Packing it all in.

I am mildly neurotic about packing. So much so that on our last family vacation (to Tokyo Disney Resort) I packed everyone in coordinating outfits. We did well, and somehow managed to not bring TOO much stuff, but I am the Queen of Overpacking. So this time, despite the 14 days away from home, I'm making a concerted effort to pack light.

The first thing I wanted to do, since I'm still working on a list of clothes (for me and the kiddos, the Mister is on his own) is figure out what non-clothing items we need to bring. I started with a small, backpacker style first aid kit. We'll be doing some hiking, and we're driving through a country known for it's wide open spaces and remote byways. So here's what I put together!

This is a simple little mesh and fabric pouch I picked up at a Daiso 100 Yen store (basically a Japanese Dollar Store. Only far superior.) I also picked up 15 of those little tags; I have labelled everything for quick recognition. It's about 6"x8" (15x20 cm) and weighs .22 kilos, just under 8oz. It will fit nicely in my day pack or in the boy's CamelBak.

In the front pocket, I have some of the smaller, flat packed items. Clockwise from top left I have: alcohol swabs, insect repellent, adhesive bandages in a few sizes, wrapped tissue and q-tips, a hairband (in case my daughter needs it,) some breathe right strips and Alka Seltzer cold tabs.

In the "larger" pocket from upper left: OTC medicines (more to follow on those) scissors and tweezers, small containers of creams and ointments (more on those, too) and TheraFlu packs (we swear by this stuff. Tastes awful but it works!) Next there are some gauze pads, some feminine products, surgical tape and some small rolls of gauze.

PseudoEphedrine is illegal in New Zealand - I have made sure that all OTC medicines we take are allowed there. I don't have a lot of meds in here, and the point is not to last forever. I just want to make sure that if we have an illness or injury on the road or trail, that we can take care of ourselves until we can get to a drugstore or hospital. I have labelled all of the compartments with the names/dosages of all medicines. We are all "adult" sized for dosage purposes, so if you're traveling with little ones, take care. I have an anti-diarrheal, Tylenol, Tylenol Cold, Pepto, and Motrin. With the TheraFlu, that ought to cover everything.

Very last we come to my creams and ointments, all labelled. These little containers are really meant for soy sauces, but they work great for this. I have seen many storage methods (my favorite being straws) but these are cheap and disposable. The top left is a Triple Antibiotic Ointment, right is Hydrocortisone and on the bottom is some Anbesol. Hoping we have no need for any of this, but if we do I know we have it! Next item on my list is my laundry kit.

The plans have been laid.

We have an itinerary! First Light Travel (and Shelley) have been wonderful. We're only visiting the North Island of NZ this time, and I think we've managed to fit in everything we wanted to do. We'll be driving from Wellington to Auckland over 14 days, and staying in lovely hotels, motels and B&Bs on the way.

In Wellington, we'll be visiting Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand. They have a super cool looking exhibit on the history of contraception that I am completely jazzed about. It looks like a wonderful museum, so we're excited.

Then we get a LOTR locations tour! Cannot wait. So many Hobbit fans in our house. Leaving Wellington, we'll be heading to Tongariro national park to take the kids on some trail hikes (or "tramps," as the Kiwis call them) and hopefully getting some amazing landscape photos. Also Mt. Ngauruhoe - the mountain that played Mt Doom! Then on to lake Taupo for a jetboat ride and maybe some more hiking. I'm hoping to hit up Craters of the Moon Park. 

Hobbiton will be on the way to our next stop - Rotorua, where we'll be spending 3 days learning about the Maori culture, Kiwis (birds this time) and New Zealands geothermal landscapes. There's so great stuff for the kids here, too, like a luge ride with gorgeous views and the opportunity to Zorb down the mountainside. New Zealand is a haven for adventure travelers! Then on to Coromandel and a visit to Cathedral Cove and a glass bottom/snorkeling tour and some beach relaxing before we head to Auckland. We'll wind down here with some more marine sightseeing and a private tour of Waiheke Island (and wine tasting, which means wine buying for us!) before we head home to Tokyo. 

Two weeks is going to go by so quickly! I've started to think packing, so next up is my packing plan. How to take a family of four on a two week holiday with airline weight restrictions and making sure it all fits in the rental car trunk. Whew! We shall see!

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.

I have finally done it! I booked us the trip of a lifetime to see one of the places I have always wanted to go. Travel to New Zealand is always a long flight from pretty much anywhere as it is one of the most isolated countries in the world. But Air New Zealand flies direct from Tokyo, and I figured this would be the cheapest we'd ever see it. Getting to NZ from the States is a much taller order! (The same trip from San Antonio is twice as much and 26-29 hours of flying instead of the 11 hour direct flight we'll enjoy!)

I booked with First Light Travel, a NZ company specializing in Self Drive Tours. We'll be hiring a car (small SUV, really) and driving from Wellington to Auckland, stopping along the way to see the sights. Shelley at First Light has been wonderful. She'll book everything along the way and provide us with our itinerary, maps and travel guides to make our trip easy.  We just told her our must do's, our budget (the exchange rate is wonderful right now!) and where we wanted to go, and Shelley will handle the rest. I have a funny feeling Jason and I will be back another time to visit the South Island, as we only had two weeks this time, so we're sticking to the North.)

More to come as we get our itinerary figured out and I promise some of Jason's wonderful photography will be here when we go. I can't wait!