Below you'll find a list of everything I brought with me to New Zealand for our Working Holiday. I may be carrying too much stuff but I was packing for an entire, multi-seasonal yearlong trip. If your trip is different and/or shorter, you could potentially just use this as an outline. 

My Packs

1 65L REI Backpack and a smaller daypack.

Clothes, Etc.

• 3 solid colored v-neck shirts

• 1 long-sleeved scoop neck shirt

• 1 pair khaki shorts

• 1 pair running shorts

• 1 pair yoga pants

• 1 pair compression cropped leggings

• 1 pair Arc'teryx all-round trekking pants.

• 1 long-sleeved thermal shirt

• 1 pair waterproof snow gloves

• 1 Buff

• 1 one-piece swimsuit

• 1 sunhat

• 1 rash guard shirt for wearing over swimsuit while snorkeling or (fingers crossed) learning to surf

• 1 dress with belt

• UNIQLO Ultralight down jacket (I have a green one of these that's a few years old). The best feature is the compression sack it comes with that makes it pack up super small.

• Rain jacket and plastic poncho. The rain jacket is for cold, rainy days. The plastic poncho takes up hardly any space in my little pack in case I go somewhere and get caught in a rainstorm.

• 1 pair tie-dye pajama shorts (v-necks double as pajama tops)

• 4 bras

• 5 pairs Ex Officio underwear

• Socks: 2 pairs long, 2 pairs crew cut, 2 pairs ankle length. I love Point 6 socks.

• 2 Pairs of footwear: 1 pair of Chaco's and 1 pair of GORETEX Ecco boots. Chaco's are the sturdiest, best walking sandals I've ever owned.

^All of the clothes rolled up and packed in Eagle Creek Compression Cubes.

Toiletries

• Liquids

  • Travel-sized Dr. Bronner's liquid soap.

  • Travel-sized contact solution

  • 2 reusable 3 oz. squeeze bottles: one with aloe, one with an everyday moisturizer

  • Small bottle of lavender essential oil for stinky hostel dorm rooms. (Very useful!!)

  • Allergy eye drops

  • Tiger Balm pain relief ointment

  • 1% Hydrocortisone Cream for bug bites

• Non-liquids

  • Home-made dry shampoo

  • 30 SPF sunscreen stick

  • Solid shampoo bar from Lush so that shampoo didn’t take up room in my liquids bag. Their stuff smells so nice and works well, too. Keep them in a separate pouch or container like one of their tins, though, because they come apart a little with use.

  • IPSAB Tooth Powder. Hard to get used to when you're accustomed to paste. But it lasts forever.

  • Aluminum-free deodorant stick

  • A razor

  • Toothbrush and holder

  • Floss

  • Small hairbrush and a wide-toothed comb

  • Cotton swabs

  • 30 SPF Sunscreen stick

  • Ben's insect repellent wipes. Has worked wonders on the notorious New Zealand sandflies, as well as mosquitoes.

  • A box of tampons

  • A small manicure set (had the complete thing for ages until I went through security in Melbourne, AUS last week and they made me throw the nail scissors out).

First Aid/Medicine

• Bandages in varying sizes

• 1 small roll of gauze

• 1 small roll of tape

• A few individually packaged alcohol wipes

• Polysporin

• A small assortment of over the counter pills for motion sickness, cold & flu, headaches/pain, indigestion, and allergies.

• Some women's probiotic supplements and iron supplements. The former for general feminine health on the road and the latter for when our vegetarian diet is severely lacking iron.

• Prescribed traveler's diarrhea antibiotics (I will never not have some just in case after accidentally having a smoothie made with ice in Panama...)

Tech Gear

• Headphones for listening to music, headphone splitter to share music/movies

• My brother's old LG G2 smartphone* +case +charger

• Samsung Series 3 Chromebook +charger

• GoPro Hero4 Silver +case +spare batteries +extra memory card +charger +mounts
  +Warrantech 3 year accident protection plan

• Canon PowerShot SX510 HS* +charger +extra memory cards

• An all-in-one power converter and adapter.

  
  *carried by Emmett in his pack

Everything Else

• Sample-sized eco-nut detergent. I have also just used Dr. Bronner's for sink laundry because it's all-purpose.

• A Turkish bath towel which folds down pretty small and dries really quickly (like overnight). Also can work as a sarong. I also brought the smallest-sized pack towel.

• Glasses +case / Old pair of glasses as backup

• Sunglasses

• Contacts +case / Six months of spares

• Mask & snorkel

• Reusable water bottle

• Enamelware camp mug

• This mealkit. It's got a bowl, plate, strainer/cutting board, cup, and sporknife all nested up in a tupperware that packs well. Perfect for camping or a poorly-stocked hostel kitchen (of which I have encountered many).

• Small flashlight

• Two books, a journal, three pens, a highlighter, two small gluesticks, and a thin notebook.

• Needles and thread

• Small lock & key for hostel dorm lockers

• In-Transit/Dorm Sleeping Essentials: Inflatable pillow, multiple pairs of ear plugs, & a sleep mask.

• Sleeping bag liner

• Bra Wallet: A perfect stash for small bills & a few cards if you're worried about pickpockets or don't have pockets on your clothes.

• Shark Waterproof Digital Retro Watch From 2013-2016 I had the green one. I got this blue one just before New Zealand. These watches are so useful because you can wear them all the time, keep track of two times at once (US time & NZ time for me), have a stopwatch, and two alarms

General Packing Advice:

• Pro tip: wear the clunkiest shoes (the boots) on your flight to save space.

• Shout out to male readers: Better than men's Ex Officio, Emmett prefers these UNIQLO ultra lightweight boxer briefs.

• Another Emmett recommendation that I second: liquid bandage. Perfect for small abrasions on the go. You can seal a cut and disinfect it all at once.

• Some other stuff that we've picked up along the way and used: a lighter, sweaters, a permanent marker for hitching signage, a small jar candle (even more effective than the lavender oil at combating stink hostels), culinary herbs & spices, and a pair of KEDS for me when I don't feel like wearing sandals or boots.

A year after arriving in New Zealand, we went to Australia for another Working Holiday. Find out what I packed for my Aussie Hol here.