Going to New Zealand!

C0N0R

Right in going to new Zealand in October for an unknown amount of time, probably a year. Just hav a few small questions I would like answered if possible! I'm going to be working on a farm in the south island, what's the story as regards opening a bank account? How do you go about that?

Next thing is mobile phone providers, no need for a phone just a sim-card, is mobile Internet/3G popular over there?? Seen vodafone's website and there rates look to be ok. What other providers are there?

Next question is regards buying a car, is car insurance expensive? What's the story with road tax?? Is my Irish no claims bonus any use to me over there?

Think that's all questions for the moment, would be grateful for any help.

Thanks, can't wait to go!!

FreeAnd..

C0N0R wrote: »

Right in going to new Zealand in October for an unknown amount of time, probably a year. Just hav a few small questions I would like answered if possible! I'm going to be working on a farm in the south island, what's the story as regards opening a bank account? How do you go about that?

Just drop in with your passport when you get here - takes about 10 mins

Next thing is mobile phone providers, no need for a phone just a sim-card, is mobile Internet/3G popular over there?? Seen vodafone's website and there rates look to be ok. What other providers are there?

Not sure, im with Vodafone myself and they are excellent for ringing irish landlines - 1 hour for $2, used to be 2 hours...its far cheaper for me to ring home than to ring a local number here...crazy - Not sure about mobile internet, I don't think rates are great here but there are a few providers (Telecom, Vodafone, 2Degrees - someone else may know better)

Next question is regards buying a car, is car insurance expensive? What's the story with road tax?? Is my Irish no claims bonus any use to me over there?

You don't need Car insurance here in NZ - (Everyone pays ACC levies through Tax and this goes towards paying for injuries etc) but it is cheap anyway and yes your No Claims will count over here...

Think that's all questions for the moment, would be grateful for any help.

Thanks, can't wait to go!!

By the way where in the south Island are you going?

C0N0R

I'm heading for a town twenty kms from Christchurch, darfield. Thanks for the response, is cartax expensive?? Would I be correct to assume that cars are more expensive over there than here? And say for example if I buy a performance car will the "insurance" cost the same as a normal car??

FreeAnd..

C0N0R wrote: »

I'm heading for a town twenty kms from Christchurch, darfield. Thanks for the response, is cartax expensive?? Would I be correct to assume that cars are more expensive over there than here? And say for example if I buy a performance car will the "insurance" cost the same as a normal car??

sorry man, I'm not too sure - I'm in Wellington and have zero need for a car - its great - Car's are not expensive here though but you do need to get a road worthy cert or something every 6 months (someone with a car can fill you in)

As for a performance car in Chch - they loves their hooning down there...so much so they brought in these mad laws that if you 'cruise' down a street more than once you can be done for it....

C0N0R

Well I won't be cruising anywhere!! I just love cars, for me there a thing of enjoyment rather than a utility tool as such. Thanks for the help, can't make October come quicker can you!

FreeAnd..

C0N0R wrote: »

Well I won't be cruising anywhere!! I just love cars, for me there a thing of enjoyment rather than a utility tool as such. Thanks for the help, can't make October come quicker can you!

well the NZ definition of cruising is driving down the same street more than once within an hour - God help you ever get lost!

jank

Na they wont pinch you if you are lost or just driving around the place normally they are just going after the hoons that drive around the 4 ave's in CHCH for hours on end keeping everyone awake! I used to live just off fitz ave and every friday and sat night you could hear them go right up to 4-5 in the morning. Of course if you owned a motel or a guesthouse near these ave's your customers wouldnt be too happy, so these laws are just a reflection of this. The cops there arent like they are at home, not out to get you for stupid little reasons....

Car tax is cheap. they call it a reg over there. Cant remember how much it was but I had a 2lt turbo subaru and it was only about $100 for 6 months. Thats about 50 euro!! Also WOF (Warrent of Fitness) is a must but again very cheap! about $45 to get one. Of course if there is something worng with the car you will need to get it fixed before you get it. If you are into your cars its quite cheap to get a monster 3 or 4 lt second hand car and run it for next to nothing!

Yea cars are soooo cheap in NZ compared to home

FreeAnd..

jank wrote: »

Na they wont pinch you if you are lost or just driving around the place normally they are just going after the hoons that drive around the 4 ave's in CHCH for hours on end keeping everyone awake! I used to live just off fitz ave and every friday and sat night you could hear them go right up to 4-5 in the morning. Of course if you owned a motel or a guesthouse near these ave's your customers wouldnt be too happy, so these laws are just a reflection of this. The cops there arent like they are at home, not out to get you for stupid little reasons....

ah yeah I know - just on paper these laws sound mental - the difference in the application of the law and approach of the police makes funny sounding laws here actually make sense...they do seem to be there for practical application and not some tool to be abused by Gardai

NZ is odd like that - I always got a laugh of the Never Shake a Baby campaign as you would wonder why on earth would you need an add campaing like that -todays incident shines a different light on that altogether

C0N0R

jank wrote: »

Car tax is cheap. they call it a reg over there. Cant remember how much it was but I had a 2lt turbo subaru and it was only about $100 for 6 months. Thats about 50 euro!! Also WOF (Warrent of Fitness) is a must but again very cheap! about $45 to get one. Of course if there is something worng with the car you will need to get it fixed before you get it. If you are into your cars its quite cheap to get a monster 3 or 4 lt second hand car and run it for next to nothing!

Yea cars are soooo cheap in NZ compared to home

This make me rather happy! Thank you, can't wait to go now

pclancy

If you like cars New Zealand is fantastic. Tons of very cheap but good condition jap imports are on the market and there's a massive second hand parts scene so its easy maintain cars for cheap. Lots of big v6 and v8 fords and holdens also if you want muscle. Parts for European cars can be very dear but there are some fantastic condition jap-import BMWs and Audis if you don't mind paying a premium to maintain. As emissions arent tested during its WOF/NCT you can get away with a lot of stuff as long as its not dangerous or rusting. I've got a 1.620V Toyota Levin that I bought for 2900 at auction last year, seriously fast but also very reliable and economical if i drive it easy. Tax is $300 a year and two WOFs are $50 each. I've done about 30,000kms on it and tyres, plugs and filters are all its needed.

Then that brings me to the roads. Amazingly empty in parts of both islands, the state highways and main roads are generally to a very good standard and often really fun to drive around. Very few potholes. They are not very well thought out sometimes though which makes for some dangerous intersections and corners. Some country or remote roads are unsealed which is annoying. I found a far higher percentage of cops on the roads then I've ever seen in Ireland, even in places I would have thought quite remote.

Warning...the drivers are pretty shocking. As there is such a massive distance between most places people get really frustrated and make stupid decisions, overtaking in places that will amaze you or holding a really bad road position. There's a lot of drunk and stoned drivers out there too and sadly road deaths are way higher here then they should be mainly I think due to ****e drivers. There's a big Polynesian community here also that don't have the best driving ability from what I've seen. Not being racist or anything but the move from a small pacific island to a busy city or state highway oftens leads to some interesting maneuvers. I've driven around pretty much every part of this place though and I have to say I REALLY enjoy driving here. Open roads and big cheap cars. Mmmm.

C0N0R

I was thinking the jap import thing would be widely available. Glad to hear that's the case. I'll have to get shopping when I get there, should have a budget of about 5k euro 8.5 dollars if I'm not mistaken. This all sounds to good to be true if you ask me! Thanks for your input.

jank

C0N0R wrote: »

I was thinking the jap import thing would be widely available. Glad to hear that's the case. I'll have to get shopping when I get there, should have a budget of about 5k euro 8.5 dollars if I'm not mistaken. This all sounds to good to be true if you ask me! Thanks for your input.

You should be able to buy a serious motor for that money especially if you pay cash. Also cars in the south Island are cheaper than the north, well in CHCH anyway.

C0N0R

Will it get me an evo 5/6 because that's what in aiming for. What sort of price is fuel??

C0N0R

Also where is the best place to buy such a car, is autotrader or that kind of thing popular??

MrCreosote

pclancy wrote: »

Warning...the drivers are pretty shocking. As there is such a massive distance between most places people get really frustrated and make stupid decisions, overtaking in places that will amaze you or holding a really bad road position. There's a lot of drunk and stoned drivers out there too and sadly road deaths are way higher here then they should be mainly I think due to ****e drivers. There's a big Polynesian community here also that don't have the best driving ability from what I've seen. Not being racist or anything but the move from a small pacific island to a busy city or state highway oftens leads to some interesting maneuvers. I've driven around pretty much every part of this place though and I have to say I REALLY enjoy driving here. Open roads and big cheap cars. Mmmm.

Personally wouldn't single out Polynesian drivers. All Kiwi drivers, with the very odd exception, are absolutely s*** drivers.
Same population as Ireland, similar numbers of cars, better roads....and roadtoll is nearly twice as high.

Having said all that, some of the drives here are absolutely mind blowing.

reverenddave

C0N0R wrote: »

Will it get me an evo 5/6 because that's what in aiming for. What sort of price is fuel??

you'll get a sweet as subaru legacy for about $4000
and evo would be a bit pricier maybe $5000 for a 98 or 99


fuel at the moment is $1.83 petrol and $1.27 (ish) for diesel

oh and for buying a car try http://www.trademe.co.nz/

its like ebay only better and only in nz
or try various backpackers or maybe the nzherald news paper

oh watch out thought coz chances are youre going to be earning and spending dollars soon enough
food is very expensive example mushrooms $12 a kilo washing powder for a small box 20-30 washes would be about $12-13 dollars
if youre a smoker give up quick nearly $45 for a 50g pouch

best of luck on your journey and whatever you do you MUSH GO TO ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK a spectacular place

Shzm

MrCreosote wrote: »

Personally wouldn't single out Polynesian drivers. All Kiwi drivers, with the very odd exception, are absolutely s*** drivers.
Same population as Ireland, similar numbers of cars, better roads....and roadtoll is nearly twice as high.

Having said all that, some of the drives here are absolutely mind blowing.

wtf. better roads? simply not true. Ireland has 4 lane motorways connecting the cities. New Zealand has basically a 2 lane road the length of the country, with the exception of the Auckland region. Of course you're going to have a high road toll when you have a situation like that. People get frustrated and have no option but to overtake in to oncoming traffic. NZs main road(s) are absolutely ****.

And actually i'd rate the standard of Kiwi (nationals) drivers higher than Irelands, we are tested on motorway driving for example. I still can't understand why that's not tested here. It's the lax system they have in place for all the foreigners coming over which lets everyone down.

C0N0R

Well as regards the living costs etc I will be getting my bed and food provided as well as getting paid. It seems to be a pretty sweet arrangement. Are the legacy's manual yes?? As an auto doesn't appeal to me!! The fuel prices are reasonable enough it seems. Is nightlife a big thing out there?? Is it expensive to eat and drink out?

MrCreosote

Shzm wrote: »

People get frustrated and have no option but to overtake in to oncoming traffic.

And actually i'd rate the standard of Kiwi (nationals) drivers higher than Irelands,

Two statements that are completely contradictory. The first an example of why NZ drivers are absolutely terrible. No patience, take risks etc. The second is why they are the worst kind of bad driver- overconfident and no recognition of how poor they are.

I'm not saying Irish drivers are fantastic by the way, just that they are better than NZ.

And for the roads- the vast majority of driving in Ireland does not happen on motorways, it's on the secondary and regional roads. I'm not sure where you are based, but anywhere I've been in Ireland that means narrow roads, off-camber bends, bad signposting, overgrown verges, entryways everywhere. Compare that with NZ- no hedges, well engineered bends (with speed advisories all of these ffs). good surface etc etc.

reverenddave

C0N0R wrote: »

Well as regards the living costs etc I will be getting my bed and food provided as well as getting paid. It seems to be a pretty sweet arrangement. Are the legacy's manual yes?? As an auto doesn't appeal to me!! The fuel prices are reasonable enough it seems. Is nightlife a big thing out there?? Is it expensive to eat and drink out?

yeah some of the legacy's would be manual it's about 50/50 i'd say,

kiwi are very lazy drivers they love auto gearboxes mostly just the jap cars are manuals

yeah fuel is reasonable until you start spending dollars then they are ridiculous saturday night is the BIG going out night some pubs and clubs go til 4-5 a.m. but again it's expensive for an equivalent to a pint your paying around $7-$8 and if you drink guinness or most imported beers expect to pay $10 and up

restaurants in christchurch i'm not too sure but nelson
for example in an indian restaurant for a starter main course and a naan bread about $30-$40 plus tip (if you want)
any average chinese would be similiar lots of sushi
and german butchers too

but also there is ****loads of mcdonalds and subways and dominoes and pizza huts the usual crap americanised overpriced ''food''


there's loads of these new ''trendy'' restaurants youre looking at about $50-$70 for an average meal with a few drinks per person

Why Should I

I am off to NZ in 3 weeks on a 12 month HWV, I'll be in Auckland tho. I always was looking in to cars, And its good to know i can get a good one, Tho i think il get a jeep.


Is there any more info/advice you could offer ?

Cheers

reverenddave

Why Should I wrote: »

I am off to NZ in 3 weeks on a 12 month HWV, I'll be in Auckland tho. I always was looking in to cars, And its good to know i can get a good one, Tho i think il get a jeep.


Is there any more info/advice you could offer ?

Cheers

hilux hilux and hilux
thats all the advise you need
there is so many of them aroung the place and therefore cheap and easy to get parts too

but if youre gonna be in auckland you wont really need something like this
i'd personally get something like an estate/station wagon whichever you want to call them
because the roads are pretty good in nz compared to ireland especially auckland

Why Should I

reverenddave wrote: »

hilux hilux and hilux
thats all the advise you need
there is so many of them aroung the place and therefore cheap and easy to get parts too

but if youre gonna be in auckland you wont really need something like this
i'd personally get something like an estate/station wagon whichever you want to call them
because the roads are pretty good in nz compared to ireland especially auckland

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=0&5=&14=&18=0&18=0&24=0&24=0&searchregion=100&15=hilux&searchbar=1&generalSearch_keypresses=0&generalSearch_suggested=0


not that cheap

earnyourturns

Yup like the poster above said go for a Hilux. Vehicle of the gods.

brendansmith

TBH i wouldnt be too bothered in getting a nice car here.

The driving is woeful and every second car had a big dent in it.

reverenddave

Why Should I wrote: »

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=0&5=&14=&18=0&18=0&24=0&24=0&searchregion=100&15=hilux&searchbar=1&generalSearch_keypresses=0&generalSearch_suggested=0


not that cheap

wow i got my 93 surf for $4000 from the newspaper
but it may have been a rare cheap buy i sold it again for $4000 too


http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=1&5=4x4+%2F+SUV&14=&15=&18=0&18=6000&24=0&24=0&searchRegion=100&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=1&5=Ute&14=&15=&18=0&18=6000&24=0&24=0&searchRegion=100&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0


try these two

Why Should I

brendansmith wrote: »

TBH i wouldnt be too bothered in getting a nice car here.

The driving is woeful and every second car had a big dent in it.

Ya i noticed that lol,

I am planning on spending 3500-4000 NZD ( Well it depends on how much i can bring with me, Atm it looks like 9500 NZD but thats to get me setup etc )

reverenddave wrote: »

wow i got my 93 surf for $4000 from the newspaper
but it may have been a rare cheap buy i sold it again for $4000 too


http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=1&5=4x4+%2F+SUV&14=&15=&18=0&18=6000&24=0&24=0&searchRegion=100&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/CategoryAttributeSearchResults.aspx?search=1&mcat=0001-0268-&sidebar=1&5=Ute&14=&15=&18=0&18=6000&24=0&24=0&searchRegion=100&sidebarSearch_keypresses=0&sidebarSearch_suggested=0


try these two

Cheers

C0N0R

brendansmith wrote: »

TBH i wouldnt be too bothered in getting a nice car here.

The driving is woeful and every second car had a big dent in it.

I hear what your saying. But I just love performance cars! The body condition isn't the most important thing to me, it's what's under the bonnet that makes me smile.

Why Should I

Quick question, Will my irish drivers license work over there, Or do i need to do a test?

earnyourturns

You can use your Irish licence for up to twelve months after you arrive, after that you need to convert over.

I bought my 1996 Toyota Rav4 for $7k from http://www.backpackerscars.com in Christchurch, really good place, really good guys. They even put a new set of tyres on it as well. It's in really good nick. Bit muddy at the moment though but that's why you buy a vehicle like that right

Crumble Froo

C0N0R wrote: »

Next thing is mobile phone providers, no need for a phone just a sim-card, is mobile Internet/3G popular over there?? Seen vodafone's website and there rates look to be ok. What other providers are there?

i would have to throw in that the new network 2 degrees is, ive found, a whole lot cheaper than the others. not 100% sure about 3G but i know they have just introduced 3G while i was away (been in Ireland last two weeks, but got an email).

esharknz

MrCreosote wrote: »

Personally wouldn't single out Polynesian drivers. All Kiwi drivers, with the very odd exception, are absolutely s*** drivers.
Same population as Ireland, similar numbers of cars, better roads....and roadtoll is nearly twice as high.

Having said all that, some of the drives here are absolutely mind blowing.

Also bear in mind that there aren't motorways linking cities, so the likelihood of head on collisions increases dramatically (although I've seen someone here manage to cross over the median barrier on the N11 here, some feat, so it can happen here, just far less likely).

The average age of a car in Ireland is much younger than that in NZ, so that doesn't help either in terms of safety.

I'm a kiwi living in Ireland and would say the same about the drivers on Irish roads.

esharknz

Why Should I wrote: »

Quick question, Will my irish drivers license work over there, Or do i need to do a test?

You can exchange it for a NZ one if you wish (you have 12 months to do so). However Irish authorities won't accept a NZ one at present, so I'm not sure what would happen to you if you were to return if you had exchanged it.

C0N0R

Crumble Froo wrote: »

i would have to throw in that the new network 2 degrees is, ive found, a whole lot cheaper than the others. not 100% sure about 3G but i know they have just introduced 3G while i was away (been in Ireland last two weeks, but got an email).

Sounds promising, 3G Internet is such isn't overly important, as long as there is some form of mobile Internet reasonably priced. For example here i pay 99cent a day here for 50mb and I've only once gone over that. And very rarely do I have 3G coverage. Guess I'll have to check it out when I land and see what's best. What's mobile coverage like in general? Because I won't be living in the city anyway!

earnyourturns

You'll be right out in Darfield, though if you go further out into the mountains you won't get coverage on the peaks and stuff. How did you manage to organise a job there btw?

C0N0R

I'm going over to work with family to start off with. But if you have any sort of farming experience or an interest in farming it shouldn't be to hard to get a job.

DancingGrape

Conor, Go with 2 degreese mobile network. It's by far the cheapest. A lot of NZ Phones (infact most of them) are ran on a network but without a sim card so more than likely, you will not be able to use your irish phone. Hope it helps

brendansmith

C0N0R wrote: »

I hear what your saying. But I just love performance cars! The body condition isn't the most important thing to me, it's what's under the bonnet that makes me smile.

Just make sure you know what to look for. The WOF seems to be a pretty lax affair and in NZ and OZ there is alot of this business of driving in first gear in the red for a kilometer before changing up through the gears, if that makes sense.

C0N0R

brendansmith wrote: »

Just make sure you know what to look for. The WOF seems to be a pretty lax affair and in NZ and OZ there is alot of this business of driving in first gear in the red for a kilometer before changing up through the gears, if that makes sense.

Best to find a mechanic to come with me then. I'm hoping seen as I'm going to family it won't be to hard to find a mechanic I can trust. Would it be better going for a nz car or are jap imports safe enough??

DancingGrape wrote: »

Conor, Go with 2 degreese mobile network. It's by far the cheapest. A lot of NZ Phones (infact most of them) are ran on a network but without a sim card so more than likely, you will not be able to use your irish phone. Hope it helps

That's the last thing I want to hear! I was hoping to use my iPhone out there as me normal phone to allow me to stay in touch with email etc

DancingGrape

Well iphones are more advanced than most phones so maybe something can be done. Ask your network.

C0N0R

I'm hoping there wont be a problem. The iPhone is unlocked for use with any network so that shouldn't be a problem. I guess I'll find out when I get there. Thanks

brendansmith

C0N0R wrote: »

Best to find a mechanic to come with me then. I'm hoping seen as I'm going to family it won't be to hard to find a mechanic I can trust. Would it be better going for a nz car or are jap imports safe enough??

If you rule out getting a jap inport you are going to have your work cut out for you. The imports undergo testing so they are grand.....I think

C0N0R

brendansmith wrote: »

If you rule out getting a jap inport you are going to have your work cut out for you. The imports undergo testing so they are grand.....I think

Wasn't sure if there was any import test or not. So I'm assuming any import I were to buy would be tested. Was doing a bit of looking and legacy's seem to be good value.

brendansmith

C0N0R wrote: »

Wasn't sure if there was any import test or not. So I'm assuming any import I were to buy would be tested. Was doing a bit of looking and legacy's seem to be good value.

The lad i work with was just saying yesterday that he had a legacy and he hated it.

All wheel drive and so fuel guzzler, noisy and ****e handling.

earnyourturns

Sooooo many legacies here in Otago. Between those and Rav4s they seem to make up every second vehicle. I've heard mixed stuff about Subies as well. I would seriously recommend getting something with 4WD/AWD though.

C0N0R

Well ideally I would love a rwd car but from looking through any websites they seem to be pricier for what you get. The noise wouldn't bother me and I don't intend doing a massive amount of driving to start off with. It was the b4 one I was looking at. Are they all 2.0 Turbo?? The other option that looked like a possible was a Impreza wrx sti wagon. They will never be known as the most reliable car in the world but I know that!

jank

Well there is a reason why a legacy is so sought after. AWD is great for the winter, heaps of room for bikes, skis and ****! Plus not a bad engine up on it. Also parts are cheap and readily available as there are so many of them. I bought mine for $1,700 sold it a year after for 2,100. Got about 30 calls for the damm thing. Easily sellable and sought after believe it or not.

Not a bad car at all IMO a bit heavy on the juice alright though!

C0N0R

Jesus that does sound cheap. I was thinking of spending a bit more on one. Are they reasonably quick??

Thats another thing j was wondering, did you do much skiing when you were over there? Because that is definatly something I will be doing come winter. Is it easy enough to hire gear including jackets trousers because I can't really bring everything with me! And is it expensive? Was it decent skiing?

earnyourturns

Skiing is the main reason I came back out to NZ (I've gone back to college here, will be here for next 3 years) and in Darfield you'll be SO close to a lot of the club fields. I've been out skiing the past three weekends and also spent a winter up at Wanaka two years ago. Any questions at all about skiing here, send me a PM.

Gear is a lot more expensive here than in Europe or North America so it's worth bringing as much stuff as possible with you. But lift tickets aren't so bad, well not if you go to the club fields, the passes at places like Treble Cone are extortionate.

Also be prepared for some...bracing...conditions. I have a black eye at the moment from being literally blown off my feet in a gale last weekend.

As for what nutcrackers are, well maybe save that for a surprise till you get here hehehe...

C0N0R

Well the only gear I have is clothes, just normally rented ski's and boots wherever I went. When does the ski season start and end? The conditions sound ehh what's the word, interesting!! When you say club field what do you mean??

C0N0R

Hmm another question, I have my visa granted, do I need to get a tax number? Is so how d feck do I do that??