made my backpack heavy when travelling around. Also, bring along movies/ dramas in your laptop/ phone/ external hard disk as data is expensive to use in New Zealand.
My clothes in the blue & black packing cubes. Toiletries in the striped bag, shoes in the white bag and some of my electronics in the clear bag on the left. As you can see, I managed to sneak in some bags of chocolates as souvenirs for home. 🙂
Others?
I had a big travel towel, a hand towel, a sarong, a cardigan, a fleece jacket,a rain jacket with a hood (and wind-proof is good too), packable down jacket from Uniqlo (I sent this back after winter) and of course, sunglasses!
My tip! Layers are important as the weather in New Zealand can change suddenly. I would usually wear my fleece jacket and bring along a rain jacket in my daypack especially during spring. Or I would wear my cardigan in the summer and bring along a rain jacket in case it is windy or rains suddenly.
Caught in the rain in Whitianga during winter with no proper rain jacket. I had only my down jacket to wear as I had to give up using my umbrella halfway through the walk due to strong winds. I had to walk about 15mins in the rain here, in the cold, with a wet down jacket…so yes, this was my “happy” face here
So these are the items that I had in my bags when travelling around New Zealand.
I would usually still have space for some souvenirs as can be seen in photos here so I’m happy that I managed to pack quite minimally while travelling around. This was something that I struggled with at the beginning of my trip as I ended up giving away items that I couldn’t fit in my bag. I eventually learnt to limit my unnecessary purchases and also to maximise my limited bag space to fit my purchases.
I hope this information is helpful in your packing decisions as I was so undecided when I was packing for mine. 🙂
Have you been to New Zealand? Do you have any other packing tips? Feel free to share! 🙂
Lifetomyfullest 
Pingback: My Packing List for Osprey Farpoint 40 Backpack | Lifetomyfullest
Great tips! I like the idea to be selective in clothing and stack them on top each other b4 rolling. Stimes I think I bring too many clothings lol.
It always drive me crazy on the ampunt of electronic devices that we bring. I tried my best to leave my laptop at home though but for 6 months trip, I can imagine you want to bring it along with you. I will do the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha, 6 months with just a backpack was quite a challenge for me still…I’m just glad I managed to survive that…hahaha…
I agree about the amount of electronics too…There have been times when I questioned myself because they were so heavy. I carried them mostly in my daypack when travelling and it was quite troublesome carrying 2 bags at my back and front, hence my wish that I had brought a smaller laptop…haha
LikeLike
It was really interesting to read what you packed because I am also at this moment packing for a 6mth trip. Also have to pack for a variety of temperatures, but not much rain. I am taking less than I will need because I like to travel light. Enjoyed reading your posting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, it’s always harder to pack light when you have to think of different temperatures. I also prefer to pack light but travelling for 6 months with just my backpack was still quite a challenge for me! Thanks for reading still…:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, I am up to 20kg right now….the limit for my suitcase 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awww, maybe a miracle will happen along the way and it will end up lighter somehow….haha…;)
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are also in New Zealand for 6 months and packing was indeed very difficult haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to know that someone else agrees with me…hahaha…which part of new zealand are you travelling through?
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are hoping to do the entire country. Right now we are travelling the north. Now in Paihia and going to Cape Reinga 😊 what about you?
LikeLike
Ah I’ve been back home for quite some time now…was in NZ last year for about 6mths…I didn’t manage to get to all the places that I wanted to but I’m happy I got to explore a lot of the south island…in warmer weather of course…I can’t stand too much cold weather…hehe
LikeLike
Oh yes! We are hoping that once we start going south, the weather will be warmer because right now it is still very cold actually 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, I can imagine how cold it is there now..stay warm then! It will start warming up soon…:)
LikeLike
the packing cubes look like a really great idea. must check them out Sha
LikeLiked by 1 person
They save me so much space all the time…haha, thanks for reading!
LikeLike
Some great tips here Sha. I am a firm believer in layering. New Zealand weather seems quite similar to Canada and you really have to be prepared for most anything.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, layering saved my life during winter there…I have no choice with that since I’m carrying all my clothes on my back…haha! And I really think you should check NZ out…It seems to be really similar to Canada, you would love South Island definitely! Plenty of mountains for you to play with…haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will look forward to it one day and will remembering your layering!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was so good to see what you packed! I went to Canada for 6 months and I took everything I owned, it was a terrible decision I had to pay £65 when I got the airport for over weight luggage. So this was definitely an insight into what I should’ve done 😂 check out my travel extras blog x
LikeLike
Hello! Thanks for reading! I always love to read other peoples’ packing lists so I’m glad to share about mine. Packing for 6 months is so iffy isn’t it? I’m not surprised you brought everything because it was hard for me to decide too! Haha…hopefully next time would be better now that you know better about your luggage…:)
LikeLiked by 1 person