Auckland Working Holiday

After such a long flight you will be pleased to arrive at Auckland International airport with our local team will pick you up whisk you directly to your arrival accommodation. No stress – easy peasy, straight to the front door. Once there use the time to unwind, get over your flight, and meet some of the other travellers in the hostel bar.

If you are arriving a few days early the U.Team can help you with a load of awesome activities and day trips which you can pre-book. How about bungy jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge or exploring the Wild West Coast. Talk to the U.Team before you travel.

Today is about getting you setup and orientated around Auckland. We will start with a briefing and check that you have all the essentials you need to get sorted: Passport; IDs; CVs, etc. You will then head out for a walking tour of the city where our local team will show you the best places for coffee, amazing places to eat, what bars you must visit (and which ones you should skip), plus all the main sites. Everything to get you living like a local straight away. During the walking tour we will also visit the bank to get you setup with your New Zealand bank account, we will pickup a local sim card, and cover off what you need to your IRD tax number.

This afternoon you are free to explore some of Auckland yourselves with your group, or start the process of finding somewhere awesome to live.

Today is all about providing you with everything you need to know about working and travelling around New Zealand. We start with a job workshop where you will get help to get your resumé ready for a Kiwi employer. We will explain what type or work your can expect to get and what is available, and we will get you started on looking for the perfect job – assuming you don’t want to do some travelling and get to know the country first.

Aſter a day of learning and sorting you will head out as a group to take a ferry to Devonport – a beautiful harbour side village on the northern Auckland shores. Here we will head to a local restaurant with the group.

Aſter your night out last night we start with a lazy morning. We highly recommend you try breakfast and coffee at Commercial Bay and then perhaps take a walk down to Wynyard Quarter or the Viaduct if you have not already. This aſternoon is more information to get you finalised for working and travelling in New Zealand.

In the aſternoon there will a drop in session with the Work New Zealand team who will be on hand throughout your entire stay in New Zealand to provide any additional assistance or guidance that you need. Tomorrow you will get your first taste of New Zealand outside of the big Auckland metropolis.

The Bay of Islands are just that, a huge harbour of 144 islands, in what is affectionately known as the winterless north. Today you leave the hustle and bustle of Auckland city behind for a few days exploring Northland and up close to the real New Zealand. You will travel north with your group by bus. But before, we reach the amazing Bay of Island late morning we will stop for a short hike into the magnificent Whangarei Falls.

The plan is to arrive in the bay of the Island just at lunch time. Tonight you will stay in the seaside town of Paihia, which includes New Zealand’s most historic location Waitangi – the place where the British colonists and the native New Zealand Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi to formalise the creation of the country. Northland is rich in history and Māori culture.

Today you get a full day to explore the amazing Bay of Islands and it’s crystal clear waters. This place has an awesome selection of water and land-based adventure activities so take the opportunity to go fishing, sailing, sea kayaking, nature walking, or just relax on one of the beaches in the area. Maybe take a bush walk to the Haruru Falls and visit a cool local pub or trip out to Waitangi where the New Zealand founding documents were agreed in 1840.

Talk to the U.Team about pre-booking some of the epic water activities.

Local hint: go down to the pier and ask one of the local kids how to throw a “manu bomb”

Hopefully by now you are really getting the feel of the slower paced relaxed lifestyle of New Zealand. Today, before returning to Auckland we will head a little further north to the town Keri keri . Keri Keri is Northlands largest town with loads and loads of annual sunshine hours. It is a super nice place to live. There is lots of work to be found in the region on farms and orchards also.

We will spend the morning hiking and visiting some of the awesome waterfalls in the region before stopping at the “Old Packhouse” Farmer’s market for lunch – famous for its fresh produce and amazing coffee.

Back in Auckland the van will return to the hostel, the night accommodation is not included, so if you want to stay here you will need to have pre-purchased the extra nights. After these amazing 7-days however, we think you should be absolutely ready to hit the ground running and working – unless you are one of the lucky ones who chooses to do a 24-day New Zealand U.Trip first as a way to really get to know the country and find the best place to live and work.