tips for temporary kiwis

May 28, 2008 6:40 AM

Advice for going to New Zealand on a working holiday visa?

Hi everyone,

Mid-July, my boyfriend (33) and I (27) are heading to New Zealand on a working holiday visa through the SWAP program here in Canada. It's good for up to a year. I'm really excited, but as the date draws closer I'm starting to get more anxious.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any good blogs or stories from people with similar experiences?

He's a computer programmer and I'm currently working managing the talk shows and training at a college radio station (which I love!) while we would love to get something similar down there, I myself am open to just about anything. I've got some bartending experience too, and have done a whole range of jobs.

We fly in to Auckland with a couple nights accommodation, then we were thinking of touring around the north island before we decide where to settle. Any advice on the best spots to work? From the sounds of things, it seems like Auckland or Wellington is where most people end up.

If anyone has any advice or resources you think we might find helpful, I would love to hear them!

posted by Flying Squirrel to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

When I was visiting New Zealand, I absolutely LOVED Queenstown. It had a really traveller/hippie/student vibe... Also had a bit of that out-of-season ski-resort type of feel too (we were there about this time last year... so mid-late fall for them). An absolutely gorgeous little town nestled into the mountains... Maybe not the best place to settle for the year (particularly for your bf's line of work) - unless you're really into that sort of vibe and willing to work in the service industry for the year - but almost certainly worth a visit.

I used SWAP to move to Ireland to be with my (now) fiancée a few years ago... The fine folks at SWAP really do have a lot of good resources. Use them as much as you can. I personally preferred Wellington to Auckland, as far as cities go. But your requirements may vary to mine, as I was just there as a tourist.
posted by antifuse at 6:53 AM on May 28, 2008

You're going to have an amazing year. I also spent a year in New Zealand on a working holiday, and I can't wait to go back one day.

Keep in mind that most working holidays only allow you to take on temporary work. Most interesting jobs are permanent positions. The hardest thing for me was to accept that I wasn't going to get a job in my field (though I did get as far as one interview for a 'real' job), and that the stuff people were willing to hire me for was not what I'd had in mind. I temped (data entry), worked in a couple of vineyards, and worked at Waikato University for a while. But I can't emphasize enough how hard it was to get work. I think my academic degrees did more to hurt my chances than help them. A friend of mine had good luck with bartending, so that skill might come in handy.

If you're flexible about what you do and look at your work as a way to get to know a place, you'll be fine. It's not too hard to live on the cheap and save up to do some amazing traveling. If you drive, buy a cheap car and some basic insurance. We took a 1984 Nissan hatchback all over the country, both islands, and it held up remarkably well. And if you drive around, don't underestimate the distances; the roads are different from North America, and it takes much more time to cover the same distance than it would back home.

Wellington really is a fantastic city. Auckland is interesting too. Also consider Christchurch, Dunedin, and the many smaller cities sprinkled across the country. See as much as you can - New Zealand has a nearly endless variety of scenery, and it's infinitely worth it to go out of your way to the Far North, East Cape, Golden Bay, Fiordland, Westland, etc..... I could go on forever. Feel free to contact me if you want more info.
posted by bassjump at 7:37 AM on May 28, 2008

I did this ten years ago (and loved it, definitely plan to go back one day), so don't have anything specific about current good places to go, but, think seasonally. OK, a New Zealand winter isn't going to be the same as a Canadian one - it's going to be grey and damp, when it's not just plain raining. But if you ski, think about working a season somewhere it hopefully won't rain.

I worked the summer season in the Bay of Islands and loved it, but I'd never seen anything quite like the rain in the first few weeks I was there (they had some pretty bad floods on the West Coast that spring, I was assured that the rain wasn't really normal) - but if you're hoping to get a job outside the service industry, the Bay of Islands probably isn't going to be for you except as a holiday (in the summer but outside the school holidays would be best).

I would take Wellington over the miles of Auckland suburbs any day, but on the other hand my cousin went to Auckland on a gap year three years ago and hasn't come back yet, so it's obviously got something going for it (in his case, lots of boats, I think).
posted by Lebannen at 9:38 AM on May 28, 2008