to do list after i arrive to new zealand, with a working holiday visa

i'm pretty sure you will arrive to nz by plane =) the airport is well linked to the city center and  you can catch a bus. the ticket is 16$ and you can buy it on board (cash), or online here. 

you also need a place to stay! 
i suggest you a hostel, at least for the first weeks, it's cheap and it will help you to meet a lot of people to share your adventure with. there are so many different hostels in nz, usually they are nice and cosy, the only big big big big problem is that they don't have a good internet connection and some hostels ask you to pay a fee to use internet. 
to find a hostel, go here:
 http://www.hostelworld.com
 http://www.hostelbookers.com
http://www.stayatbase.com
(i recommend you the newton lodge, auckland in cross street, cheap and clean -i've been living there for 5 months)
https://www.airbnb.com if you wanna rent a room in a flat, but prices are more like hotels
http://www.homestaybooking.com if you wanna live with a local family
http://www.aucklandhomestay.org/ same (family)

before you start looking for a room in a flat, i suggest you to wait. explore the city, see which are your favorite suburbs. The flats in the Auckland CBD are really small and expensive. You might have the chance of living in a beautiful house with garden, bbq and swimming pool, for the same price, but maybe 10 min by bus from your school or workplace. backpackers live in the cbd usually, they have no idea that living out of the cbd is better and flats are much more better! that's why kiwis live far from the city.. they are not stupid, they enjoy what's around!!

You also need to open a bank account. Go to any bank you find on your way! conditions are pretty much the same. I have anz bank. 
The bank account is important if you want to work in nz, cause wages are paid through bank account. probably you will also pay your rent through the bank. and if you go to any shop, to buy anything, even something that costs 1$, you will probably pay with your card. cash are not popular in nz! remember the word EFTPOS, is how kiwis call BANCOMAT. 

If you want to work, you also need an IRD number. go to the post office to apply for it and you will receive it in a few weeks. You will pay tax with the ird number and in april you can check online if the amount of what you paid is right, or if you can receive a tax back.

You need a sim card!the main mobile companies are 2degrees, spark, skinny, vodafone. the sim card is free (some hostels will give you one) and you can buy a monthly combo to have calls/txt/data included. I use 2degrees and with 20$ per month I get unlimited txt, 500mb of data and 100 min of call (not sure about the calls, maybe are 60 min? don't know, I just txt)

You need a medical insurance, cause if anything happens, you need to pay for doctors, hospital, medicines and so on. A consultation with a general practitioner, for non resident, is about 80$. Medicines are more expensive for non resident. If you have a medical insurance, you will get a refound of your health expenses. I suggest you the southern chross. they have different options, for the different kind of visa.  

Last thing you need is to find a job! I will talk about this topic another time...

stay tuned =)