We are finally going to the South Island!
 

Thank you all for your help with our impending trip to the SI.
We leave LAX on the 16th of Feb. and will be back home (CT) on April 30th.
All our traveling will be by Intercity bus and train. Some of the questions we still have are as follows:
What is the most economical method of obtaining and using a cell phone?
Are there places that have free wi fi? Here in the states we can always go to McDonalds or Starbucks.
Since we will be staying in apartments or studios and we plan not to eat every night in restaurants, suggestions for take away places and supermarkets would be appreciated.
However, if you do have any favorite restaurants in Christchurch,Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura, Blenhheim, Nelson,Moteuka, Nelson, Punakaiki, Wanaka, Queenstown, Te Anau, Dunedin, we will keep them in mind.
Our accommodations and transportation as well as some tours are taken care of. We are soliciting ideas on the best way to pay for incidental expenses.Which would be better, credit card or ATM machines, or is there another way?
Are there any tours or places not to be missed that are near the cities on our trip? We will be staying as long as a week in some of the places and we are not averse to renting a car for a day or two.

Again, we thank you for any suggestions you can give us.

I'm not sure how savvy you are technology-wise, but my husband was able to "hack" his iPhone and buy a sim card for it in NZ at a Vodaphone shop. We were able to use it for the internet and use it as a phone for our entire 22 day trip for about $50. The only time we were unable to connect to wi-fi was in the Catlins. We used a lot of data as we were downloading large maps and used it for all of our navigation (except in the Catlins, had to use an atlas there). We found that many places like coffee shops and the hostels/hotels we stayed at had wi-fi. We would download a map before we set off to the next town as internet connection on the road was often hit-or-miss.

Our favorite restaurant of our trip was Redcliff in Te Anau. The bakery in Kaikoura was excellent.

We had no difficulties finding cash machines. We used our card for bigger purchases and kept cash handy for smaller purchases.

Have a great trip, wow, 2.5 months--I'm envious!

If you find yourself in Mapua (between Nelson and Motueka) The Naked Bun is an excellent bakery. The Mapua Smokehouse has hot smoked salmon take away (my spouse loved it).

You're staying in Christchurch? You know about all the damage with respect to the earthquakes and ongoing aftershocks?

Look for New World Supermarkets,they are the best. If you're in an area that has farm stands or even 'honor boxes' they'll be a better deal than supermarkets. In small towns you may find old fashioned butchers and fish stores which can be a good deal. Farmers markets are listed

Eating out is quite expensive. Sandwiches, fish & chips, pizza and pies are the less costly restaurant items. In larger cities like Dunedin you can find cafes with prepared items to go, if you don't feel like cooking. New World also has prepared meals.

Menumania is one of the websites with restaurant listings,
here's one with my favorite cafe in Dunedin
http://www.menumania.co.nz/restauran...l-cafe-dunedin

Forgot to include the farmer's market website

http://www.farmersmarkets.org.nz/

click Market Locations

I think buying an unlocked phone before you go is a good suggestion, if you can't do it with what you already have. Throwaway phones are not a good value there. You could also buy a phone card. Dick Smith is a big discount electronics store.