New Zealand

21st of January – 18th of April 2018

Our Route by car – Part 1

Our Video – Part 1

Our Route – Part 2

Our Video – Part 2

Our Route – Part 3

Our Video – Part 3

Our Route – Part 4

Our Video – Part 4

Days

6572

Kilometers Per Bike

6908

Euros For 2 People

290

Liters Of Petrol Per Bike

Dates Visited
21st of January – 18th of April 2018
Detailed Costs For 2 People And 2 Bikes
- 767 € petrol
- 448 € camping
- 47 € taxi and public transport
- 62 € entry fees
- 1398 € supermarket
- 309€ restaurant
- 481€ other things (laundry, gifts, medicaments, random stuff, cloths, petrol and oil for the car we could use for free)
- 1494 € import fees, inspection, crate delivery to our friend and insurance
- 448 € repairs, tyres, spare parts for the motorbikes
- 63 € SIM cards and data
- 114 € repair and maintenance of our gear
- 128 € new gear
- 260 € ferry from North Island to South Island and back
- 246 € flights from Auckland to Sydney
- 643 € shipping costs from Auckland to Sydney
Hights
Highest Point: 1362 m a.s.l

Lowest Point: 0 m a.s.l
Currency
New Zealand Dollars
Average Petrol Price
~ 1.3 Euros per liter
Sleeping Places
- 26x camping
- 15x wild camping
- 46x friends
Average Temperatures
Between 4 and 35 degrees
Road Conditions
The tarmac roads are good and most of the gravel roads have been in pretty good condition too.
Weather
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!
Apps / Websites

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
Health Issues

Xenia: none

Martin: none
Service / Work on the bikes
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

Problems / Breakdowns
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.
Paperwork

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.
Shipping

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.
Notable
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.
Important information
Here some very country specific information:

You can get discounts quite often if you ask for a cash price, when you buy spare parts or new gear

Vodafone is a good phone company to get a prepaid SIM card

Get yourself the free petrol stations discount cards, this way you can safe some money

Favourite Places To Sleep

Poolburn (Lord of the Ring set) wildcamp (-45.299006, 169.73622)
Tapotupotu Campsite (-34.43797, 172.71623)
Gentle Annie Seaside Campground (-41.521397,171.9382083)

Points of Interest

Cockles Kitchen & Bar in Picton, best freaking Seafood Chowder ever (-41.2888659,174.0050875)
Need crates for shipping? Go to Experience Motorcylce in Auckland (-36.8835305,174.7694761)
Go for a swim in the hot Kerosene Creek, its for free! (-45.2983328,169.7470033)