Transport

Now to state the obvious….this is not London or New York or even mad, bad Paris this is New Zealand so be prepared for:

• Lack of trains anywhere…..NZ’s largest city, Auckland has a very poor commuter rail service and as for getting around the countryside, whereas Wellington’s is not too bad…..well the UK rail system looks like luxury!!!!
• There is only one passenger service which runs between Auckland- Wellington and that is mainly a tourist run – certainly NOT a commuter type service!
• There are no tube systems in NZ
• There are bus stations in most NZ cities for commuter, schools and long-distance, although a more frequently run service is usually available in the major cities.
• Flying between the cities is quite common and not overly expensive if you book far enough out from departure date….but be prepared to hop about and swap planes if flying within the provinces, as most only fly direct to Auckland or Wellington or Christchurch.  Good news, from October there will also now be a direct flight from New Plymouth to Christchurch, so that will lessen the journey south.  However the comparison is that it takes 5+ hours to drive to New Plymouth from Auckland but only 40 mins by air!
• Travel between North and South Islands is either by air or by ferry and the ferry prices reflect the seasons…….it was significantly cheaper for a colleague to drive his family of four to Wellington and fly to Nelson on South Island than to take the ferry in January at the height of summer!
• The car is the preferred mode for almost everyone….and the range of options is huge from normal cars, to 4 wheel drives, to Utes (car like pick-up trucks), to vans, to the proverbial combi/motor home…..and power is everything….most cars are V6's or V8's or turbos. More details on cars specifically will follow.

Of course with the wide open spaces and lack of people motorbikes are very common as a leisure machine but not so much as a work tool [for instance there are NO motorcycle courier companies in Auckland or Wellington – they use pedal power bikes!] - indeed it is said that the South Island has some of the best biking roads in the world.

Along with their big engined cars a vast number of Kiwis own boats or jet skis and, like cars, these tend to be over powered……a decent little day boat with an 80 horsepower outboard will set you back about $8,000 (about £3,000).
Cars
As in the UK you can get both petrol and diesel engines and both manual or automatic gearboxes.

There is a premium paid for diesel engined cars based on the mileage driven (yep just a crafty old tax) so if you will do plenty of miles then go for a diesel. Prices for Petrol and Diesel are lower than in the UK but still seen as high here. You can also run your car (if it can be converted) on LPG but not sure what that costs - although it will be cheaper than either of the other 2.

There appears to me to be a preponderance of automatics and I did struggle to find a manual with the size and power I wanted.

You can obviously buy brand new and there are deals about but our experience is that the main dealers are very reluctant at present to do deals particularly when they hear a Pom accent……there is a general view that you are getting $3 to the £ [we all wish] and that you are therefore “well off”!

There are plenty of second hand car dealers about and of course there are good and bad amongst them. In addition there are a lot of dealers importing second hand cars from Japan. These used to have a terrible reputation for being dodgy but regulations both in NZ and Japan have been tightened and if you use a reputable dealer buying a 'Jap import' should not be a problem.

My wife currently drives a 2006 Chrysler Voyager (the idea of which was to stop the kids fighting in a 'normal' car….now they argue about who sits where….kids!!!!) and we managed a very good deal on both the trade in value of her previous Voyager and on the new price. I currently have a Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 which I treated myself to after my Subaru Legacy B4 got pinched in Auckland – Subaru’s are the most stolen car in NZ – now they tell me!!!!

We would not have been able to buy either car in the UK let alone both …… prices seem much more competitive and realistic than in the UK.

Now for a shock…..you do NOT have to take any car insurance out here in NZ!!!!.......but after my experience why wouldn’t you?????

Naturally it is still very worthwhile doing so and we would certainly recommend that you do (as you would be liable for any damage to the other vehicle or property) but they do run a sort of 'no fault' system here but I would suggest caution is the better part of valour here!........and in addition the cost is very reasonable compared to the UK!

In general my impression is that Kiwis love their 4x4s and they must be the main cars on the road.

A further warning now for parents of teenagers - Kiwi kids can start the driving process from age 15!!! Gaining a licence is a lengthy process and the advice we had from Kiwis was to start at age 15. The only drawback to this, as a generalisation, is that apart from restricting the hours they can drive and who they can have in the car the system does not restrict the engine size/power of the car they can drive but they have to start sometime – I still find it weird to have my son say he is popping out to surf and off he goes into his car down to the beach………..in August 2007 he took his full licence [after attending a Defensive Driving Course] and passed so he now drives with no restrictions!

As a driver in NZ with a UK licence you can drive with no problems but will have to sit a theory test no later than a year after arriving.

The cops are not seen in a particularly good light here when it comes to traffic issues. It has now been admitted that the cops have a ticket quota each month and they will try and get you…..so be prepared.
I suggest always stick to the limits in towns etc and be careful on the open road and very, very careful going through road works when temporary speed limits are in force and particularly around schools when the speed limit is rigidly enforced.  A recent young visitor to us got pulled doing 58 in a temporary 30 limit and was issued with a $300 fine!  Similarly, someone doing 52 kph passed a school (limit 50 kph) got ticketed also. 
The 100 kph limit is very frustrating with such large distances to cover, but for good reason, roads in NZ aren’t as good as UK.  Usually windy and narrow over mountainous terrain …..but then you do get to see more of this magnificent country!   
For more information on how to move about in NZ, car dealers, prices and driving licence requirements, please contact us.

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