So for a lot of my blog readers, you will already know I am now living in the beautiful town of Mount Maunganui in the north island of New Zealand. For the rest of you who may not have known, well, now you do. 'The mount' is an awesome, chilled, atmospheric place with a truly summery vibe, perfect for me.

I first came to know the mount from a nice a girl by the name of Sarah who I met in Malaysia and who joined us for my birthday dinner celebrations in Langkawi. She checked out the next day but I was left with a nice little note filled with places she thought I would like to live. On the top of the list was Mount Maunganui which at first 'google images' I chose. It happened to be the home of my previous travel mates Midge and Mark whom I had met in Brazil last summer, which was great!

During my first few weeks in The Mount, I was constantly checking flatmates wanted ads on TradeMe.nz, my saviour website for everything from flats to jobs to motors. It is the Gumtree of New Zealand and is so helpful. So much so that, an ad I posted for flatmates, caught the attention of Kiran who in turn became my flatmate at a super cool town house. Following this, the website also helped us find out flat mate Ross who had seen our ad and responded.

Apart from websites, New World, Countdown and Woolworths supermarkets all have notice boards filled with heaps of ads for everything around town whether it's work, flats or maybe even a surfboard to get out there and learn on. Anything goes, and you could find a great bargain.

When it comes to shopping, I find NZ to be a tad more expensive than home and even the 'cheap' shops just don't compare to Penneys/Primark prices. This only means one thing... I get to go opp shopping and market shopping a lot more than I normally would. It may not be for everyone but if you are into vintage, chic one offs that you know not everyone will be wearing then go for it! It's extremely cheap and you know your helping out a good cause. My favourites are Red Cross and the Salvation Army to name but few. The Mount and Tauranga town have awesome 'little big markets' once a month over summer which is where I picked up some vintage goods from a little known stall called Trash Bag Diaries, which is on FB! They have super cheap, retro, vintage pieces which if you are quirky like me then you will love!

When it comes to phone companies, NZ has not got as cheap prepaid deals as they do in Ireland but they do have some decent ones. Skinny is very cheap and has some good deals but note that no companies here offer unlimited data which is the downfall for me. The good news is, Skinny and Telecom both pick up the free 1gb per day wifi hotspots scattered around town which is awesome. Another good thing to note is that when road tripping etc, most libraries around NZ have free wifi outside which can be very handy. So with both options you will never be stuck.

Rent is generally paid weekly and can range from as cheap as $100 to anything really depending on what you want and location. Hostels tend to be around $170 + a week so if you are staying longer than a week than maybe look for a short term rental to save money. If you need to get around, you can easily buy cheap bikes (got mine new from KMart for $79) or a car for as little as $900 for a decent runner. Obviously you can spend as much as you like bit generally if you are a traveller you are on a budget right? ;) Car insurance is super cheap here because it is not necessary but if you are like me and would prefer to be safe than sorry, than just pay the $150 for a year and relax. You can also add drivers to your policy for free should you have friends staying over or family visiting.

Grocery shopping.... The nessesity for every backpacker. We can't afford to eat out constantly right? Unless we are in Asia of course! So we need to shop smart and stock up. Being vegetarian has proved expensive in some places and here can be one of them if you don't shop around. Branded stuff like Quorn etc that can be cheap at home, definitely isn't here, so I choose go eat a lot of yummy falafel which can be added to tonnes of dishes for dinner or lunches. In general the basics are not too expensive such as bread milk eggs and cheese although cheese kind of is. Shop around though because a lot of shops have different deals and having a 'One Card' or 'FlyBuys' card can save you a few bob. When it comes to alcohol, it's a bit expensive so as per usual, just buy some beers in the supermarket and chill at home before going out. Saves you a fortune :)

There are a lot of activities here to do but many can cost quite a bit. It is the adventure capital of the world right :) You can always go on hikes, do yoga on the beach, go running, biking or walking around beautiful areas which is free. Grab one nz has some good deals for activities such as black water rafting, kayaking etc which can save you half the price. In general from talking to travellers here, buying a package works out much cheaper if you plan to do a sky dive, bungy, canyon swing, fox glacier walking etc. So I will post more about that once I start getting into the adventure side of things in a few months.

When it comes to jobs, timing is everything. Know where and when the season starts for industries before settling down, such as fruit picking areas, ski season, summer jobs etc. Picking up jobs in restaurants and cafés is pretty easy in summer which is what I did to begin with. I then got hired by Greenpeace NZ (thanks TradeMe) after 3 stages of interviews and have now been promoted to team leader which I'm excited about. It is an awesome job and I get to meet some great people every day and help save their environment. With the opportunity to travel around this beautiful country, I couldn't have landed myself a better job! Thanks Greenpeace :)

Hairdressing and Beauty Therapies here are normal priced but for backpackers it may work out to go to the academies on training days for a cheap hair cut or manicure :) Grab one also has deals on these sort of things so have a look. NZ is am awesome country and from what iv seen it has everything a country should have. It may be a tad bit more expensive than the rest of the world but when you change your money over from Pounds/Euros etc you get a tidy little extra few bob ;)

Hairdressing and Beauty Therapies here are normal priced but for backpackers it may work out to go to the academies on training days for a cheap hair cut or manicure :) Grab one also has deals on these sort of things so have a look. NZ is am awesome country and from what iv seen it has everything a country should have. It may be a tad bit more expensive than the rest of the world but when you change your money over from Pounds/Euros etc you get a tidy little extra few bob ;)

NZ is the kind of country that has everything you could want and working such tiny distances. Someone once told me when I first arrived, 'you can go for a surf in the morning and then head inland a few hours and ski that same afternoon'... It's a travellers dream and the best way to get around is definitely by car (preferably a van or station wagon to sleep in)then get yourself one if you are keen to explore the ins and outs of a superb country. Iv still got 9 months left here and I am sure I will have plenty more tips and tricks for you guys during my time here.

Peace out guys & remember to send me any info or advice queries about New Zealand through the 'contact' tab on the website :)

As the Kiwi's would say...Sweet As Bro!!

As luck would have it, my old friend Amy, whom I had met last year in Hollywood, happened to be in Auckland the same time as me. It worked out perfectly as I and just been sent up there for two weeks to train for my new job with Greenpeace New Zealand, and she was planning to be there that same time. We met up during the first week, the day before her birthday and within ten minutes we had planned a trip together to the Bay of Islands that weekend. It was the long weekend, and she had mentioned she wanted to go swimming with dolphins and also up to Cape Reinga which I totally was up for. The next evening we met up after work, the day of her birthday and went straight to the tattoo/piercing studio, a place that seemed to be tradition for us, having gotten tattooed together in Venice beach last year. We bought, birthday food and later on attempted to bake a cake, which after it exploded in the oven, looked more like some sort of crumble. Nevertheless, we downed some beers, iced the rocky cake and drunkenly decorated it with glitter pens. It may have looked messed up but it tasted damn nice!

The next day, whilst I was at work, Amy did some research and it seemed that we had found a camper to rent for the long weekend. She planned to collect it that afternoon and we would leave that evening to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. Later on, I rushed back from Papakura in South Auckland, made a beeline for the shower and quickly packed my monstrosity of a suitcase for the weekend. I was so excited for my second road trip of New Zealand and to properly get to travel with Amy. That evening, I was picked up from my hostel in a massive, bright orange, ‘Spaceship’ with the name ‘Lord Crum’ on the side. When I got in, I totally got why it was called a spaceship, It was huge. We dropped her friend back to his hostel and went on our way Northland bound. When we arrived in Paihia, we found a great camping spot and so we set up the back of the van and prepared for our first night of the trip. Our van, which came with all your usual utensils, a lot of space, a large bed and even a top notch dvd player/tv, was perfect for us. We fell asleep that night to the DVD ‘Going the Distance’. The next morning we awoke to the beautiful sun outside the car complete with and incredible view of the ocean and islands. We headed into town to book our Dolphin trip for the next morning and then set off to Matauri Bay, to see the Greenpeace ‘Rainbow Warrior’ memorial. We walked across the beautiful beach of Matauri Bay and bushwhacked our way up the side of the mountain to reach the awesome memorial. Later on we set off to Cape Reinga, the most northern tip of New Zealand. The scenery was amazing along the way and the closer we got to the cape, the less cars there seemed to be around us. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. And we were!

After some time spent at Cape Reinga, takings pictures, walking to the lighthouse and doing standard headstands, we headed back towards Paihia, to be close by for our early trip the next morning. Coming close to Kerikeri, we slowed down when we noticed a rest area and upon indicating, we were greeted by flashing lights from behind, urging us to pull in. At first I believed it was just overtaking us, I mean we weren’t doing anything wrong right? It wasn’t long before the cop approached the window and gave us a lecture about the dangers of sleeping on the roadside in NZ whilst breathalysing Amy as I tried so hard to contain my laughter. I couldn’t believe what was happening. He was convinced her sketchy driving was the result of a crazy night for the both of us, and my laughing didn’t make us look less guilty. With an agreement from us to move somewhere safe, he set off on is way. We pulled out and carried on hoping to find another rest area where he wouldn’t find us the next time. Approximately five minutes back on the road, another set of flashing lights urged us to pull over once again. This was surely enough to start me off in hysterics again. What was going on? Approaching us, was a man dressed in all black leather who, upon leaning on our roof, looked in and uttered the words ‘You’re driving’s SHITE!’……… To Amys shock and my amusement, we told him we were just looking for a safe place to pull over. He lectured us just like the last guy and warned us not to sleep on the roadside in this ‘dangerous’ country. We agreed, to get him off our backs, and eventually he had us follow him to the nearest town where he would show us to a safe place near the police station, should we need help. As we followed the convoy, I began to think he may be a fake cop and was pulling a ‘Wolf Creek’ on us, pretending to help us but instead would take us somewhere to murder us.

But with no options left, well, we followed him anyway!

He led us to a New World supermarket car park opposite the police station where we stayed for the night, very obviously. We closed our curtains and prepared to get a good sleep! The next morning, we awoke to people pulling up to do their shopping, while we hopped out to the first sunlight and prepared to find a campsite to get ready at. After getting ourselves prepared for the trip, at a Paihia campsite, we parked in town and set off on our boat out to the Islands. Unfortunately the weather from the previously day hadn’t stuck around and it seemed to be a gloomy day upon us.  Nevertheless we wouldn’t let this disappoint us, and the day surely didn’t. That day was great, we saw tonnes and tonnes of dolphins, a rare blue penguin, went swimming by an island and had a lovely BBQ onboard before going sailing. Unfortunately we couldn’t swim the dolphins as there were baby dolphins who were milking. It didn’t take away from the amazement of watching them being playful and doing crazy tricks in the water. It was awesome. After the trip, we planned to couchsurf at a local guys place, but instead decided to head towards Waipoa Forest where we saw Tane Mahuta, the largest Kauri tree in the world. The forest was awesome, and with the rain it seemed much more tropical. We found a rest area in the Forest where we pulled up for the night, drank some beers, made some dinner and watched our other DVDS in bed. It was like a proper house in there and we loved it!

The next day after two hours of off road driving on gravel roads, we nearly ran out of petrol (having decided to take a ‘shortcut’). When we luckily reached a garage in Whangarei , I was given yet another lecture from the lady serving me having answered her question of ‘Where have you guys come from’, with ‘Ah we’ve just come from Waipoa Forest where we stayed last night’. She was definitely not happy about that! Having seen some awesome countryside along the way and listening to the Lumineers on repeat, we ended having lunch in Whangarei by the water.

After getting some info from the ISITE, we drove further south and ended up at the Waipu caves on our way back home, where we saw some epic glow worms. We then headed back towards Penrose in Auckland where we dropped the car off at right on time at 4pm. We cleaned the mess we had made from cooking the past few days and packed all our belongings up, ready to catch the bus back to our respective hostels.  Our trip was amazing and we saw some incredible scenery whilst having such a fun time together. We couldn’t get over how awesome this country was, the fact that it is so small, yet has so much diversity when it comes to landscape. It beat Australia by far!

New Zealand is sweet as bro…………! !