Practicalities: cost

If you're thinking about making a trip to New Zealand yourself, you
might be wondering what expenses are like. In short, if you want it to
be, it can be darn cheap. And unlike some developing nations where the
dollar is strong, here you never have to worry about safety or
cleanliness. (That's been my experience for the first 9 days, at
least.). In other words, you can go for the cheapest accommodations in
town and not have to worry that you'll end up in a flea-ridden rat
hotel that happens to let people in too.

So here's a quick rundown on prices I've paid, in New Zealand dollars:

Hostel dorm rooms: $21-$27
Campsites: $10-$17
Internet access: $6/hour
Laundry: $5
Fish & chips takeaway: $8
Ice cream bar: $3
750g bag of muesli (13 servings, or 4 susan-sized breakfasts): $4-$6
Large bottled soft drink: $3
Large package of cookies (I.e. More than a dozen): $3-$4
Meat pie: $3-$4
Bus: $35 for a 3-hour journey

In short, most food is very cheap, except for some packaged food and
food in nicer restaurants, which then ends up costing about as much as
in the states. Lodging, however, has been ridiculously cheap. If I
recall correctly, I paid about 3 times more for a hostel in
Switzerland than here.

I don't have too much experience with long-distance bus travel here or
elsewhere, but this also seems very low-cost to me.

Altogether, I haven't spent more than $100 on any day, even when I
spent $80 on bike supplies, and a more typical day is closer to $50.

Now remember that the exchange rate is 2:1 (two NZ dollars equals one
U.S. dollar) and get on the next flight down here!