Gear Tips for New Zealand & Australia

Your first aid kit should contain:
Any prescription medicines you need (for contraception, allergies etc). Brands could be different in NZ & OZ
Pain relief (Tylenol, Ibuprofen)
Bandaids
Tape for strapping
Moleskin or tape for blisters
Antiseptic cream/solution or powder
Aloe Vera for sunburn
Sting/bite relief cream for insect bites
Eye drops for tired, scratchy eyes
Motion sickness pills
Tweezers
Scissors

Backpack
Try not to bring an external frame backpack like this green one (below left). These are very prone to getting damaged and are difficult to pack in the trailers during the trip. It is better to bring a backpacking pack (below center and right) rather than a travel pack. Ideally with a capacity of 3000 - 4000cu inches. It is important that the pack is adjusted to fit you. Your leaders will be able to assist with this downunder. Smaller bodied people should make sure the pack and harness are not too big for you. If borrowing one, try to borrow from a similar height/sized person.

Day pack
Needs to be big enough to fit a water bottle, warm clothing, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, raincoat, camera etc for day hikes. Capacity 2000cu inches.

Sleeping Bag
The most important thing here we'd like to stress is compact. If your sleeping bag half fills your backpacking pack, you will not have room for everything you'll need on our backpacking trips. Goosedown sleeping bags are more compact and lighter than synthetic filled sleeping bags.

Sleeping pad
Either foam or thermarest type. Oversize inflatable is not so good because they are heavy to hike with and get punctured easily if they don't fit inside packs. In fact if you have an inflatable camping mat and it dosent fit inside your pack, don't bring it, but instead bring an inexpensive foam mat.

Sleeping sheet
Either a light cotton single-sheet folded in half and sewn across the bottom and up the side into a sleeping bag or a store bought sleeping sheet/sleeping bag liner.

Outdoor cooking pot
During the trip in backpacking and camping situations you will be cooking food over camping stoves in groups of 3-5. Below is a pot-set that stack inside each other. You can bring anything from something like this to a light alluminium pot or pan from Goodwill. The ideal size is 1.5 - 2 litres.

Stoves
The first stove is a disposable canister stove. They are inexpensive and light but disposable cannisters pollute the environment. The stoves in the center and on the right burn liquid fuel like gas or coleman/white fuel. They are more expensive to buy, but cook faster. The Coleman in the center is great for camping while the MSR on the right is perfect for backpacking as it cooks fast and is reasonably light.

Tents
Ideally bring a 2-4 person backpacking tent. During backpacking trips we will take only enough tents to accommodate the group, and the weight will be split between the group. Please only bring a tent, which has a full rain-cover like the yellow tent. If you have a tent like the white/red one, you will get wet during the trip. If you're unsure of the waterproof-ness of your tent, set it up in the backyard, get inside and have someone turn the hose on you.

Not much good ~ useless if it rains

Good tent

Thermal Clothing (pictured below) is warm on your body when you are wet. This is important during the trip when we are doing outdoor activities. The weather in New Zealand changes rapidly and you will quickly get dangerously cold if we are kayaking, or a storm comes in, it starts raining and you are only wearing a cotton T-shirt. No cotton is permitted to be taken on hiking trips.

Footwear
Whilst you won't want to bring too much footwear with you. You will need footwear for the following situations: Day hikes, multi-day backpacking, water sports (kayaking, canyoning, beaches), casual wear and something tidy looking for going out in the evening in cities. There are often dress codes at bars and restaurants. Men are often required to wear 'closed toe shoes (not sandals) and women are usually OK in most footwear except thongs/flip flops.

We recommend the following:

Sports sandals...
Need to stay firmly on your feet. For water sports and to wear casually. Women will be able to use tidy-looking ones for going out in the evenings.

Hiking Boots...Unless you are a gnarly, sure-footed, run-with-the dingos, crocodile-whisperer type, you WILL want to bring footwear suitable for hiking.

Leather boots (below left) are great if you want to do the heli-mountaineering option. They can be expensive and need to be well worn-in before coming on the trip. However they are fantastic for backpacking and last a long time. If you already have some, bring them.

Soft hiking boots (below right) are a good compromise. Not as expensive or as heavy in your bag as leather boots but still provide reasonable ankle support. Ankle support is important when carrying a full backpack, as it is easy to roll your ankle, which is why we encourage hiking boots rather than shoes.

Hiking boots can often be used as a tidy pair of shoes for going out in the evening. This especially applies to guys who probably don't want to bring a pair of shoes specifically for going out.

Good hiking shoes or trail runners will get you through the backpacking on the trip at a pinch but you dramatically increase the risk of twisting an ankle and we don't encourage it. You should only consider not bringing hiking boots if...see above.

Running shoes...
Runners or trail runners are good to bring for most activities that don't involve backpacking. Also means you can exercise during the trip if you are so inclined.

Along with the footwear above you may want to bring a pair of dressy shoes for going out and/or a pair of thongs/flip flops for casual wear. Remember the more you bring, the harder it is to deal with your stuff.