New Zealand: Baby-friendly itinerary & budget

We are a family of 3 with a toddler. When I planned the itinerary and budget initially, I googled and read others' travelog and customized it to our need. 

Wanaka Lavendar Farm

So, why I defined it as baby-friendly? 

• Less packed schedule. Kami tak target untuk kejar banyak tempat dan aktiviti dalam 9 hari. NZ is a big country and going from one place to another takes so much time and energy.
• En suite room or room with private toilet
• Non extreme activities

This is suggested itinerary. We didn't get to cover everything that we plan but I hope it can give you a rough idea of how it is. We spent 2 days in North Island, 7 days in South Island. Tempat paling cantik pastinya South Island. 

FULL ITINERARY

1st day 

- Depart from KLIA2 at 11pm, transit at Goldcoast

2nd day 

- Arrive at Auckland airport at 5pm

- Pick up car

- Buy simcard at The Warehouse & grocery shopping at New World (near airport)

- Dinner/Takeaway @ Grill & Shakes 

- Light sightseeing around Auckland

- Check in AirBnb

3rd day

- Cook for breakfast

- Check out AirBnb 

- Drop off car

- Depart to Christchurch at 11am

- Arrive at Christchurch at 12pm, pick up car

- Check in AirBnb, cook, eat

- Visit Botanical garden or Orana Wildlife Park

- Shopping & sightseeing around Christchurch

- Takeaway 

- Rest

4th day

- Check out AirBnb

- Grocery shopping 

- Visit Lake Tekapo, Church of Good Shepherd

- Arrive in Mount Cook, check in Alpine Mt Cook lodge

- Enjoy the view around Mount Cook

- Star gazing in front of lodge

- Cook, sleep

5th day

- Check out Mt Cook lodge

- Breakfast at Hooker Valley, trek a little bit only

- Visit Lake Pukaki

- Lunch at High Country Salmon, Twizel and feed Salmon

- Depart to Wanaka

- Check in AirBnb

- Walk along Wanaka Lake, "That Wanaka Tree"

- Take away dinner at Erik's Fish and Chips

- Sightseeing + flexible activity

- Cook, rest and sleep

6th day

- Check out AirBnb

- Visit Wanaka Lavendar Farm

- Visit Puzzling World 

- Have packed lunch

- Jones' fruit stall

- Grocery shopping at Queenstown

- Depart to Te Anau

- Check in AirBnb

- Cook, dinner, laundry, rest

7th day

- Breakfast at AirBnb

- Head to Milford Sound 

- Take Milford sound cruise

- Have packed lunch

- Sightseeing around 

- Head back to Te Anau

- Drop by Monkey Creek & Mirror Lake

- Arrive at same AirBnb

- Cook, dinner, rest

8th day

- Breakfast at AirBnb

- Head to Queenstown

- Walk around the town

- Shopping at DF souvenir

- Lunch at Fergsburger, snacks at CookieTime

- Check in AirBnb

- Take a drive up to the Remarkables for Queenstown view

- Walk along Lake Wakatipu

- Back to AirBnb, dinner, rest

9th day

- Breakfast at AirBnb

- Head to Queenstown airport

- Return car near ariport

- Flight to Auckland at 10.30am

- Arrive at Auckland airport. Pick up car. 

- Have packed lunch or lunch at Flame Gourmet Pizza & Burger

- Shopping at Dressmart

- Snacking at Snacks & Scoops

- Sightseeing

- Check in AirBnb

- Cook, rest

10th day

- Breakfast at AirBnb, final packing

- Visit SkyCity Auckland 

- Final shopping

- Sightseeing around Auckland city

- Lunch

- Drop off car @ airport

- Chilling at airport while waiting for flight @ 6.30pm

- Au revoir!

11th day

- Arrive at KLIA2 @ 3am

BUDGET

1) Flight 

- Air Asia Premium Flex               Rm 5444

- Air New Zealand (Domestic)      Rm 1160

2) Car rental

- North Island                             Rm 125

- South Island                             Rm 766

3) Accomodation

- North Island                             Rm 249

- South Island                             Rm 1638

4) Activity

- Wanaka Lavendar Farm            Rm 12

- Milford Sound                          Rm 306

5) Petrol                                    Rm 800

6) Food                                     Rm 1000

       

TOTAL = Rm 11,500

I will explain and describe further in the next post insyaAllah 😊

Till then.

xx

New Zealand: Tips for baby-friendly trip

First oversea family trip, we made it!

Baba. Mama. Kawthar.

Alhamdulillah. 

I would say it was challenging yet fun. We chose to travel on our own (no tourist guide) and with a small child, we thought New Zealand is rather safe to be explored for the first oversea trip together. Here are the trip details:

Place: KL Malaysia - South & North Island NZ
Time: Early October
Season: Spring
Child's age: 15 months old
Airlines: Air Asia
Flight period: 12 hours

I don't think my preparation was perfect but I hope these tips can help parents out there to be well prepared. Because honestly, travelling with a small child (toddler some more) is just another level compared to travelling while single. When I was single, I could rest whenever I wanted to..😄

1) Bawa baby gear yang sesuai dan travel-friendly

 - Benda yang paling berguna sekali ialah baby carrier. Memang sang penyelamat di mana-mana. Bila di airport, bawa Kawthar dalam baby carrier je senang. Nak dukung guna tangan memang susahlah sebab bawa banyak beg. 

- Bawa stroller yang boleh lipat kecil dan ringan. Bukan besar gedabak. Jimat ruang dalam kereta sewa. 

- Carseat wajib pakai di NZ. Boleh kena saman 150 NZD kalau tak pakai. Boleh pilih samada nak bawa sendiri punya atau sewa di sana. Lebih kurang Rm 30/sehari. Kalau sewa on-the-spot, Rm 135/sehari. Varies accordingly. Kami bawa carseat sendiri. Gate check-in sekali dengan stroller. Percuma je. 

2) Pilih pakaian yang sesuai dengan cuaca

- Ketika kami di NZ, suhu masih lagi sejuk sampai ke tahap negatif darjah selsius. Waktu tu masih awal musim bunga. Mommy pilih baju dan seluar UNIQLO Heattech untuk pakaian lapisan dalam Kawthar. Baju ni bukan jenis inner biasa. Jenis simpan haba. Jadi, badan pun tak rasa sejuk sampai ke tulang!

- Mommy siapkan untuk Kawthar 4 jenis baju yang berbeza ketebalan; jaket luar, jumper/sweater, baju biasa dan inner Heattech. 

3) Bawa sunscreen, pelembap muka & losyen kanak2

- Cuaca yang sejuk dan kering seperti di NZ boleh menyebabkan kulit jadi sangat kering dan merekah sampai pedih. Kulit juga boleh jadi gatal-gatal sebab kering. Jadi sebelum keluar, mommy akan sapu sunscreen di bahagian badan yang terdedah. Pelembap muka di muka dan losyen di seluruh badan Kawthar. Pastikan pakai yang jenis kanak2 punya, bukan orang dewasa. Yes, it did work! 

4) Bawa ubat & peralatan 

- The last thing you want during travel is falling sick. Even more the children! Lagi-lagi bila kita pergi negara yang berbeza cuaca dengan negara kita. Gotta pay more attention.

- Peralatan seperti termometer, penyedut hingus dan syringe wajib bawa. 

- Ubat demam, ubat tahan sakit, Sterimar (nasal irrigator) dan selsema. Just basic ones.

5) Prepare travel play kit

- 12 hours flight is no joke for a toddler! They are busy humans, always need to move or do something. Mommy siapkan travel play kit yang ringan dan bawa 2 buku kesukaan Kawthar. 

- Kembara di NZ memerlukan kami duduk dalam kereta untuk tempoh masa yang lama. Jadi, play kit ni boleh main dalam kereta juga. Umpan untuk duduk elok2 dalam carseat 😅 Mommy seboleh mungkin tak nak bagi tablet atau handphone..jadi buat alternatif lain. 

6) Tempat duduk di dalam kapal terbang

- Tempat duduk AirAsia yang biasa tidak boleh recline, kecil dan mempunyai ruang kaki yang sempit. Budget airlines kan.. Untuk perjalanan yang singkat, mommy rasa ok lagi. Tapi untuk 12 jam, ia sangatlah tidak selesa untuk ibu/ayah pegang anak. Kelas pertama mahal sangat pula. 

- Jadi kami pilih Premium Flex Kelas Ekonomi. Mahal sikit tapi berbaloi. Ada basinet bayi (untuk 11kg ke bawah), kerusi boleh recline, dekat dengan toilet dan ruang kaki yang sangat luas. Kawthar siap main2 lagi kat lantai situ. Boleh jalan2 juga. 

7) Pilih penginapan yang mesra kanak2

- Kami pilih untuk menginap di AirBnb sepanjang 9 hari di sana (kecuali 1 malam di lodge). Caravan/Campervan agak kurang selesa untuk budak sekecil Kawthar kerana cuaca pada awal musim bunga masih sejuk (negatif di sesetengah tempat) dan tidur di dalam Campervan bukanlah pilihan yang sesuai. Walau bagaimana pun, campervan lagi jimat dari sudut kos. Hotel pula lagi mahal dari AirBnb. 

- Jenis AirBnb yang kami pilih adalah en-suite room. Ada private toilet. Boleh guna dapur (if possible). Periksa polisi AirBnb tu juga, pastikan ia terima budak berumur 0-2 tahun! Ada sesetengah tuan rumah tak suka budak bising nangis etc.

- Would you like to receive AirBnb discount of Rm120? Sign up through this link 👉 https://www.airbnb.com/c/ridwana231?currency=MYR

Yes, for real. Not a scam hehe. 

Paling penting, banyakkan doa moga Allah beri kekuatan untuk kembara bersama si kecil =) Till then. 

xx
MommyBel