Post 6: The Starter-Package

On the 6. and 7. October, we were given a lot of information about Work&Travelling in New Zealand. There were around 20 people, one French girl, one Canadian girl and everyone else was German :D I managed to become friends with the French girl named Faustine. She's also 18 and unfortunately, her luggage was lost 😭 I'm so sorry about that. 

Part 1 (06.10)

- SIM cards: Prepaids are recommended, common companies are Spark, 2degrees, one.nz. In general, internet is more expensive in NZ than in Germany.

- Safety: Emergency call is 111, police is 105, danger in sea called rip (strong flow which pulls you away from the coast), they don't recommend hitchhiking

- Bank account: To get paid by your employer and to be able to pay in NZ, you need either a NZ Bank account or a Wise account (multi currency bank). They recommend a Wise account because it's much easier and faster to get, and you need it anyway for refunding tax at the end.

- ID: Take your passport always with you, especially if you drink alcohol. A German ID isn't enough! You need a passport or an NZ ID which you can acquire for a fee.

We even joined a WhatsApp group for backpacks which helps you finding a job or activities, buying and selling cars.

After the session, we played some games the meet eachother like "speed dating" and this one:

You can see a wooden board with sand on which you slide a kind of button to the other side. The farther it stops the more points you get but it mustn't drop down! 

We ate pizza and got free drink.

At the evening, I took a walk with Seonah and Faustine. Bis cities look way better at night:

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Part 2 (07.10)

- Maori culture: We learnt about Maōri's culture, language and history. They love introducing themselves and talking about their belongings. Kia ora (pronounced Kiora) means like Hello and thank you. Ko Ayumi toku ingoa means my name is Ayumi. They were colonised but now have a peaceful relationship with the British thanks to political and social engagement.

- Accomodation: There are many options depending on working conditions. Hostels = for short stays. Shared apartment for longer  stays (for example seasonal jobs). Never pay in cash to have a evidence! You can get free accommodation with Woofing (farmwork) or house sitting (pet care). Research at Facebook, TradeMe.

- Camping: There are many camping places especially on the south island. Only with an self-contained campervan you're allowed to do freedom camping! That means your van has to have a toilet, a grey water system and enough clean water for three days.

- Transport: Intercity busses for efficient, long distance rides. Kiwiexperience for guided, more social trips. An own car helps to get independent. Find cars on Facebook, TradeMe, TrekCampers. Trains are even possible but just for long distance (for example Auckland to Wellington). Ferrys between Wellington (North Island) and Picton (South island) can even be used with cars.

- Jobs: Hospitality, Farmwork, Fruitpicking, Labour work, office work - everything is possible. Fruitpicking is the famous one as it's well paid, seasonal and no experience needed. I found my job on the website Backpackerjobboard.

- CV: You mustn't put on your CV things like age, nationality, gender, photo because the focus is on experience and skills. I'm gonna add my experience as an interpreter for a company :)

At the evening we went to Devonport by ferry. It was sooo beautiful!

And my lasagna was good too, but I couldn't enjoy because we had some problems related to the one-on-one appointments with my program manager. His name is Clark btw. He has a special personality, we were called "Gorgeous" "Queen" "King" "Lord" etc. 😂