UK to NZ & Aus with own bike
 

Hi All,

I'm looking to do a trip around NZ & Australia, shipping my bike from the UK to arrive in NZ mid-November 2019, and ship back home to the UK March/April 2020. I'm planning on exploring the back country on small/gravel/dirt roads - nothing too extreme. RE Himalayan: I'm all about taking it slowly and enjoying the sights !

In and out of NZ seems quite straightforward (all things considered) ...

Has anyone got any experience of shipping a bike from NZ - Aus (likely airfreight from Aukland International Airport) ? Sydney seems a likely arrival point for Australia.

Essentially I'll have December 2019 - March 2020 to do both countries. I've a rough idea of a route for New Zealand, but would be grateful for any tips for Australia. I've done most of the 'must sees' having done a long trip there several years ago, and have family in Sydney. I'd like to do NSW/Vic/Tas/South Australia, rather than a blast around the circumference.

Good maps that people have used would be great !

TIA,

Matt

Can't help with Oz but if you haven't already, sign up to Adventure Riding NZ
https://www.adventureridingnz.co.nz/
It has many of the gravel/4x4 public roads in NZ and it's all free. There's a facebook group too where you could arrange to meet members.

Remote Moto probably lists more routes on the South Island but there is a cost to access them as the GPX files are available (plus other info).
https://www.remotemoto.com/routes/

Stay alert - foreign tourists are notorious for driving on the wrong side of the road & the locals love cutting corners!

+1 on remote moto - there is a small charge to join the site but it's well worth it.

Not sure what your timing is, but Mar/April would be my choice for touring NZ - most of the tourists will be gone so everything eases up, but the weather is still good.

For a map the best road map I've found is the 'Kiwimaps' 'Pathfinder' 'South Island Complete Drivers Atlas With Indexed Country Roads' Product No 252 - have a look on kiwimaps.com. There is also a North Island edition but DON'T buy the combined North/South edition as there isn't enough detail. You can buy them in most service stations for around $25. Any 'road' shown in white is usually unsealed.

Just a thought in timing, some of the nice back country roads (Rainbow Road, Nevis Rd, Molesworth Rd) are summer only, Easter is a favorite time for closure for the winter so it would be a pity to miss the cut off.

And for a challenge have a look at either the Dusty Butt ride or the TT2000 - or both :-)

You probably already know to get your bike stupidly clean before shipping to NZ or Oz. We flew our bikes AKL-SYD a few years back & had a lot of hassles when Qantas lost the carnets so keep a tight hold on those. Going into Sydney is definitely best, cheapest & (I think it's still the same) just ride away, no paperwork required after customs & AQIS. Not many people ship vehicles to NZ or Oz for a holiday so expect general cluelessness about the exact requirements at every stage of the process.



Hema maps are really good for Oz. We really enjoyed linking up backroads & nat. parks down the great dividing range from Sydney-Melbourne, & also the Flinders ranges was awesome.


Cheers
Clint

Hi - talk to Roddy or Kathy at MotoFreight in Crawley. I shipped my Enfield to Auckland, NZ through them in January this year. Formalities in NZ could easily take a week, but you can save time by having the bike arrive and be processed before you get there - MF can advise and have a look at the NZ government website to get familiar with what’s required.
Australia demands a Carnet so get one for NZ as well to make life easier (you can do a temporary import for NZ but not for Australia).
Four months isn’t long when you travel slow and you’ll lose at least a week if not two, moving between NZ and Australia - there’s a RO-RO service between Auckland and Melbourne, that might be your best bet.
I was in NZ for six months, if I were in your position I’d be looking to spend at least one month on each of the North Island and South Island, NZ - you could try to get the bike shipped in to the South Island and then leave via Auckland.
I’ve been in Australia for two months now, this place is VAST. You’ll need to decide what you want to see/do and plan for it.
Enjoy the trip - You’ve got a great bike for either country!

Hiya,

Many thanks for the advice ... I’ve joined the Facebook group and they all seem a really helpful bunch. Fortunately I’m used to driving on the ‘correct’ side of the toad here in the UK, but point well made !

Thanks Clive - really useful

Thanks very much - I’ll get in touch with them

Hey mate, hope your planning is going well. I'm just gonna chuck my 2 cents in. You've probably already thought about this though. I'm British, lived in Aus for 9 years. My recommendation is buy a bike in Australia! You could honestly be on the road the same day you arrived. And bikes in Australia are MUCH cheaper than the uk. I had a shock at the bike prices in the uk last time I went back.

My recommendation, fly into Perth WA, get yourself whatever bike your after (DR 650 or similar would be the perfect companion) and hit the road. Go south down to Esperance, then up to Kalgoorlie, cutting back to the coast to go north. Go over the top, up to Cape York, then down to Tassie if you have the time (lovely riding!). Sell the bike in Sydney (big market, price low and you can expect to sell the same day). Then fly over to Auckland and buy again.

You'd really want to buy in Auckland on the south island as it has the most on offer bike-wise.

Overall you'll probably save yourself $5k+ and a LOT of hassle! Yes, even temporary import into strayia is a pain in the neck, they had my toolbox in customs for 2 months....

Anyway, if you want to get in touch, need any help with anything, let me know +61422814389.

Edit : Auckland on the NORTH Island....

Sorry, it wasn't a dig & I was speaking as a fellow Brit.
Head-on collisions involving tourists always hit the headlines and on every public holiday there are numerous traffic accidents involving locals too.
Bad driving seems to be norm in NZ :censored:

I've lived in NZ almost 4 years and would say most of the North Island is like driving in the suburbs of the UK, whereas the SI is like driving in Scotland. Enjoy! :mchappy:

No need to apologise ... didn’t even enter my head that it might be a dig !

I hear what you say about the driving ...

Thanks once again [emoji1303]


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When you get to NZ feel touch if you'd like a discounted fare on the InterIslander ferry. You don't even need to hire a bike from us, PM me for details if you're interested.

for the record, NZ customs are phasing out the temporary import scheme, and doing carnet only..

That’s great, many thanks. I’ll be in touch once my plans start firming up [emoji1303]


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