On the AT, we loved getting our mail drops. People sent us 40+ pieces of “mail magic” in the form of letters and packages. Obviously this is not going to happen in New Zealand. BUT, I am posting our mail drop locations as a reference for other TA hikers (see permanent tab labeled TA Mail Drops on top of page) and just in case anyone feels compelled to drop us a letter.
Sending mail drops to New Zealand isn’t as easy as it was on the AT in America. It doesn’t take long to arrive (6-10 days), but it is expensive to mail packages from the United States (USPS is the cheapest), so we are planning to bring 50 or so dehydrated meals and buy supplemental snacks/breakfast/lunch in Auckland and mail out resupply boxes from there. We heard we can get cardboard boxes from grocery stores and people let you borrow packaging tape (New Zealanders are so nice!!).
We are planning to do 5-6 mail drops and just resupply at the local (expensive) grocer/dairy in other places (this means we must be flexible with food choices!). We go through lots of “towns” on the North Island, but the South Island is more desolate, so that is where most of our mail drops will be. And they are to places of business, not post offices (as they were in the US). Some of these places charge us to hold packages!
North Island
* We have just one location where we will get mail and it is at a friend of a friend of a friend’s house in Te Awamutu. So in the interest of privacy, I won’t post his mailing address here. But, just to give you an idea of the cost of mailing, we mailed an 8 lb box and it came to $71!
South Island
Havelock Mail Drop – ETA Jan. 15
The La Vignes
℅ Bluemoon Lodge
48 Main Road Havelock
Blenheim 7100
New Zealand
St. Arnaud Mail Drop – ETA Jan. 30
The La Vignes
℅ Travers-Sabine Lodge
PO Box 15
State Highway 63
Nelson Lakes National Park
St. Arnaud 7053
New Zealand
Lewis Pass Mail Drop – ETA Feb. 10
The La Vignes
℅ Boyle River Outdoor Centre
Private Bag 55002
Orchard Road
Christchurch 8154
New Zealand
Arthus’s Pass – ETA Feb. 15
The La Vignes
℅ Mountain House
PO Box 12
Arthus’s Pass 7654
New Zealand
Lake Coleridge – ETA Feb. 20
The La Vignes
℅ Lake Coleridge Lodge
114 Hummocks Road
CMB 18
Lake Coleridge Village
RD2 Darfield
Canterbury 7572
New Zealand
