Anyone taken their van to New Zealand on holiday?

[CaliAM]

My friend took her Audi out when she emigrated…. It was damaged in transit when a forklift was used to lift the container it was in…. Deflate insurance she was never fully compensated and it took months to sort out…. And you’d have added difficulties dealing with a co the other side of the world…. I know they transport cars everywhere by ship but some must get damaged which a car manufacturer can absorb…. Not sure if I’d place my Cali at the hands of a freight company….I value it too much but I’m probably too sentimental over it!

 

[jts46]

We did as someone suggested a swap they borrowed ours in uk we borrowed theirs in nz for 8 weeks.
Insurance for them to drive in uk was a nightmare & expensive, ours in nz was added to their insurance at no charge

 

[RichardTaylor]

Any vehicle used on NZ roads needs to be certified, so after getting it off the boat it will need to spend a few days at a Certifier, which will definitely cost around another $1000, so don’t forget to add that to your costs.

 

[Anthony1]

A friend once advised me to pay the 'walk away' car insurance when hiring a car in America. I did, and sure enough, someone then reversed into me and smashed the bumper of my hired Chrysler Sebring convertible. I handed the car back in LA and walked away.

Not the same, I know, but if someone was to reverse into your California or similar, I can imagine that being a total nightmare.

I suppose I could see the point for a 12 months trip. I would love to ship my van to Canada and drive to Tierra del Fuego. But for a 5 week trip? Things that are shipped don’t always arrive on time.

Sometimes they don't arrive at all. Ships lost at sea, containers falling overboards etc.

 

[HugoFar]

Thanks for that. As far as I can see this applies to what we call wild camping to prevent campers abusing the wilderness. We always go to camp sites and use facilities there, so I’m not sure it applies, but will research further.

Correct. You're not required to get your California a Self Containment Cert. It's optional. There's heaps of info here at Rankers; https://www.rankers.co.nz/about/official-camping-nz-app that should help with decision making when camping around NZ. Whether in your own Cali or a rented Camper.
Re the Govt 3rd Party Insurance mentioned. If the poster was meaning ACC, (Accident Compensation Corporation) it's a personal injury 'insurance' and does not cover the vehicle. Unfortunately NZ still has no compulsory 3rd Party Vehicle Insurance Requirement. That's why it pays to have your own Full Insurance for when the uninsured driver crashes into your wagon. Even if it went to Court, they may be paying off the damage at $20pw...

 

[HugoFar]

Another point regarding the NZ Self Containment Cert which I realize doesn't actually relate to the OP is that it's about to change. At present the toilet can be a Porta potty style. Soon this option will be removed and toilets will be required to be permanently fixed and plumbed into the vehicle. Not really an option with the Cali. I'm not sure when regs are changing, but it's either this year or next. It's an unfortunate change for Cali owners as it's mainly aimed at the 1000's of small Japanese vans rented out to budget backpackers, all with Self Containment Certs. They've earned a terrible reputation for just shitting in the bushes near their campsite. The piles of pooh and toilet paper around popular backpacker freedom camping areas can be disgusting.
It doesn't affect us as we haven't bothered to renew our Certificate as we found with 2 kids we have enough great options from DOC and Full Service sites.

 

[nickedwards123]

HI,
So I imported my Cali from UK to NZ when I immigrated.
Stuff to be aware of -- the gas cylinders are different, you have to butcher the lid of the gas cylinder cabinet to fit a NZ cylinder. Also need a gas fitter to fit new connections and certify it - which costs.
To be able to register the vehicle you need it to have pass all these checks that it's 'built to NZ standards ' of course it is, but it is all form filling and more checks. Then costs with getting the unregistered vehicle from the importer to the company which does the checks so it can be registered. It just goes on and on and costs at each stage.
There is a cheap UK shipper who will put your van in the spare space in a 44 foot container when they skip caravans over. PM if you want the details, but the shipping is all a bit unreliable. Sometimes when the ships are running late they will skip a port, so your camper van may get unloaded on the wrong island.
It's all a bit of a pain and probably not worth the effort for just a holiday.

 

[gatvol]

NZ is a police state. Absurd covid rules. Awful, dictatorial, prime Minister drunk on power. Prohibited its own citizens from returning home for months, leaving them stranded abroad.

Brave to visit there.

 

[HugoFar]

HI,
So I imported my Cali from UK to NZ when I immigrated.
Stuff to be aware of -- the gas cylinders are different, you have to butcher the lid of the gas cylinder cabinet to fit a NZ cylinder. Also need a gas fitter to fit new connections and certify it - which costs.
To be able to register the vehicle you need it to have pass all these checks that it's 'built to NZ standards ' of course it is, but it is all form filling and more checks. Then costs with getting the unregistered vehicle from the importer to the company which does the checks so it can be registered. It just goes on and on and costs at each stage.
There is a cheap UK shipper who will put your van in the spare space in a 44 foot container when they skip caravans over. PM if you want the details, but the shipping is all a bit unreliable. Sometimes when the ships are running late they will skip a port, so your camper van may get unloaded on the wrong island.
It's all a bit of a pain and probably not worth the effort for just a holiday.

If you get a certain dimension 2kg lpg bottle, no change to lid required. Sorry to hear you butchered your lid. Power points are different too. Not a major tho.

 

[Edgcombe]

Not only does New Zealand butcher the lids of the gas to make the New Zealand bottle fit. The electric RCB has to be moved into the wardrobe that’s originally above the gas as it can’t be in the same compartment for compliance. The electrical certificate is required for campgrounds. Good luck whatever you decide, great once you get on the road here

 

[RichardTaylor]

NZ is a police state. Absurd covid rules. Awful, dictatorial, prime Minister drunk on power. Prohibited its own citizens from returning home for months, leaving them stranded abroad.

Brave to visit there.

I take it you haven’t spent much time in NZ over the last two years?!

 

[Off-The-Beaton-Track]

I know others have already stated this, but maybe just consider a van swap with another NZ Cali owner. It is something I hope to do in a couple of years time. Would be more than happy for a UK couple to borrow our T5.1 Cali for a reciprocal swap sometime in the Northen summer. There is a NZ Cali owners page on Facebook with quite a few owners all over the country. Could be worth a try.

 

[Wildcamper]

I looked into this two years ago. The shipping cost alone was £4000+each way - £8000+ return. Extras were shipping insurance (both ways), customs clearance(both ways), port charges (both ways), fumigation (compulsory), local road insurance. On top NZ did not allow imports (including temporary) for something like a 4-6 month period when some bug or other is up and about in Europe. Times may have changed but getting cheaper seems unlikely.

 

[royalv2]

I went a few years ago and did a 6000k trip over 3 weeks, north to south. There were loads of those small campers on the roads. I was glad I’d hired a motorbike

 

[Ozzy Pete]

We are going to New Zealand for 5 weeks in November/December and were thinking of hiring a van out there. Seems to be fairly expensive to hire anything that‘s fairly new (£3-4k for 5 weeks). I looked into taking our own lovely California - which would come with the advantages of having all of our own stuff in there already, and the shipping costs for a return trip were about £3k. (Takes about 40 days each way though).

Has anyone tried this previously, and are there other costs to consider? (Obviously I’m not looking to import and sell, so would like to avoid VAT and other similar duties). Any experiences to share?

Now you have read through all these posts with a lot coming from Kiwis I know what you will decide. Much easier to get on a plane land in NZ. Pick up a hire vehicle which includes full insurance cover have a lovely 5 week holiday then drop the vehicle off before leaving for the airport on the way home. .
Only thing is to try and hire a vehicle with no mileage/kilometres restrictions as most will give you around 100 KLM’s a day so probably 3500 KLM’s without incurring extra charges.
Even in the UK in the middle of the summer a motor home or camper van will cost around £1000 a week for something decent.
Whatever you decide enjoy your holiday as NZ is a beautiful country...

 

[The Merle]

We are going to New Zealand for 5 weeks in November/December and were thinking of hiring a van out there. Seems to be fairly expensive to hire anything that‘s fairly new (£3-4k for 5 weeks). I looked into taking our own lovely California - which would come with the advantages of having all of our own stuff in there already, and the shipping costs for a return trip were about £3k. (Takes about 40 days each way though).

Has anyone tried this previously, and are there other costs to consider? (Obviously I’m not looking to import and sell, so would like to avoid VAT and other similar duties). Any experiences to share?

My old Cali is still on holiday there I think.
Someone bought it from uk and shipped it out about 4yrs ago.
Would’ve loved to of gone with van!

 

[Nick Stubbs]

We are going to New Zealand for 5 weeks in November/December and were thinking of hiring a van out there. Seems to be fairly expensive to hire anything that‘s fairly new (£3-4k for 5 weeks). I looked into taking our own lovely California - which would come with the advantages of having all of our own stuff in there already, and the shipping costs for a return trip were about £3k. (Takes about 40 days each way though).

Has anyone tried this previously, and are there other costs to consider? (Obviously I’m not looking to import and sell, so would like to avoid VAT and other similar duties). Any experiences to share?

Keep us posted thanks..

 

[The Tall Luthier]

NZ is a police state. Absurd covid rules. Awful, dictatorial, prime Minister drunk on power. Prohibited its own citizens from returning home for months, leaving them stranded abroad.

Brave to visit there.

What an odd thing to say. NZ strategy was to keep the virus out of its country until they had vaccinated the population. They enjoyed fewer lockdowns and social restrictions than did the UK. They did less harm to their own economy than did the uk.
Isn’t that called responsible governance?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

What an odd thing to say. NZ strategy was to keep the virus out of its country until they had vaccinated the population. They enjoyed fewer lockdowns and social restrictions than did the UK. They did less harm to their own economy than did the uk.
Isn’t that called responsible governance?

Don’t forget that we lost over 160,000 people to this horrible virus because we didn’t act quick enough and still we let infected people into the country to make things worse. NZ did a brilliant job, we were crap.

 

[WelshGas]

Don’t forget that we lost over 160,000 people to this horrible virus because we didn’t act quick enough and still we let infected people into the country to make things worse. NZ did a brilliant job, we were crap.

Coronavirus death rate in Europe, by country 2023 | Statista

As of January 13, 2023, Bulgaria had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths among its population in Europe at 548.6 deaths per 100,000 population.

www.statista.com

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Coronavirus death rate in Europe, by country 2023 | Statista

As of January 13, 2023, Bulgaria had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths among its population in Europe at 548.6 deaths per 100,000 population.

www.statista.com

Great data @WelshGas but NZ’s death rate was close to one eighth of ours. I think @Ozzy Pete comparison was sound.

 

[WelshGas]

Great data @WelshGas but NZ’s death rate was close to one eighth of ours. I think @Ozzy Pete comparison was sound.

NZ is not exactly a major transport hub and with a population density far less than the UK not surprising.
If you're going to go down that pathway of comparing apples and pears then China comes out on top . NZ is not out of the woods yet, nor is Australia and China. Time will tell.

 

[66tim99]

What an odd thing to say. NZ strategy was to keep the virus out of its country until they had vaccinated the population. They enjoyed fewer lockdowns and social restrictions than did the UK. They did less harm to their own economy than did the uk.
Isn’t that called responsible governance?

Surely the effectiveness of the policies to save New Zealanders lives is the best evidence against their 'absurdity' @gatvol.
Currently 28 NZ deaths/100k compared to 278 for England and 246 for the EU.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart...&per100K=1&startDate=2021-06-01&values=deaths

 

[WelshGas]

And perhaps most importantly the policies saved New Zealanders lives.
Currently 28 NZ deaths/100k compared to 278 for England and 246 for the EU.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart...&per100K=1&startDate=2021-06-01&values=deaths

At least we didn't have to wait for them to develope a vaccine and test it.
Hind sight is so, so wonderful.

 

[66tim99]

Hind sight is so, so wonderful.

Or dreadful