Another NZ post yay!
Okay so you should know where you want to go and when by the time you start to book places to stay.
First I want to stress that you really don't NEED to PAY for internet in NZ. Most places you stay will have wifi but sadly charge quite a bit for the hour. Most McDonald's have FREE WIFI, and I'm sure other eatery places do as well, they'll even post signs. Queenstown only had one McD that I saw and you had to buy something to use their code but the employees were pretty lax about this and usually you could get more slips to log in if you asked. Other places you didn't even need a password (like in Wellington) or need to buy anything. Libraries also have free wifi. And Wellington had a tourist ISite center that also had free 30 minutes if you needed it. Also along the pier there was one stretch where the wifi was free for everyone.
Also charging your devices CAN SUCK. I say this because while I had the correct adapter, most of my devices wouldn't charge if they weren't plugged into a laptop that was then plugged into the outlet? I'm still trying to figure out why but this also happened in India, but oddly enough not in England. So take a watch if you use your phone for a clock just in case you cannot charge your phone for a few days. Have back up maps so you can still navigate without anything electronic should you become desperate. Also you can buy a cheap phone or swap out the SIM cards...unless you're like me and have an iphone and yeah I basically just made no calls while I was there. No biggie...but if you need to call someone just buy a cheap phone and call card. You can usually get them at the airports.
And for the most part I stayed in backpacker lodges. They were cheaper than hotels, but usually I had to share a bathroom. That seemed like a small sacrifice to make, and it was, but honestly I disliked showering because they weren't always as clean as I would like (I am kinda a germaphobe). Getting a hotel at the end of the trip was a nice treat and it was just nice to have towles and a TV.
The places I stayed for the curious:
Pinewood Lodge-Queenstown
Downtown Backpackers Lodge- Wellington
Cambridge Backpackers- Wellington
Horse and Jockey Inn-Matamata
Abel Tasman Hotel- Wellington
First I want to stress that you really don't NEED to PAY for internet in NZ. Most places you stay will have wifi but sadly charge quite a bit for the hour. Most McDonald's have FREE WIFI, and I'm sure other eatery places do as well, they'll even post signs. Queenstown only had one McD that I saw and you had to buy something to use their code but the employees were pretty lax about this and usually you could get more slips to log in if you asked. Other places you didn't even need a password (like in Wellington) or need to buy anything. Libraries also have free wifi. And Wellington had a tourist ISite center that also had free 30 minutes if you needed it. Also along the pier there was one stretch where the wifi was free for everyone.
Also charging your devices CAN SUCK. I say this because while I had the correct adapter, most of my devices wouldn't charge if they weren't plugged into a laptop that was then plugged into the outlet? I'm still trying to figure out why but this also happened in India, but oddly enough not in England. So take a watch if you use your phone for a clock just in case you cannot charge your phone for a few days. Have back up maps so you can still navigate without anything electronic should you become desperate. Also you can buy a cheap phone or swap out the SIM cards...unless you're like me and have an iphone and yeah I basically just made no calls while I was there. No biggie...but if you need to call someone just buy a cheap phone and call card. You can usually get them at the airports.
And for the most part I stayed in backpacker lodges. They were cheaper than hotels, but usually I had to share a bathroom. That seemed like a small sacrifice to make, and it was, but honestly I disliked showering because they weren't always as clean as I would like (I am kinda a germaphobe). Getting a hotel at the end of the trip was a nice treat and it was just nice to have towles and a TV.
The places I stayed for the curious:
Pinewood Lodge-Queenstown
Downtown Backpackers Lodge- Wellington
Cambridge Backpackers- Wellington
Horse and Jockey Inn-Matamata
Abel Tasman Hotel- Wellington