Travel: What I learnt travelling around the South Island

by By Dylan du Ross
Thursday, Jun 20, 2019 4:00 PM

Dylan du Ross, from Hawke’s Bay, is sharing his travel experiences around New Zealand.

Travelling the South Island teaches many things – through unforgettable experiences.

In no particular order, there were three valuable life lessons that have had a profound effect on me.

The Marlborough Sounds

How to save money

Looking back, I feel like an idiot. I earnt just under 40 grand last year by working long hours every week, and only saved $3000. I spent so much money on meaningless items, and food that wasn't fulfilling.

Travelling the South Island has helped me realise what's really necessary, and how to eat in a fashion that ticks the boxes, and costs under $60 a week. Of course I still treated myself from time to time; boat rides, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, dinner out, etc. But it was all within a budget which balanced the want of travelling for as long as possible, and the want for buying Indian take out on a Sunday night.

To do this I learnt that you needed four staple foods: budget brown rice, budget pasta, couscous, and oats (for breakfast). Combine these with cheap vegetables, sauces and spices, you can make nearly anything you want. My naivety peaked at this point, I had no idea how easy it could be.

The best example of saving money on food was when pumpkins were in season. We had an absolute field day, or week rather. They were $1.50, and huge. Pumpkin pasta, pumpkin bread, pumpkin curry, pumpkin stir fry, pumpkin everything. You name it, and we made it. A mix of utilising websites that offer deals on dinners and activities, and utilising Pak’nSave’s specials, leads to a very cheap, but very comfortable lifestyle.

Avalanche Peak

Not taking things for granted

This one’s huge, but it’s so hard not to do. Right now, I’m enjoying my kettle boiled tea, sitting next to a heater, using wi-fi, in a comfy home in Clive. And yet I feel normal. In reality this stuff is just the tip of the iceberg.

None of these things, plus a lot more, are available to millions of people, and it took a hike around the South Island for me to at least slightly comprehend that. Even writing now, I’m realising how I took things for granted, despite staying in a tent, or a car, or having to filter river water to drink.

Two blessings that opened my eyes to how easy we have it, is the rubbish bin, and the sink. Who knew that as soon as you have no base, that acquiring these services would be ridiculously hard. Holding onto a smelly black rubbish bag for weeks was painful, but necessary, as in some areas there just wasn’t any bins.

It’s at a point where companies are putting huge bins out, and then charging $5 to use them. Rubbish bins = a luxury item. Not having a sink makes life so much more difficult as well. Sometimes waves were crashing down on me, sometimes I slipped into rivers, and other times I just had to let the rain do a very average job. My battle with washing dishes has been a tough one, but I’ve came out with a new appreciation of the sink, giving me the win, I think.

Milford Sound

How naive so many people are

Naivety is bliss, but it can also be harmful. This is split into two parts. How New Zealanders don’t realise how stunning our country is, and even more sadly, how it leaves room for animosity against the people that visit it.

Abel Tasman

1. In my hiking of the South Island, I met hardly any kiwis below the age of 50 on a trail. I found it kind of sad that people travel all over the world, but forget the extreme variety of paradises that litter New Zealand. Yes, it may not sound as attractive as swimming in Greece, or laying on beaches in Bali, or taking a picture in Times Square New York, but it really is! Nowhere else in the world can you experience such incredible diversity that New Zealand has to offer. I just wish everyone at least considers experiencing it.

Angelus Hut

2. It’s never nice to end on a downer, but the prejudice against tourists/backpackers is ridiculous at times. Yes, there are some that are disrespectful, messy and loud. But that is a tiny percentage of those who come here. I’ve met some of the kindest and smartest people on my travels. There’s been chemical engineers, computer science graduates, ex lawyers, the lot. Many of these people work the jobs we don’t want to, and help clean the environment when we can’t be bothered. And yet, a fair amount of people still think badly of all of them. A campsite I stayed at in Takaka, and another in Kaikoura, had people beeping every time they drive past, it really wasn’t a nice feeling.

Mount Armstrong Hut