2 months on the road!
You can pin it for later!
Today we reach the 2 months mark! In only 2 months we’ve seen and done so much, but it’s still so little!
Our first-month review can be seen here.
Our stops
During our second month, we’ve been to Auckland, Mount Maunganui and Wellington on the North Island (NZ), Golden Bay, and now Kaikoura in the South Island (NZ).
We’ve also done the Hobbiton Evening Tour and Dinner Experience!
To find accommodation in those places, click here! (affiliate link)
Melissa high-fiving a troll at Weta Cave, Wellington, in 2016. We just love it!
How we’re doing it
We’ve booked most of our housing with Airbnb (to receive a discount and give us a little commission, click here when booking through Airbnb), but sometimes we’ve booked through Bookabach.
We ditched a bunch of stuff we were carrying. We had a few days with our friends Tathi and Josieudes, from Brazil. We traveled by ferry – and did not enjoy it. We booked our stays on the South Island. We all got sick – Angelo even needed to go to the hospital. Coral decided she wants a seal pup.
The kids at the beginning of Hobbiton Evening Tour, in 2016, NZ. They seemed so small!
It’s been an amazing journey, but it’s also been tiring. The South Island is colder than we had imagined, packing and unpacking every week – plus driving more than 2 hours to the next destination – isn’t harmless. Laundry, cooking, and children noises aren’t as easily managed as we thought.
On the other hand, we’ve been seeing amazing places, one after the other. I’ve been falling in love with each place.
We’re also closer as a family – I see little changes in what we say and do to and with each other that makes my heart melt. I’ve found loads of reasons to be thankful for each day.
Seal Pup, at Ohau Point Seal Colony, Kaikoura, NZ. It was fearless and adorable! A little bit threatening.
The budget
It’s been difficult staying under our planned budget for accommodation. Even though we receive discounts (we really just ask for a discount every time), it’s unbelievably expensive. When it comes to finding a place for 6 people, and 4 of them being kids, it’s just hard. This month, we spent NZ$ 3167. Last month, it was NZ$ 2768.
We spent NZ$ 379 with fuel, against the NZ$ 522 from last month. It’s a lot less, but if we add the ferry (NZ$ 336), it’s way above last month for transport.
We’ve been spending a bit over NZ$ 200/week with groceries, which is a little below what we used to spend at home. It can seem a lot, but it feeds our family nicely with 1 or 2 meals out.
Mirror waters at Waikoropupu Springs, Golden Bay, NZ. It was hard to resist them. Good thing it was winter!
To finish it…
We’d still like to change a few things, take fewer things with each trip, sleep and wake up earlier, cook faster. Spend more time outdoors, do more exercise. We also need to bring our costs down by a lot.
But so far, the transition to our new lifestyle has been slow and steady. We’ll soon get there!!
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Parabéns!
Obrigada!