** The Official NZ FAQ Thread** Bike hire, trip planning, NZ info etc look here first

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the "Official NZ FAQ thread".

In this thread you will find answers to commonly asked questions such as:

1. [post=16541482]Where to rent bikes in NZ.[/post]
2. [post=16541485]Importing Bikes into NZ[/post] either temporarily and permanently.
3. [post=16541706]Rego, Wof, insurance and licenses[/post]
4. [post=16545420]The Ride. How to find your way around NZ[/post]
5. [post=16545451]Riding in NZ - Tips & General Info[/post]
6. [post=16545486]Route Recommendations - North Island[/post]
7. [post=16545525]Route Recommendations - South Island[/post]
8. [post=16548993]Immigration[/post]
9. [post=16707909]Flying vandals?[/post]
10. [post=16763857]Freighting bikes to/from NZ[/post]
11. [post=17693357]What kind of weather to expect and what to wear[/post]

and.. some other cool stuff... that someone else will do... Like:

1. Great places to stay,
2. Great places to eat.
3. Our favorite rides.
4. Ride ideas for a few days, weeks or a month.

If you would like to contribute to the FAQ and maintain a topic please add a post, if you're not a contributor please hold fire until we get the first dozen posts up and running thanks.

If you have a specific question that you'd like to ask, feel free to PM any of the contributors in the FAQ thread. Great questions are just as welcome as frequently asked ones.

There are several companies that rent motorcycles in NZ.

To find them you could Google: "NZ motorbike rentals", or search the yellow pages for motorcycle rentals.

A couple of better known companies that rent bikes are:

http://www.aucklandmotorbikehire.com/

http://www.nzbike.com/

http://www.gotournz.com/

http://www.citymotorcyclerentals.com/

http://www.motorcyclesnewzealand.co.nz

http://www.nzmotorcyclerentals.com/

South Pacific Motorcycle Rentals

http://www.garners.co.nz/

http://www.adventurebikehire.nz/

Start here: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/importing/index.html

There are a number of steps to follow when importing a vehicle.

There is a difference between importing temporarily vs permanently.

For a temporary import you can get a Carnet. You pay a bond (roughly the equivalent to the value of GST which is 15%) and can keep the bike in the country for up to 1 year. If you sell the bike or do not remove it from the country, you forfeit the bond.

If you import a bike permanently, GST is charged on the purchase price of the bike + the cost of freight + the price of insurance on your freight.

If you have owned the bike for 12 months or more before importing it, you can avoid the GST. If you've owned it for less than 12 months the GST amount is pro-rated.

If you have paid for the importation, there is no obligation or restriction on you to stop you from selling it.

In both cases the bike must meet the roadworthy standards in NZ.

Ok, so what does all this cost?

Be warned there are lots of little fees and costs along the way bringing a bike in. In addition to the freight price, You may also have to pay

• Port handling fees
• MAF clearance and inspection
• Cleaning fees
• Customs or duties (Taxes)

This does not include the process of getting the bike on the road. This may include:

• Brake certification
• Repair inspection
• Registration of a new vehicle
• Road tax and a
• Warrant of Fitness.
• Insurance

For a permanent import you will need to register the bike. To do this you will need the brakes inspected and certified. If it has been accident damaged it will need to be inspected by a certified inspector to ensure that the repairs are up to standard.

For a short term visit (less than a month) it is typically cheaper to rent a bike.

edit: There's a good thread discussing the costs and expenses you could expect and wether it's worth doing here: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=702718

Rego, Wof and insurance and licenses

The Ride. How to find your way around NZ, Books Maps & Resources

Currently available in print & also as an ebook, is Mike Hyde's:
http://www.twistingthrottle.com/twisting-throttle-new-zealand.html
The 50 ride recommendations, including adv routes, are more than enough to keep most moto tourists amused for many weeks.

100 Top Rides, by Peter Mitchell, published by Hema Maps. This is now out of print but if you can beg, borrow or steal a copy it's a great resource. It has some good general info for the traveler, all of the popular biking roads highlighted & described including adventure routes & an ok set of maps covering all of NZ.

Paper Maps: For back road exploring I use the NZ Automobile Association 1:300000 (North Is) / 1:350000 (South Is) sheet maps as they have most road names listed. There are about 15 covering the different regions. These are a handy size, are cheap, or free if you are a member of an allied motoring organization anywhere & are available at any NZ AA office; found in most larger towns. The AA also have a book version of these maps & other map books with a similar level of detail are available at bookshops.

For the next level of detail if you are getting seriously adventurous you go to the 1:50000 topo maps from Land Information NZ (the government survey office): http://www.linz.govt.nz/topography/index.aspx The new Topo50 series has recently been released.
Paper copies are on sale at most bookshops & Department of Conservation offices & several digital versions covering the whole country at various scales are also available, eg. MapToaster or Memory Map or see the WAMS link below for a good online version.

Be aware that as with any maps, the presence of a road on paper does not mean that a) it actually exists in reality or b) you are allowed to ride on it. An excellent resource for finding out what is a public road or not is the Walking Access Mapping System or WAMS which shows public roads, public land boundaries, access easements & walking tracks overlaid on quick loading, searchable & easily navigable maps down to 1:50 000 & aerial photo detail.

GPS Maps: For free searchable, routable street maps for Garmin GPS units check out the NZ Open GPS Project: http://nzopengps.org/ As these are updated constantly by users they are probably more accurate than anything you can buy. There is also good info on the Open GPS site about topo maps for your GPS if you need more detail.

The Open Street Maps OsmAnd app & maps work fairly well for Android devices & are available from the Google play store.

More adventure route resources:

A keen local adventurer has put together an excellent website with a database of great South Island gravel & offroad routes (plus a few in the North) at: http://www.remotemoto.com/ This is a really good resource with lots of info, maps, pics & GPS tracks in a very easy to use format. There is a big variety of tracks on the list from easy to gnarly. It's well worth the effort to sign up. As well as the routes Remotemoto also has lots of other cool stuff like gear reviews & articles on many aspects of adv bikes & riding.

Josh who built RemoteMoto has also just launched a new website - New Zealand Adventure Riders which is very nicely put together & has a wealth of general info on riding in NZ.

Another local website with a bunch of routes & info for the adv rider is: http://www.adventureridingnz.co.nz/ This site also has North Island routes.

The WikiLoc app has a bunch of GPS tracks for lots of trails around NZ. Some of the info is a bit sketchy though so check on here if you're not sure.

Here on ADV glitch_oz has put together a bunch of excellent recommended NZ Adv touring routes in his NZ Addiction thread and oldbeer & co have a bunch more great ride ideas in the Top to Bottom Route thread

4wd guides:
4WD North Island; 80 Off Road Adventures by Andy Cockroft
4WD North Island; 91 Back Country Adventures by Andy Cockroft
4WD South Island - Vol 1, 107 Off Road Adventures by Mark Wilson & Ken Sibly
4WD South Island - Vol 2, 93 New Off Road Adventures by Mark Wilson & Ken Sibly
4WD South: 115 Off Road Adventures by Mark Wilson
All published by Shoal Bay Press

Stories From Our Back Roads South Island by Ray Stone
Stories From Our Back Roads North Island by Ray Stone
These are much more recent 4wd guidebooks with lots of great route ideas & info. Published by David Bateman Ltd

The 4WD guidebooks provide a wealth of ideas for the intrepid adventurer. These books have a big variety of tracks listed, described & rated for difficulty, from easy gravel roads through to serious extreme enduro country. There is some crossover with the adv routes recommended in the MC Atlas & some of the info in the earlier books is getting a bit out of date. However these books are still well worth it, particularly for those with plenty of time to take in all the little side trips listed that you would probably not find otherwise, or those looking for more challenging riding.

The Lonely Planet Cycling New Zealand Guide was recently recommended to me by some experienced moto-travelers as a great resource for finding interesting roads & nice campsites.

The Campermate app has listings of most campsites incl DOC & free spots along with a bunch of other useful POI's. Be aware that a lot of visitors use this so that free campsite shown near any major tourist area will likely be crammed wall to wall with backpacker vans during the peak season.

The Department of Conservation: Many of the interesting tracks in NZ cross public land administered by DoC. DoC have a website http://www.doc.govt.nz/ & many information centres around NZ but the amount of information available about off road routes can vary greatly, some regions expend more ink telling you where you can't go than anything else, others like the Waitaki district have an excellent guide to their 4x4 tracks.
& finally there is this forum. We like helping out visitors so if you have any questions please start a new thread & fire away, but please help us out. If you've got 1 week in NZ don't just ask us what the must see/do things are, you haven't even got time to scratch the surface in a week, we need to narrow it down; tell us the kind of stuff you enjoy doing & seeing, what sort of riding you want to do, what kind of places you like to stay etc.

Cheers
Clint

Riding in NZ

This NZTA guide gives a summary of the differences you may face riding in NZ. (Although you may want to ignore the part about avoiding gravel roads where possible!) We ride on the left, we have lots of small roads etc. For some more detail also check out the official Motorcycle Road Code

Here are a few other random tips & bits of info to assist the rider new to NZ:

The open road speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour, or about 60mph. On the nations main highways & major roads this is policed to an irrationally strict level, especially on the open straight bits & passing lanes where a little over the limit is no danger to anyone. All of Highway One is a prime hunting ground for the revenue collectors. Police patrol cars are usually Skoda Superb wagons in white, blue or red with yellow & blue markings. Highway patrol also use unmarked cars. Also watch for speed camera vans parked on the side of the road.

Tourists. Yes, in many areas you won't be the only one looking at the scenery instead of the road. Trouble is the others might have forgotten where they are supposed to be going & which side of the road they are supposed to drive on. It is not unusual to come around a corner in some scenic areas & find a campervan stopped in the middle of the road. Watch out for random maneuvers near intersections & scenic lay bys.

Keep left! Especially on the unmarked & gravel back roads. Most of our scenic back roads serve as access to forests & farms so while there may be almost no traffic it is prudent to imagine a full size, fully loaded, truck & trailer coming around every blind corner.

Animals. Rural NZ roads are often a veritable zoo of free range cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, goats, turkeys & the odd deer to name just a few. Sheep in particular can be rather suicidal; keep an eye out for things lurking in the verges, slow right down if animals are present & give them plenty of space. If a farmer is droving stock down the road give them as much space as possible, if they are going in the opposite direction & space is limited it is usually best to move as far to one side as possible, stop, & turn off the bike until they have passed.

Cook Strait Ferry: There are two ferry companies crossing between the North & South Islands; Bluebridge http://www.bluebridge.co.nz & Interislander www.interislander.co.nz The crossing takes 3-4 hours. The strait itself can be a very rough stretch of water so lash your bike down well with the rope supplied or take some good tie down straps if you can't do knots.

Route Recommendations follow. Before doing anything labeled 'Gnarly' ask for local advice, or start a thread on here to get some info. The gnarly routes will need some combination of a light bike, knobbly tyres, dry weather, navigational ability & riding skillz.

Cheers
Clint

Route Recommendations - North Island

These are currently just a few off the top of my head, others will have far more knowledge of some areas, so if you want to revise & expand on an area's rides, please post up in this thread & I will paste in your contribution.

Northland. There is some great riding North of Auckland, especially if you enjoy the blacktop as much as the dirt. Simply hugging the coast up one side & back down the other yields a pretty good ride. The section through the huge Kauri trees of the Waipoua Forest is not to be missed. At the top you can ride 90 mile beach, actually closer to 90 km & usually fairly easy going for any bike.

Coromandel. Simple. Ride the lot. Hwy 25 which loops around the peninsula is a superb road ride, then you have the gravel, the 309 road & Tapu- Coroglen road crossing over the ranges & the roads up either side to the tip will also put a grin on your face. If you like beaches the eastern side of the Coromandel is for you.

East Coast. If continuing on from Coromandel with time to spare it is a good idea to divert down to Rotorua via the Pyes Pa Rd, then continue east around the lakes on Hwy 30. Gas up at Opotiki before heading out on Hwy 35 around East Cape, this is one of the islands finest road rides, 300+ km of scenic twisty goodness. Beware of wandering farm animals & rugged tarmac. From Gisborne you can return north via Hwy 2 & the Waioeka Gorge, another great road ride, adventurous riders should turn off part way at Matawai for the steep, narrow, rugged gravel of the old Motu Road.
Otherwise take the inland route through to Wairoa. From there the intrepid rider can & should head back west via 100km of gravel & Lake Waikaremoana in the native forest of the Urewera National Park. Alternately staying on Hwy 2 down the coast will treat you to more twisty fun on the way to Napier.

West Coast. The edge of the island south of Auckland is the place for those who want to get off the beaten track. Sticking to the coast as much as possible down to the surf town of Raglan, on to the fishing villages of Kawhia then Marokopa gives a scenic & varied route with plenty of interesting gravel roads & isolated beaches. From Awakino the coast road is all blacktop but still a great ride down to New Plymouth & around Mt Taranaki to Wanganui. The web of inland gravel roads down through this area are also worthy of exploration, particularly the likes of the Moki & Kiwi roads with their tunnels.

Central NI. From the volcanoes at the Island's centre the best options, depending on direction, are:
East, head over the Napier Taihape Rd, almost all blacktop now but a fine ride with little traffic over the hills to Hawke's Bay.
North-West, take Kakaho Rd from the western shore of Lake Taupo through the majestic Pureora Forest.

West. Tackle the gnarly 42 Traverse if you dare, then go to Tauramanui & on down the curvy delights of Highway 43 to Whangamomona & it's legendary pub. The Old Whangamomona Rd is a gnarly option starting out the back of the pub. At National Park Village Fishers Track is another neat mildly gnarly route.

South. The scenery & history of the Whanganui River Road make it the first choice but the twisty tar of Highway 4 & the gravel of the Whangaehu & Turakina Valleys are all good rides too.

South East. Linking together all the coastal backroads down the East Coast from Napier makes for a good ride. The all tarmac run down through Porangahau, Wimbledon & Pongaroa is fantastic, be sure to stop in at some of the character filled pubs along the way. The many gravel diversions out to the coast are also good.

South. The road out to Cape Palliser is very interesting & worth the return trip from Lake Ferry. The section of Highway 2 over the Rimutaka hill is good twisty tarmac fun. Heading over to the other side of the island the tarmac but very narrow & twisty Akatarawa Rd provides a cool alternate route into Wellington between Waikanae & the Hutt Valley

Inmate Oldbeer has drawn up an excellent backcountry discovery route to take the adventurer though a bunch of interesting roads from Whanganui to Wellington. It is described in this thread

Cheers
Clint

Route Recommendations - South Island

As with the north, post up a revised paragraph for your area if you can expand on the below info.

Many routes in the south are affected by snow in winter, usually only briefly in the case of main roads, but some of the adventure routes will be shut for the winter.

Nelson Marlborough. It’s all good really.

Road riders will enjoy the twisty Queen Charlotte Drive from Picton to Havelock, the Takaka Hill over to Golden Bay & the Buller Gorge out to the West Coast are all pretty good.

Highway One down to Kaikoura & a ways south is really fun as is the twisty bumpy inland road past Mt Lyford.

On the dirt side, around the Marlborough sounds there is the road east out of Picton to Port Underwood & Rarangi, & the fine views of the road to French Pass. From Golden Bay the dead end road out around Whanganui Inlet on the West Coast is a good one for those who like to get off the beaten path. For the keen gravel rider heading south-west take the gnarly Porika Track from the Howard Valley to Lake Rotoroa, then the cruisy Braeburn Track to Murchison, then the Maruia Saddle Road out to Highway 65.

The gravel junkie can also head south via either the easy Molesworth, from the Awatere Valley, or the rougher Rainbow from near St Arnaud, both ending up at Hanmer Springs. Both these tracks are seasonally closed & a fee may apply so check first with the Hanmer Springs info centre or DOC website.

West Coast.
The road ride down Highway 6 is rated as one of the best in the world for good reason. The dead end side trip up to Karamea on Highway 67 is also well worth doing. If you like it gnarly turn off at New Creek in the Buller Gorge & head out to Denniston on the pylon road. There is also a maze of gnarly old gold mining tracks to explore in the Reefton area.

At the southern end of the coast it is a nice side trip out to the end of the line at the Cascade River. The Haast Pass over into Otago is another great road ride.

Canterbury.
Both the Lewis Pass & Arthurs pass are good scenic road rides. The detour off Highway 73 to Lake Coleridge & the Rakaia Gorge is a nice gravel diversion. Banks Peninsula is not to be missed with a network of twisty & scenic tar & gravel roads. Lees Valley in the hills behind Rangiora is a great ride but there is a potentially gnarly river crossing to be negotiated. Traveling south from Christchurch, avoid Highway One, follow the signs for the Inland Scenic Route.

Mackenzie Country etc
All of Highway 8 down into Otago is a nice road ride. Take the short side trip up to the Mt John observatory at Tekapo for a twisty hillclimb & great views.
For some gravel, from Burkes Pass on Highway 8 head over the Mackenzie Pass then either down the Hakataramea Valley Road (the ‘Haka Track’) or down to Black Forest Station on the edge of Lake Benmore where for a small fee you can ride the very scenic pylon track down to the Benmore Dam. Once in the Waitaki Valley the dirt traveler can continue south via Danseys Pass to Naseby, or from Omarama over the mildly gnarly Omarama Saddle Track to St Bathans.

Otago – Fiordland
Lots of great road riding in this area, standouts are the Crown Range from Wanaka to Queenstown, Glenorchy to Kinloch on the Lake Wakatipu shore & the spectacular Milford Sound Road. Out on the East Coast the Otago Peninsula is a neat twisty side trip.

Dirt/Gravel: The Thomson Gorge Road is a neat crossing from Omakau in the Maniototo over to Bendigo towards Wanaka. Good side trips out of Queenstown include the Skippers Canyon, & the skifield roads all provide some fun & views. The gnarly splash up the Arrow River to Macetown is big fun in summer. The most adventurous way south out of Queenstown is to load your bike on the TSS Earnslaw & steam across the lake to Walter Peak Station, leave the tourists behind & ride off on the remote gravel roads towards Te Anau with a side trip up to the Mavora Lakes. Another iconic route is the Nevis Road from Bannockburn to Garston, many stream crossings make it fun in summer but caution is required after rain. The Old Dunstan Trail from Moa Creek near Alexandra south-east to Clarks Junction is a great dirt road. Crossing the Dunstan is the Onslow Road from Patearoa to Roxburgh, another isolated, scenic dirt road through the wide open tussock country. The seasonally open Borland road from Monowai over to the South Arm of Lake Manapouri is an excellent in & out ride that takes you high into the mountains.

Southland
Highway 92 around the Catlins is a good road ride on a spectacular coast. Make a pilgrimmage to Oreti Beach where Burt Munro created the worlds fastest Indian. Need more input from the locals on rides in this area.

Cheers
Clint

placeholder.... more to come!

Great question!

Kea's are the worlds only alpine parrot. They're large, getting up around 50cm in size. They're beautiful, incredibly intelligent and always curious. However they're probably best known for being mischievous, tenacious little vandals. Think of them as a self propelled can opener with an attitude.

They love a challenge and love getting their beaks and claws into anything chewy. They commonly pull the rubber blades off car windscreen wipers, and even try pulling out the rubber seals that hold windscreens in place.

You think i'm kidding? Check out this video:

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c6vY0s83NLg" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" width="420"></iframe>

Although they might have been helped a bit in the above video, the next one is genuine (but i can't embed it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLpPoOeays. For more examples hop on youtube and search for "Kea".

Keep in mind though they are rare and you will only find them in a few locations. There's more information about them including a handy map of where you're likely to find them on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea

In areas where they have become accustomed to people they've become extremely bold. You're not supposed to feed them, but people invariably have... and so they're on the lookout for food... if they can't find anything to eat then they'll find something to chew instead to amuse themselves.

Q: What do they tear up?
A: Anything they can get their beak into (And there are very few things they can't get their beak into), and they like chewy things. If you left a crash helmet locked to your bike, expect the rubber trim to be missing when you get back or the lining to be ripped. For the bike itself, the seat cover is probably the most susceptible.

Q: What are some easy ways to prevent it?"
A: A shotgun would probably work pretty well, but since they're protected, the Department of Conservation wouldn't be very amused. What are you allowed to do? You can shoo them away if you're standing near your gear.

If you're going to leave a bike unattended. If possible, cover or lock away anything loose. Personally I'd try and carry any expensive gear with me. Putting a bike-cover on wouldn't be a silly idea if you were carrying one.

They hang about in small flocks ( a mob or gang would be a better description) of up to a dozen, and can probably do as much damage to your car/bike/leather jacket/helmet/luggage as a dozen 4 year olds experimenting with scissors and screwdrivers.

So, while there are some excellent links and tips here, I don;t see any recommended shipping companies. I'm looking at shipping a couple of bikes down there along with tools and stuff, and am having some trouble finding a shipping or freight company that will give me an honest quote.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Shipping bikes to/from NZ can be an expensive hassle. Not many people bring a vehicle to NZ for their holiday so it can be hard to find a shipping company that has experience doing this.

Get Routed offer a specialist motorcycle shipping service, no crate required, but on a set schedule & only to certain destinations.

The Horizons Unlimited site has some shipping info but there's not much recent. If anyone has any good info to add here please fire me a PM.

Cheers
Clint

Not all who have used Get Routed have been happy with the experiance, I for one will never, ever use them again.

Where/how does one park the bike typically in NZ? I know some parts of the world want you in a car space, others anywhere out of the way, or anywhere but a full car space...

Full car space, but there are also bike-only places you may use. No footpath parking.

I had a quick google and found this: http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html#regional which contains average temps and rainfalls by season for each region.

Lonely planet has a little info as well: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/weather

Our national weather bureau can be found here: http://www.metservice.com/national/index

NZ has some wild and varied terrain and we also have weather to match. :dogWeather here changes quickly. If you really want to know why, read this.

For biking, the vast majority or NZ is rideable all year round. The most southern parts of the South Island may be under snow for a few months during the peak of winter, but main roads are regularly serviced and seldom closed for long. However, high passes can close quickly and with little notice.

Our best advice is carry gear for all conditions. Removable layers are a very good idea.

However, one advantage of our terrain and being a small country is that in many cases you can ride around or out of the weather within a few hours. If you keep your plans flexible and keep an eye on the weather forecast you can stay dry while it's raining only an hour away.

A buddy of mine, during his research found there was some warning of virus issues in the water?

I will be there traveling with a Katadyn Hiker PRO water filter, however it has limited virus filtration. We plan on topping off the Camelback at stops along rivers and at campgrounds.

Is there a viral issue in the rivers/streams we may be filling our Camelback with, or will we be OK with a standard filter?

Thanks

The major issue is Giardia. Dependent upon your filtration system you should be fine. Otherwise fill your Camelbaks at fuel fill time (most have outside taps somewhere) & at cafes etc.

watch out for algae bloom in some of the lakes in summer, i know some of the smaller lakes around the waikato get it from time to time, there are public warning signs. But i wouldnt think you would need the water out of the lakes up here as communities arent that far apart. ie: pubs

you can pick up filterd straws for Giardia, most hunting stores have the filters and info, but like Box'a'bits said top up at fueling points and ya should be right.

Has anyone shipped a bike from the UK, just thinking about a low Km Africa Twin, wanting to know what total cost break down would be??

Or is this just not worth my time and money??.

Is there anywere else that is worth importing from? Japan?????