Cheap Holidays In New Zealand

[tizeye]

I was talking to a couple of American tourists yesterday at the beach. They have been driving around NZ for the last month freedom camping on beaches or lake shores or in the bush. They arrived in Auckland at the top of the country and went to a huge car fair that's held every Sunday. There is a section of the fair that sells vans and wagons..these aren't ordinary vans and wagons most of them have been converted into some sort of camper with a bed and a small stove. All of these vehicles have been used by other tourists to cruise around the Country and sell for very little. The couple I'd been talking to paid $3500 for their van which they hoped to get back for it when they left the Country. Even if they lost on the vehicle the accomadation costs would be very little for over a month touring.

Here in NZ there are a huge number of used Japanese cars on our roads. This is because we don't have a new car industry here (we sell them but we don't build them) so we buy good used cars from Japan. They are all highly spec'ed with air con power steer etc and are very reliable and after all you really only need a vehicle that will do 5000-7000kms max. Heres a link to the vans at the car fair, they may seem old but it's only a room on wheels and our safety rules insist that only safe vehicles are allowed on our roads. http://www.carfair.co.nz/search2.php

The biggest expense for them would of been taking their vehicle on the ferry between the two islands ($250 including driver and passenger). If you ask me it's a fantastic way of seeing our Country at your own pace. I can see that within the next 5 years or so freedom camping will become illegal here simply because of the pollution left behind. If you don't know what freedom camping is it means that you can stop and camp in your vehicle anywhere you like. Of course people abuse this and leave rubbish of all kinds and I MEAN OF ALL KINDS littering some beautiful scenery...

Anyway if you are young and adventuress it's a great way to see a great Country.. and when you are in my part of the country I will show you the sights..

[Halgar]

I have two friends touring NZ until the end of the month. Had I thought about it, I'd have said something earlier when they were in the planning stages of the trip. This is something that they'd have probably seriously thought about, since accommodations were the largest expense of their trip. They planned to stay in a few hostiles along the way, stay with farmers, and whatever other on the cheap things they could find.

[tizeye]

I bet they are havin a ball anyway..but freedom camping while it's still allowed is the perfect way to see New Zealand or as the Maori's call it Aotearoa "The Land Of The Long White Cloud" or as some of the more extreme natives say "Land Of The Wrong White Crowd"

[Halgar]

I got a quick "we're sitting in a bar, wish you were here" email from them a few days ago. I look forward to hearing the stories and seeing the pics they bring back.

On their last trip to Norway they brought me back a thermos. Hopefully this time they'll bring me an Aboriginal Kazoo. I've always wanted one of those ...

[tizeye]

Cool like they are going to be able to find you a Aboriginal Kazoo at the local corner shop.. I think they need to be several thousand Kms north west of here to find one of those..

[Halgar]

I just wanted to say kazoo instead of didgeridoo, I knew they were not indigent to your location.

[Lowgear]

I've always wanted to move to New Zealand. Mainly because its beautiful, and I wouldn't have to learn another language.
I suppose I would have to visit first to make sure I liked it.

[tizeye]

Yep I suppose you would ... but the good news is that if you are on the "wanted" list ie: occupations that we have a shortage of it's easy to move here...

[Diggley]

Yep I suppose you would ... but the good news is that if you are on the "wanted" list ie: occupations that we have a shortage of it's easy to move here...

It looks like a beautiful place to live.

How's the cost of living compared to the US? (food, average home, tax, etc.)

How are the schools? (ours suck)

Would a US spec vehicle be legal if shipped over there? (I'd hate to part with my Ridgeline, Bug or Mustang)

Most importantly, how is the weather most of the year?

My wife & I have seriously thought about it...

[tizeye]

Yep I suppose you would ... but the good news is that if you are on the "wanted" list ie: occupations that we have a shortage of it's easy to move here...

It looks like a beautiful place to live.

How's the cost of living compared to the US? (food, average home, tax, etc.)

How are the schools? (ours suck)

Would a US spec vehicle be legal if shipped over there? (I'd hate to part with my Ridgeline, Bug or Mustang)

Most importantly, how is the weather most of the year?

My wife & I have seriously thought about it...

Ok our cost of living is different depending on which end of the country you want to live in. Down in the south island $250,000 - $350,000 would buy you a damn nice house, you can buy houses for as little as $150,000. The average income is $850 a week food for a family of 4 would be $150-$200, power $80 a month the phone can be about the same. Tax depends on your income level but starts at 18 cents in the dollar.

Schools are great never had any issues with any school, children are well looked after and respected.

Yes you can bring your vehicles to NZ but you will need left hand drive permits for them. They can stay left hand drive for as long as you own it, the moment you try to sell it you have to convert it over to righthand drive.

The weather is the big one...live at the top of the north island and it's very mild but very humid in the summer. The further south you go the colder it gets. The best climate would be on the East coast of the North island.

[Diggley]

Yep I suppose you would ... but the good news is that if you are on the "wanted" list ie: occupations that we have a shortage of it's easy to move here...

It looks like a beautiful place to live.

How's the cost of living compared to the US? (food, average home, tax, etc.)

How are the schools? (ours suck)

Would a US spec vehicle be legal if shipped over there? (I'd hate to part with my Ridgeline, Bug or Mustang)

Most importantly, how is the weather most of the year?

My wife & I have seriously thought about it...

Ok our cost of living is different depending on which end of the country you want to live in. Down in the south island $250,000 - $350,000 would buy you a damn nice house, you can buy houses for as little as $150,000. The average income is $850 a week food for a family of 4 would be $150-$200, power $80 a month the phone can be about the same. Tax depends on your income level but starts at 18 cents in the dollar.

Schools are great never had any issues with any school, children are well looked after and respected.

Yes you can bring your vehicles to NZ but you will need left hand drive permits for them. They can stay left hand drive for as long as you own it, the moment you try to sell it you have to convert it over to righthand drive.

The weather is the big one...live at the top of the north island and it's very mild but very humid in the summer. The further south you go the colder it gets. The best climate would be on the East coast of the North island.

Awesome!

I'll take the humidity over the cold. (We're used to both here.)

I may be looking into this a little more.

Thanks so much, I appreciate the info!

[tizeye]

No problem..if you have any other questions feel free to ask...

[tamiya]

then again, there's whole shiploads who've used NZ as a "backdoor" to gaining entry into Oz

live there long enough to get your citizenship then hop over to the big island where NZ'ers are
(still) allowed to reside long as they want, no limits to working etc etc

[tizeye]

[quote="tamiya"]then again, there's whole shiploads who've used NZ as a "backdoor" to gaining entry into Oz

live there long enough to get your citizenship then hop over to the big island where NZ'ers are
(still) allowed to reside long as they want, no limits to working etc etc[/quote

So what's that got to do with this topic?

[mrlexan]

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