My first impression of New Zealand (also known as Aotearoa in Maori language) was not as I expected. The weather was cold and the humidity painful. Considering we were coming from Montreal, where summer averages range between 25-30 degree celsius, the frigid 10-15 degree celsius with 80%-90% humidity smacked us in the face and we quickly regretted not bringing more quick dry undershirts. Let’s just say that I quickly learned that all those blog posts I read about New Zealand’s mild winter’s was clearly only a perception. To add to the burden, I got a terrible chest cough the next day I arrived. Luckily, Nis has awesome family that lives in Auckland and her cousin Sarah has been spoiling us so much that I got better in a week. If ever the climate change and jetlag gets to you, I recommend trying the Manuka honey. You infuse it with lemon and ginger. One cup a day in the morning should do the magic. Be crazy and have another after dinner and you will get rid of it within a week.

With regards to the Manuka honey, try to get the UMF 15+ (which stands for Unique Manuka Factor). It has been discovered that the Manuka honey has some natural antibacterial properties. The grade of the honey or UMF is calculated based on the amount of pollen from trees that the bees have been munching on. I was so amazed by the entire process that I did extensive research about it. I will save you the nerdiness and just tell you that this honey is AMAZING. Once I felt better, I was able to finally enjoy the scenery and the good coffee. Also upon taking a step back,I find this winter a lot better than our -30 degrees Canadian winters. Given my instinctual business acumen, one of the first things I look at when I travel is the cost of things. I always do some economic researches about the the countries I visit. (Thanks to an old friend that had convinced me to do a minor in that.) What do they produce, import and export? What are the policies in place ? Are they fond of protectionism or are they part of any international free trade agreement ? Since when ?  Finding those market gaps was one of my hobbies and has now become a very valuable skill that I bank on to survive financially.

In addition to my habitual due diligence on economic reports about New Zealand, I read a few travel blogs. Nis had sent me so many that I had to go through few at least so she doesn’t get offended. 😉 As one could expect from an Island lost at the very end of the earth and being just a tiny bit bigger than United Kingdom but 1/14 of its size, an economy of scale might not be a big thing over here. Also if you read about their import laws and protectionism policies in place or if you just watched an episode of Border Patrol you might understand that getting stuff on this island isn’t as easy as it is elsewhere in the world. Every blog I read clearly stated that prices in New Zealand were outrageously higher than Canada or USA. But are they ? I will give you my perception on that.

Comparing apples and oranges

First, let’s make something clear. When comparing prices you need to take into account the foreign exchange rate and make sure you compare similar goods and services.

For example, your morning coffee will cost you 4.00$NZD minimum. American travelers complain a lot about this one online. What you have to understand is that Kiwis love their coffee and they don’t drink dirty old socks coffee commonly called filter coffee. So it’s 4$ for a latte, a cappuccino or a flat white. Do you know any coffee shops in Canada or USA where you get a latte for cheaper than 4$NZD ? I don’t. As a matter of fact, I only know one place in Montreal where you can get a coffee as good as the one they have here for less than 4$CAD and I won’t tell you where it is because I want the price to stay the same when I’m back. If I ever get back. 😛

BTW, at the time of writing this post 1$CAD=1.08$NZD

Now let’s compare apples with apples.

The price of food in restaurants

When you are travelling, you inevitably will have to eat out. What a shame isn’t it ? Well not for me. I am a trained Chef and my wife-to-be is a picky eater (a foodie but a picky one). 😉

My first impression was that the prices were steep compared to Montreal (Mtl). For example, I couldn’t get a decent pub burger for less than 16$ where I usually can find an option for about 12$ in Mtl. Now you have to understand me, with a minor in Economy, I see value in having the choice. I still eat my 16$ burger in Mtl and enjoy it to the very last bite, but if I want a cheaper one I can get one. This has value to me (and to many others). Here, your alternative is McDonalds. For 3.20$ you get a sad dry cheeseburger and if you get the chicken bites for 5$, they charge you 0.50$NZD extra for any dipping sauce. Although I must say that their patties taste and feel like real beef here.

Now, let’s analyse this burger science a bit further. A burger in a Mtl pub ranges between 12$ to 16$ on average, but most places are now 16$ and up. So let’s settle for 16$ and see how it’s actually cheaper in the land of the Hobbit. You compare a 16$CAD to a 16$NZD. CAD is stronger than NZD at the moment so it’s cheaper (and so is USD). Also, the taxes are included in the prices here. So you don’t have this 15% surprise at the end of your bill. Plus, company pays their people a decent wage here, so most Kiwis don’t feel the need to tip. It’s not in their custom I believe. Actually, I have been looking around in bars and restaurants and I haven’t seen any Kiwi tipping. Only the tourists did. LOL

So let’s recap. Here you pay a burger and fries 16$NZD which comes down to 14.96$CAD. Back in Mtl, 16$ plus taxes(15%) equals 18.40$. Plus you add15% tip because the waitress wasn’t rude to you. Your burger is now 21.16$! Oh, and in case you noticed I added the tip after the taxes. Most people always pay with their cards and when you choose the 15% button, it calculates the 15% on top of the previous amount which has the taxes included. If you were to do it by hand, you would pay your burger 20.80$. But you don’t. 😉 BTW, a pint is 7-8$NZD for craft beer here. You can get a jug for 10$. Also, did I mention that I found tons of places with 20$NZD burger, fries and a craft beer pint.

The price of food in the grocery stores and farmers markets

Long term travel often involves cooking yourself, especially in a country where the value of your money is almost at par. It’s important to treat yourself just enough so you are not miserable (eating mashed potato sandwiches), but not too much and having to come back after just a month because you have exceeded your budget. One smart thing to do is to look for farmer’s market and cheap grocers. This usually helps you a long way.

The only tricky thing with New Zealand is that even the cheapest grocery store is expensive compared to Canada and the farmers markets are not that cheaper either. You will pay a red pepper or (also known here as capsicum) 3.50$ instead or 5.00$ in a grocery store like New World or Countdown. You will find that tomatoes are expensive even at PakNSave (8.99$/kg) which is the cheapest grocery store chain in NZ.

As for farmers markets most of them operate like the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal. The stall merchants get their stuff at a bigger market and store it until that famous day of the week. In Montréal, Jean-Talon market merchants get their stuff at Marché Central overnight and place them very nicely at their stall early mornings. Some merchants produce one kind of veggies during few months of the year but they are also stalls who don’t even produce anything. They are just resellers. And to add to your general knowledge, the big grocery stores also get their veggies at Marché Central. You get the same veggies guys you just pay more because the merchant at the stall won’t get a fine if he says it’s organic or locally grown even if it’s not. A bit more on prices ? Chicken breast is 17$-25$/kg, tomatoes are 7.50$-9.00$/kg, a cucumber is often 5.00$ and lamb is not that cheaper here. It makes the 5$ meal deal at Burger King very attractive when you are short on cash. This could explain the stat that says that 1/3 of Kiwis are obese.

BEER

Booze is also more expensive in the store here. We are not heavy drinkers so it doesn’t really change much for us, but when I felt like drinking,I bought Aro Noir from Garage Project (one of the best craft brewery of NZ). 1.25 liter bottle cost me 17.50$. I must say that they have amazing craft beers and cider here though. I rather go to the pub and treat myself less often with different pints than stock on one kind that is cheaper at the store. In Wellington, there’s a place where you can brew your own beer in their facilities. It is apparently cheaper than buying beer at the grocery stores. They can sell you the cereals and recipes on top of advising you on how to not mess it up.

Good news? Yes, you can get kale for 1.50$, 1 kg of cheddar for 8.00$ and the best homemade steak and cheese pies for 3.80$. For pies, I recommend Lam’s pies of Taurangi. You can get them at the Paetiki Bakery in Taupo. It was our daily brunch over there. Also, you can buy a lemon, plum, or a grapefruit tree for 16$ at the farmers market in Taupo. Otherwise you may get them for 20$ each in the big stores of Auckland.

The price of clothes

This is a tricky one. One thing to keep in mind is the lack of economy of scale I talked about earlier. Although I have seen nice 40$ windbreaker that you would pay 100$ (for the same quality) in Canada, I also couldn’t find anything cheaper than 80$ for a dry undershirt on special here. There’s no Walmart here. They have Kmarts at some places but they are not easily accessible unless you have a car.

Now let’s talk about wool. They are known to be major producers of wool and lamb meat worldwide. We also all know that there are more sheep than humans here. So how much does a wool sweater cost here? A merino wool sweater for man in a store like Kathmandu (equivalent of Sport Expert or Atmosphere) was 80$ on a 70% special last week. That was the cheapest I found so far. I didn’t even buy it because of the high maintenance needed for the material. Knowing that we are backpacking our way through Asia in less than a week. I didn’t want to risk ruining it during this journey. I will keep you posted if I find a better deal when we come back for summer in a couple of months. I expect to take advantage of their winter sales. 😉

Also, they are not big fashionistas here. Most people here wear hiking, running shoes or flip flops as their casual footwear. They wear shorts like everyday and anywhere. Some places like Taupo where most people seem to work in manufacturing companies or tree services seem to be wearing hunting gear. Long jackets with gumboots are pretty common as well. Girls mostly wear yoga pants or leggings. Nis seemed to tell me that their clothes were super expensive here as well, but I will let her talk more about it if she feels like it.

So, it’s cold. It’s wet. Clothes are expensive. Pack your bags carefully. I recommend bringing a lot of quick dry undershirt. I should have gotten bunch of those 15$ ones at Joe Fresh before coming. When I compare it to my under armor one I really don’t feel or see the difference. If anything, I prefer my Joe Fresh one.

The price of accommodation

Having a roof over your head here is expensive. Truly. There’s no hidden trick or anything. Hotels are expensive. Hostels are decent enough to compete with Airbnb’s that are hit or miss.

We stayed in Astray Hostels in Rotorua. It was decent and affordable. We stayed in Airbnbs and some were better than others. It’s hard to compare because each city is different. So because I don’t like comparing apples and oranges I will jump to the Real Estate market.

Real estate in New Zealand is expensive. There is a strong Asian community here and they love real estate. Before looking to settle here and thinking about maybe buying a house, you need to know that most houses are sold in auction. I will not write in detail as I could go on and on and rename the blog post as “an foreign economist view of Real Estate in New Zealand”.

What I will say is prices are inflated. Most of their houses still have single glazed windows. Insulation seems to have been an option when they build most houses. More recent houses are sometimes worse than recent ones due to the 90’s construction code issue. They had loosened it up and builders abused of it. A lot of leakage problems and low or non existent insulation are typical issues with these houses. Find a good real estate agent and pay for an independent inspection. Don’t trust the council.

Getting over the prices of things

The first thing you need to do when you arrive in New Zealand, after digesting the fact that your trip will be way more expensive than you thought, is to go for a walk. Yes, go for a walk. There’s something magical with the New Zealand landscapes. I guess that’s why they filmed Lord of the Rings here. The forests are so lush and full of fern that you will feel more alive at every breath you take. The never ending hills are like a soothing lullaby for your soul. Also, there are “bushwalks” everywhere in New Zealand. You can usually find maps describing the length and the difficulty of each one at the local Isite (Information center). Some information centers even have a DOC counter (Department of Conservation). If you are lucky enough to meet a passionate one, he/she will give you insider tips.

What’s next ?

This post came a bit late as we’ve already traveled a good chunk of the North Island. Between figuring out our day to day whereabouts and activities, I didn’t take the time to write about all the cool things we did or even post 1/4 of the pictures we took. I will do that this week though and also tell you more about all the cool things about this country.

Je vais aussi essayer d’écrire un post ou deux en français. Histoire de pas oublier comment. 😉