Camping was the top accommodation choice
Budget travel across Australia and New Zealand. Including all expenses such as food, drink, and other necessities, his average daily cost in Australia was 178 yuan, and in New Zealand, it was 214 yuan (including a 2,500-yuan skydive). His 35-day trip across Australia and New Zealand cost a total of 20,955 yuan, which also includes the cost of round-trip airfare of over 8,000 yuan.
However, such budget travel comes at a cost. Li Rui hitchhiked, had his tent blown away by a helicopter, and spent most of his time sleeping in a tent, boiling water and cooking for himself daily, even bathing in public toilets. Although life was tough, he experienced a different kind of journey and way of life.
Travel
Bike repairs: minor issues cost over 600 yuan
On January 7, 2012, Li Rui finally obtained his visas for Australia and New Zealand and embarked on this fantastical journey.
For this cycling trip, Li Rui chose to start from Melbourne, traveling along the eastern coast of mainland Australia all the way to Sydney, covering over 1,000 kilometers on the Australian continent. He then flew from Sydney to Christchurch, the capital of New Zealand’s South Island, and cycled around the South Island centered on Christchurch, covering over 1,650 kilometers.
Regarding air tickets, Li Rui specifically mentioned that he often followed online information about cheap flights. However, the three flights—from Chengdu to Melbourne, then Sydney to Christchurch, and finally back to Chengdu—cost him a total of 8,477 yuan, making them the biggest expense of the trip.
Riding abroad meant the entire journey revolved around cycling. On the fourth day in Australia, Li Rui’s bicycle broke down, and replacing the chainring cost him 105 Australian dollars (exchange rate 1:6.5). “The prices in Australian sports supermarkets are ridiculously high—almost everything is Made in China, but the prices are generally six times higher than in China.” Due to the bike trouble, Li Rui also took a short train ride, but transporting bikes on Australian trains is very convenient, with the first carriage being a luggage car where you can simply place large items.
Accommodation
Camping preferred, showers mostly “borrowed”
To save on costs, Li Rui mostly arranged his own accommodation. “Actually, towns in Australia always have parks, and public toilets are quite ‘luxurious’—toilet paper is a must, there might be hand soap, and you can even take a shower there.” “These places are very quiet after 7 pm, and it’s hard to see anyone. So every evening I’d head to a small town and choose a relatively hidden campsite not far from a public toilet. I’d boil water and cook on the park’s picnic tables, and once I’d eaten and it got dark, I’d quickly set up camp, living a life of rising with the sun and resting at sunset.” Li Rui revealed that to avoid trouble, he’d pack up before 7 am. “After all, the signs clearly state that illegal camping leads to a 100-Australian-dollar fine.”
The downside of setting up camp yourself is charging electronics like phones and cameras. “Especially the phone—aside from using internet calls to contact friends back home, my route plans and marked locations were all on it.” As a result, Li Rui had to spend money staying at a youth hostel or paid campsite every 2–3 days.
Paid campsites are obviously more convenient: they have laundry rooms and showers. “Although the laundry room has coin-operated washing machines and dryers, I still stuck to the budget travel spirit of doing things myself. After washing, I’d tie one end of a rope to a tree and the other to the bike handlebar, then hang all my clothes, quilts, rain covers, and so on on the rope.” Li Rui explained.
Food
Bring your own pots and cook over a fire
“My philosophy is to use the least amount of money to go to the most places.” The cost of living in Australia and New Zealand isn’t cheap. Aside from milk, where you can get 2 liters for 10 yuan, almost everything else is 5 to 6 times the price of Chengdu. For example, Li Rui’s favorite drink, cola, costs 4 Australian dollars for a 500ml bottle. To save money, Li Rui often had to fend for himself.
During his first solo camping trip, Li Rui heated up the dry rations he brought from China with rainwater. “It wasn’t delicious by any means, but it gave me a simple hot meal.”
Throughout the Australia and New Zealand trip, Li Rui often cooked for himself, but the wide variety of ingredients in supermarkets left him puzzled. Once, after circling the supermarket several times with no idea what to do, Li Rui called a friend for help. Eventually, with the help of his friend and social media, he decided to make spaghetti.
Since the campsite didn’t have gas, he had no choice but to use a microwave to cook the spaghetti by boiling it. “The taste was really bad.” The hardships of the journey are easy to imagine. At one point, so hungry he could barely see, he even drank the chili oil straight from a bottle of Lao Gan Ma. “I often dream of Chengdu’s hotpot restaurants, skewer shops, Sichuan cuisine, barbecue spots, and all-you-can-eat buffets, getting so lost in those dreams I couldn’t wake up—even with three different alarms going off.”