New Zealand
21st of January – 18th of April 2018
21st of January – 18th of April 2018
Days
Kilometers Per Bike
Euros For 2 People
Liters Of Petrol Per Bike
21st of January – 18th of April 2018
Highest Point: 1362 m a.s.l
Lowest Point: 0 m a.s.l
New Zealand Dollars
~ 1.3 Euros per liter
Between 4 and 35 degrees
The tarmac roads are good and most of the gravel roads have been in pretty good condition too.
New Zealand can be hot and sunny in summer (nov-feb) specially on the North Island but you can also get a lot of rain, specially on the South Island. There are always chances for some tropical storms on the North Island and on the South Island it is possible to get snow in high areas in spring and autumn. We had pretty good weather on the North Island but in the South it was raining a lot as we were there in March. We also had some very cold and wet days, therefore bring some warm cloths and good rain gear!
Here some apps and webpages we think are usefull for travelling overland to this country
App: WikiCamps New Zealand, Gaspy – NZ Fuel Prices
Websites: Kiwi Motorcycle Rentals, Best Biking Roads, Kiwi Biker Forum
Xenia: none
Martin: none
XTR: oil change and new oil filter, new tyres (Heidenau K60 Scouts), new rear break pads, new wheel and sprocket bearings, cleaning the air filter, new battery
XTZ: oil change and new oil filter, new water pump seals, new tyres (Heidenau K60 Scouts), new rear break pads, new wheel and sprocket bearings, new head bearings, cleaning the air filter
XTZ: after the engine run too hot before we shipped the bike from India to New Zealand, we found out that the water pump was leaking and therefore all water was gone. This requierd a service for the water pump, which we could do very cheap with the help of a mechanic (and now we know how to do by ourselfs).
XTR: the front wheel had all of a sudden a wobble but we could not really find the problem (see Australia infos for the answer to that mistery). The battery died and needed a replacement (after 5 years).
Lost: Somehow Xenia lost the key of the XTR (lucky us, we carry a spare) and we needed a new one (really expensive as it has a magnetic code).
Other: The by far biggest problem we had in New Zealand was, that our bikes arrived with one month (!!!) delay. Lucky us we could borrow a car from a very nice Kiwi and therefore could explore the North Island for a while by car.
Visa: We needed a visa, which we got when entering the country and it was valid for 3 month. There is a way to extend this when already in the country. Important: In many cases you need to be able to proofe that you leave the country in those 3 months.
Carnet de Passage: Not everyone needs a CPD to get their bikes in but most.
Insurance: Insurance is included in the registration, which you have to do with the VTNZ. Fill out the form for “Registration for visitors overseas vehicle” (MR2c). You can choose if you need 3/6 or 12 months.
Into New Zealand
Our motorbikes arrived with a massive delay in New Zealand which was very sad as we lost more than a month to travel around with the bikes. Therefore make sure you do not ship from India. Flying from Nepal is a much better option.
To get the bikes into New Zealand they have to go through a quarantine check which is very, very strict. The bikes need to look like new and the check everywhere. They dont take stuff apart but really have a good look. Same thing goes with everything that you have in the same crates like tent, gear and so on.
You need to get your Carnet stamped before you can get the bikes out, thats something you can do even before the bikes arrive and is really easy. You can do it yourself and won’t need an agent. As soon as you have your bike, you have to bring it to the VTNZ to register it, which includes getting an insurance. They also make a road worthy test, so make sure your indicators, lights and so on work and your bike is in good shape (tyres, breaks and so on).
Out of New Zealand
We decided to ship the bikes again from Auckland by ship to Sydney and found a really good agent (Matt Ching freightops@customs-services.co.nz). He helped us with everything and made a really good price for us to ship the bikes. The crates we got for free from Experience Motorcylce in Auckland and we made them as small as possible to safe money. They got picked up at the place we stayed and we had nothing to worry about.
New Zealanders or Kiwis as they call themselfs, are pretty relaxed people, that take a little while to open up but are very friendly and helpful.
Here some very country specific information:
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