WHAT TO TAKE AND WHAT NOT TO TAKE ? -NEW ZEALAND JOURNEY

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What to take and what not to take ?

The day of departure to New Zealand was fast approaching and a lot of home work  had to be done by me like the crucial final packing , and first thing which came into my mind was whether  we could  take some food with us , somehow when I don’t get home made food abroad, it makes me terribly home sick and so I started looking up things which could be taken safely

 New Zealand is a unique yet delicate country – it is a small island and so introduction of a foreign biohazard, such as a disease or a pest, has potential to cripple economy and throw ecosystem into chaos. This is why New Zealand has especially stringent customs laws, apart from the obvious things like illegal drugs and weapons, I was very surprised to see list of things what one is not allowed to bring in.

·        Food : Some packaged food is allowed if we declare it, but if we get fruit to eat in the plane journey,  we have to get rid of it upon arrival, this applies to meat and cheese, even if it was given as a meal on the flight

·        Honey and/or products containing honey : are a big no-no, so we have to check ingredients of any natural beauty products we take, if they contain honey, they’ll  surely be confiscated.

·        Tea and/or coffee: this includes teabags and actually when we are on a package tour we get all these as part of room service

·        Plants: I thought who’d bring plants on a plane? But I did see some forlorn plants and flowers lying in the bin in the airport when we arrived .

·        Anything that used to be a plant : like Wooden items and woven straw bags or hats,

·        Animals: hey  no animal is allowed! not even a stowaway rat

·        Anything that used to be an animal: including  items such as fur coats, feathers, bone souvenirs, things made with tortoise shell and traditional Chinese ‘medicines’.

·        Seeds : planting foreign seeds in New Zealand would be literally sowing the seeds of doom for one !

·        Equipment used on animals : like a horse brush with horsehair still on it.

·        Dirty shoes or camping gear : basically, any items one wants to bring that have been in contact with nature,  needs  to be cleaned first to make sure there aren’t any traces of soil, pollen, seeds.

Tip: Declare everything. Not sure about something or if in doubt, declare it. It’s far better to declare something than to not declare something , have it discovered and get a rather nasty fine!

 People failing to declare bio security risk goods even by accident are  fined an NZD $ 400 infringement fee. Anyone caught smuggling a prohibited or risk item could: be fined up to NZD$100,000,face up to 5 years in prison or be deported.

In fact I felt it was very nice to see the strict measures being taken to preserve the eco system in New Zealand, as it revealed their deep concern for the country

Items we don’t need to take :

·        No hair dryer –most places have it,

·        No sleeping bags allowed for fear of bed bugs

·        An umbrella :which we invariably include in our luggage is to be avoided because if we are outdoors in New Zealand and it starts raining, a waterproof jacket is going to serve us far better than an umbrella. New Zealand’s largest cities are in coastal areas where it tends to be too windy for umbrellas. So an umbrella is an item not to pack for New Zealand!

·        A cotton towel : better not take as they are extremely bulky, and impossible to dry when we are on the move (then they start to smell! ). Better take a fast-drying micro fibre travel towel instead,they take a fraction of the space in our bag and stand a better chance of drying off properly every day.

Medication : Biosecurity in New Zealand allows one to bring up to three-months’ worth of prescription medication into New Zealand. Any more than that we need a letter from our doctor written in English.

 Toiletries to pack in  carry-on luggage

All liquids, gels, aerosols and pastes must be in individual containers no larger than 100ml in volume. All containers must then be packed into a transparent re-sealable bag no larger than 1 litre ( 20cm x 20cm or 8 x 8 inches).

Travel-size toothpaste

Deodorant

Make-up (if preferred)

Wipes (to freshen up)

Any medication needed for  flight

Packing list for carry-on bag

Passport

Flight ticket

Visa + supporting evidence

Another form of ID (if one is planning to drive in New Zealand or get an  18  plus card, have  driving license and  International Driving Permit if required)

Cash in New Zealand dollars for first week in New Zealand

Credit card / debit card

Entertainment  like songs or movies – can be taken in a hard disc

Travel pillow

Spare set of clothes (in case check-in luggage is lost) which can happen

As New Zealand is  known for having “four seasons in a day”, whatever season we arrive in New Zealand, we better pack the following in the check in luggage

Waterproof/windproof jacket

Fast-dry pants/shorts

Thermal under-layers for top and bottom (wool or polypropylene)

Mid-layers (wool or polar-fleece)

Gloves and scarf/sunhat

Sunglasses

Hiking shoes or hiking boots

Wool socks

Mini first aid kit

It’s a good idea to make a mini first aid kit  just in case we get a small injury or sickness while on the road. Packing a few pain relief medicine, antiseptic cream, antihistamine tablets and anti-diarrhoea tablets is a safe move

Sunscreen (for both summer and winter)

Insect repellent –we found it very useful specially against tiny sand flies found in New Zealand

Razor

Glasses - spare set of reading glasses

Shampoo can be avoided unless one prefers only a particular  brand for their beautiful tresses

Feminine items

Make-up (if preferred)

Hairbrush/comb (if preferred)

New Zealand travel adapter most essential to charge all electronic goods

Multi-plug

Copies of  passport (can be physical or uploaded online)

Camera/laptop/tablet/phone

Electronic device chargers (extra batteries are a good idea) 

Baggage :

 As we travelled by Silk Airlines : each checked bag could not exceed 30 kg

Cabin baggage was upto 7 kgs with maximum dimensions of 115 cms

A trolley bag (55 x 40 x 20 cm), a briefcase (50 x 40 x 25 cm) or a garment  bag (thickness not exceeding 20 cm when folded) constituted one piece of cabin baggage.

 The following articles were allowed on board, free of charge, over and above the cabin baggage allowance:

Laptop/notebook.

Ladies' handbag.

Overcoat.

Reading material.

Small camera.

Infant carrying basket / infant food for consumption in flight.

Walking stick.

A pair of crutches, or other prosthetic device, provided the passenger is dependent upon them.

Now the most important part of the long journey was booking the seats as we had to sit for a long time in the flight

I started thinking should I ask for window or aisle seats?

Both kinds of seats have “pros” and “cons”.

Window seats: no one will be climbing past us to get in and out of their seat. , can sleep without being bothered by anyone and can always rest a pillow against the side of the plane. For long routes, they are ideal since we will be able to sleep ,however, we have to climb over other passengers to get to the toilet and the curvature of the fuselage might make very tall-bodied people feel claustrophobic.

Aisle seats: if we are tall bodied and like to stretch our legs during a flight, an aisle seat can be a good choice, stretching the legs also is very essential to avoid D.V.T which is Deep Vein Thrombosis, on a long distance flight we once had a male passenger forever walking and obstructing the air hostesses as he was advised to walk during  long flights by his doctor ,his wife’s gentle admonitions had no effect on him till he tripped over a small toddler and its angry father put an end to his walking .The aisle seats are easy to get out of if we are in a rush to get off the plane or to go to the toilets.

 However, the people in adjacent seats might bother us if they want to get up and down and we might get knocked about by passing people or trolleys.

  In general, middle seats are to be avoided. The persons in the adjacent seats might bother us if they want to get up and down and we have to climb over the person in the aisle to get in and out..

Seats at the back of the plane and near toilets/galleys generally are avoided as noise and smell can be unpleasant!  seats close to the galley are also noisy and so it is crucial to reserve seat as early as possible.

We also booked our meals prior to travelling as we wanted to avoid any unpleasant surprises ,our option was a Hindu Non-Vegetarian Meal (HNML) This meal is non-vegetarian and contains meat (lamb, poultry), fish, and/or dairy products. It is a non-vegetarian meal suitable for those who do not consume beef, veal, pork, smoked and raw fish. Typically cooked spicy or curried, its preparation and cooking style may vary and we found that we were served first as very few people order these meals

This post has intentionally quite a  long content meant for first time travellers and absent minded professors like me for whom every trip is a new one