Your journey is about to start, are you ready? Get a head start with your working holiday, even before landing in New Zealand. Our Starter Pack is specifically designed for travellers like you, by travellers like you. It includes everything you need.
It's the smart way to start your trip!
We are travellers too, so we know your needs and, most importantly, we know that budgets are tight when travelling! That's why we are offering you the best value on the market: 15 services for one simple price. What's more, we let you tailor your Starter Pack to your needs, with the biggest amount of options available on the market.
Don't take our word for it: Check out what our members are saying!
For only NZ$499 every Starter Pack includes the following services:
Because we know that not everything can be covered in a couple of days and that you will need somebody to rely on for your whole trip, we will assist you for the length of your gap year, not only the first few days.
Our 12-month Membership means that, whatever you need, you can call us during your whole trip and we'll help you solve your problem.
From a simple booking to a lost passport, we always have a trick up our sleeves.
This is your gap year; your experience and we understand that you need to be flexible. That’s why we give you the choice of your arrival city! Start your gap year in New Zealand either in Auckland or Queenstown!
We have an Auckland office and a Queenstown office giving you more options on starting your working holiday the way you want to. Our teams will give you the same personal Starter Pack experience, while catering to your chosen arrival city.
Get from the Auckland (AKL) or Queesntown (ZQN) Airport to your bed. We will give you a map showing you where to go to get your shuttle bus and give you a voucher to present to the driver. This shuttle, specially equipped for backpackers like you, will get you straight to your hostel door in around 30-45 minutes.
Main features include:
Once at the hostel, just show them your passport to enjoy 3 nights in a 6-share dorm in these spacious purpose-built Nomads hostels ideally located in the centre of town.
Your super central Auckland hostel is the perfect place to relax after a long flight with a rooftop spa pool and a sunny rooftop kitchen overlooking the city.
Your hostel in Queenstown offers free breakfast and entree meals every evening or just an extra NZ$3 for a main meal. That means you can spend more time getting settled in a new country rather than worrying too much about food.
As a Working Holiday Starter member, there's no restriction to "office hours".
Whenever you need our help, we'll be available to contact 24 hours, 7 days a week!
You'll get our phone number and email on arrival, so take your pick.
Every country has a different way of presenting a resume or CV and New Zealand is no exception. Let us help you get a resume/CV that will be successful.
During our Auckland/Queenstown orientation we will help you create a powerful CV and a convincing cover letter. You can email your CV to us after the orientation where we will be happy to provide you with feedback prior to your job search.
We will also give you advice on the best way to find a job in New Zealand, help you to assess your skills, and prepare you for interviews.
To help you quickly find a job in New Zealand, we'll provide you with our tips and advice to make it a piece of cake. During your Auckland/Queenstown orientation at our office, we will go over every aspect of the job search:
Starting with the right bank when arriving in a new country is critical. Nobody wants to deal with the hassle of changing banks in the middle of their trip.
Your bank appointment will already be booked for you to attend after you arrive with a brand name bank in New Zealand.
You will get the choice of a Direct Debit card (EFTPOS) and/or a Visa Debit card. A Visa Debit card is not a credit card, it only has the visa function that allows you to pay online, rent a car, etc.
The IRD Number (Inland Revenue Department Number) is mandatory to get any job in New Zealand.
This is the single most important thing that you have to do in order to start working in New Zealand.
We complete forms with you in your Auckland/Queenstown orientation, photocopy all documents, and provide prepaid postage to send.
We'll also go over all the mandatory paperwork during our orientation.
To look for work or keep in touch with your new friends, you will have to be connected. We will give you a SIM card with New Zealand's biggest and most reliable network.
Features: flexible combos, biggest network coverage, and cheapest calls on the market. You can even get a 3G USB stick to connect to the net from (almost) anywhere.
Lear more on our phone page...
Get your first week of phone credit FREE, so you can continue enjoying your stress-free first week in New Zealand and call us if anything happens.
We'll then go through all phone combos and ways to top-up together.
In New Zealand it is very common to pay NZ$4 per hour for Internet and they still pay by data usage. With our Starter Pack we provide you with FREE access to WiFi in your hostel lounge to look for work, give news to your family, or whatever. We will also go over the most important New Zealand websites that you can use everyday during our welcome session at your arrival.
Spoiler alert: the most important one is our Facebook page.
The average backpacker has four different addresses during his or her year here, so it's not easy to get your mail forwarded.
Get all your mail sent to our office and receive a text message from us each time "YOU GOT MAIL".
Then we can arrange to give it to you when you're next in Auckland/Queenstown or we'll arrange for it to be forwarded quickly to an address of your choice.
Great travel guides, lots of vouchers, a few maps, tonnes of discounts... this package is full of good stuff.
During your orientation in Auckland or Queesntown we will give you this full package.
Don't scramble around for good deals or offers, they are all in our welcome package because, well... we've been around too.
We can't wait to welcome you to New Zealand during your detailed orientation in Auckland or Queenstown. We will go over everything you need to know to have a great time living, travelling, partying, and doing the huge range of adventure activities here in New Zealand. Don't miss out on anything around, like finding the right accommodation for you; we have all the tips you need. It is a very fun and informative session and a great way to get together with travellers like you and share your experience. Of course, we have great tips about Auckland and Queenstown too, we are living here after all...
With surge protection!
Because power is important for all those little things like your laptop or e-book, this adaptor converts USA, UK, Japanese and European power plugs for use in New Zealand and Australia.
If you don't know the meaning of "travelling light", then use the free luggage storage in your hostel!
There is nothing worse than losing your documents while travelling.
That's why every document you will send us will be stored on our secure servers.
In case you lose them, we will give you a digital or physical copy in no time and help you recover or reissue them.
It helps a hell of a lot for renewing your passport, for example.
We are nice people, not Big Brother, when you leave the country, we'll ask you if you want us to delete your documents from our database.
At 328 metres, it is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and offers breathtaking views for up to 80 kilometres in every direction.
Your entry includes:
We have negotiated the best deals with the major travel companies in New Zealand.
From a simple museum ticket to a year-long bus pass, we went everywhere to get the best deal from each company in New Zealand.
Not only have we worked out the best price, we've also tested them to give you our objective view of their services.
Because you're already a Working Holiday Starter member, we will make sure that you get the best deal available.
We can't highlight it enough: WE ARE HERE FOR YOU.
Whatever you need, our funky team will do its best to help. We are your reliable contact down here in New Zealand.
If you're looking for a flat, if you need medical attention in your language, if you want a tax refund, if you need tips to buy a car... just ask us.
We have the answers to your questions and if we don't, we'll surely know someone who will.
Party like it's the beginning of an awesome gap year! Oh wait, it is! A free voucher to either Auckland's Frenzi Bar Crawl or Queenstown's Big Night Out bar crawl is included with your Starter Pack. Relieve the stress of changing your lifestyle, break the ice with your new travel mates, and party!
Every Frenzi Bar Crawl or Big Night Out has some awesome inclusions and party games to win some New Zealand and Australia activity prizes.
With your Starter Pack you will get exclusive access to our specialised job vacancies board. This will allow you to browse and apply for many jobs in Auckland, Queenstown and elsewhere in New Zealand.
We make sure to have a variety of job roles on our job vacancies board in fields such as: Hospitality, Sales, Mechanics, Farm work, Fruit picking, Driving, Retail, Cleaners and more!
Browse pictures and read stories, testimonials and blogs of backpackers that were in your shoes a few months ago
Natural wonders, diverse landscapes, unique wildlife, welcoming inhabitants, and awesome adventure activities: no wonder New Zealand is such a highly praised backpacking country!
The working holiday visa is clearly the best way to immerse yourself in the true New Zealand culture and improve your English fast. Have a look at more great reasons to take a gap year here.
There are many reasons to choose us. With a 12-month membership with Working Holiday Starter, included in our Starter Pack, our experienced staff will to help you before you arrive in New Zealand and throughout your time here. Our job is to assist you in making your trip as smooth as possible - we are a bit like a concierge. With our Starter Pack, you will be ready to start travelling in New Zealand within three days of landing in Auckland or Queenstown, New Zealand. Or you can stay in Auckland/Queenstown for longer to socialise with your new backpacker friends, see more of the sights, or meet up with us again if you have further questions.
If and once you are ready to start finding a job, our New Zealand CV/resume advice and Auckland/Queenstown Orientation will prepare you to get the right job for you. You will also have the bank account and IRD number needed to get a job in New Zealand. On average, our Members get a job within two weeks of a serious job search.
Check out the widget above to see exactly what is included in the Starter Pack. If that looks good, check out how the Starter Pack works or simply get it now.
Most of our Members book their Starter Pack 2-3 months prior to departure, so we have plenty of time to work on their files, bookings and CV/resume. Simply put, get your visa first and then book your flight. As soon as you have done both of these, get your Starter Pack. For bookings that are less than three weeks in advance, you will have to contact us to ensure availability.