New Zealand or Bust

[bobnick]

Last time we were in the UAE and Australia my avatar showed 4 different countrys we were not in.

 

[jongood]

We missed everything North of Auckland, I have a feeling we might have to come back and do it properly, photos please

Exactly what happened to us Martin. Its difficult because theres a lot to see but we wanted to find some resting time in there as well and not to become a route march like some of the car travelling posters are finding.

 

[jongood]

The museum was beautifully presented with cars and exhibits in super condition,
View attachment 1033747
This TEXACO delivery truck was lovely and had been rescued in very poor condition,
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View attachment 1033750
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Back to the number plate theme,

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View attachment 1033754
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Little,

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And large

Are those Gogomobil's ?

I thought that tanker was in the Queenstown truck museum, are there two?

Edit. I'm getting my towns mixed up , Invercargill Richardsons

 

[funflair]

Are those Gogomobil's ?

I thought that tanker was in the Queenstown truck museum, are there two?

Edit. I'm getting my towns mixed up , Invercargill Richardsons

Gogomobils were there somewhere but they are a Vespa 400 and a Fiat auto Bianchi according to the plates. Don’t know of another tanker Jon, this one came from the States and was a proper basket case.

Edit found them

The yellow taxi in the corner is a Fist 600 multipla I think.

That’s for the little red thing and the Gogo, don’t know what motor but that’s a SU carb sticking out the bonnet I think,

 

[Two on Tour]

Are those Gogomobil's ?

I thought that tanker was in the Queenstown truck museum, are there two?

Edit. I'm getting my towns mixed up , Invercargill Richardsons

Is this the one you mean Jon ? There were a few others, but this was the standout one.

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[funflair]

So as we were passing we called into Zion motorhomes who just happened to be the only MORELO dealer in NZ and possibly the only N+B as well, they are also McRent agents so it was good to see what their European vans looked like and to be honest they were streets ahead of the Maui we are in (more money though) nicely presented, clean and a choice of decent layouts.

Seemed strange having a complete mirror, door and steering wheel on OK side and the bathroom and kitchen mirrored as well,

Palace 90m so island bed, you can rent these but they are something like $1500 per day I think

N+B iSmove looked nice enough if we had to downsize the Palace.

Not sure what van this is and can’t imagine what the buckles are for on the bedroom ceiling

 

[funflair]

Our best purchase must be the membership of NZMCA,

In somebody’s garden for $20, help yourself to vegetables she said, but we didn’t as we are emptying the fridge have a walk around the garden she said, so we did only a couple of minutes off the SH1 and about 20 from the airport and so quiet down a dead end road.

The locals are friendly as well

 

[nicholsong]

So as we were passing we called into Zion motorhomes who just happened to be the only MORELO dealer in NZ and possibly the only N+B as well, they are also McRent agents so it was good to see what their European vans looked like and to be honest they were streets ahead of the Maui we are in (more money though) nicely presented, clean and a choice of decent layouts.
View attachment 1033800
Seemed strange having a complete mirror, door and steering wheel on OK side and the bathroom and kitchen mirrored as well,

View attachment 1033803
View attachment 1033801
Palace 90m so island bed, you can rent these but they are something like $1500 per day I think

View attachment 1033802

N+B iSmove looked nice enough if we had to downsize the Palace.

View attachment 1033816
Not sure what van this is and can’t imagine what the buckles are for on the bedroom ceiling

t
Buckles probably snap into the two fittings on the front of the mattress base (centre of pic) so I conclude the mattress wooden base lifts up for access to garage or any stowage under. Is that feasible?

 

[tacr2man]

Gogomobils were there somewhere but they are a Vespa 400 and a Fiat auto Bianchi according to the plates. Don’t know of another tanker Jon, this one came from the States and was a proper basket case.

View attachment 1033780
Edit found them

The yellow taxi in the corner is a Fist 600 multipla I think.

View attachment 1033790
That’s for the little red thing and the Gogo, don’t know what motor but that’s a SU carb sticking out the bonnet I think,

The red car is a Berkley , mini powertrain 1960's IIRC

 

[nicholsong]

You can’t trust those flags Geoff, as you have proven I think it depends on which sim I am on as so noticed myself that we were back in Singapore a couple of days ago.

I have recently loaded a free VPN, but it does not allow one to select a country. My flag is displayed according to the country where the VPN server they choose to use is based. It has been Romania but more recently Netherlands.

What surprised me is that the display on your posts did show Singaporean flag for a few posts, but has retrospectively changed to NZ. How does that happen?

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[nicholsong]

Last time we were in the UAE and Australia my avatar showed 4 different countrys we were not in.

Hot-wired to your dreams?

 

[jongood]

Is this the one you mean Jon ? There were a few others, but this was the standout one.

View attachment 1033776

Yes thats the one, looks very similar, thanks

 

[Mr porky]

So as we were passing we called into Zion motorhomes who just happened to be the only MORELO dealer in NZ and possibly the only N+B as well, they are also McRent agents so it was good to see what their European vans looked like and to be honest they were streets ahead of the Maui we are in (more money though) nicely presented, clean and a choice of decent layouts.
View attachment 1033800
Seemed strange having a complete mirror, door and steering wheel on OK side and the bathroom and kitchen mirrored as well,

View attachment 1033803
View attachment 1033801
Palace 90m so island bed, you can rent these but they are something like $1500 per day I think

View attachment 1033802

N+B iSmove looked nice enough if we had to downsize the Palace.

View attachment 1033816
Not sure what van this is and can’t imagine what the buckles are for on the bedroom ceiling

I would not ask about the buckles if I was you, or maybe do ask and then get invited to a 60s key party

 

[mapman]

Our best purchase must be the membership of NZMCA,
View attachment 1033841
In somebody’s garden for $20, help yourself to vegetables she said, but we didn’t as we are emptying the fridge have a walk around the garden she said, so we did only a couple of minutes off the SH1 and about 20 from the airport and so quiet down a dead end road.

View attachment 1033842
View attachment 1033843
The locals are friendly as well

Does membership of UK clubs get you any reduction when joining? We will be staying with family before hiring so hopefully they will send wings to their address. Your posts have really been useful in planning for 2026 trip. Thanks

 

[funflair]

When we were at Kaikoura, we decided to go out on the whale watch, however, my wife who is normally sick on a wet lawn was advised to go into the local pharmacy and get a 'Kaikoura Bomb' its a pill that the pharmacist designed....... we were out in a really rough fast sea and for the first time ever she didn't see her breakfast again.

Don’t worry, next time I go whale watching it will be from above. Jen

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[funflair]

I’m n

Does membership of UK clubs get you any reduction when joining? We will be staying with family before hiring so hopefully they will send wings to their address. Your posts have really been useful in planning for 2026 trip. Thanks

I’m not sure to be honest, they did ask about membership of affiliated clubs and it cost less than I thought it was going to, we picked up our membership pack as we were passing but I am sure they would send it to family, happy planning and have a good trip

 

[Two on Tour]

Exactly what happened to us Martin. Its difficult because theres a lot to see but we wanted to find some resting time in there as well and not to become a route march like some of the car travelling posters are finding.

That depends on whether you want a "route march" to see as much of New Zealand as you can in the short time we have or relax gazing into the distance for a few days.
Depends on what you come to New Zealand for.
For us it's what's the point of travelling all this way without getting the most out of it, but of course it depends on what "your" idea is of getting the most out of it is.

 

[Mikey RV]

When we spent three months in New Zealand in a camper van we saw and did a lot but also had a lot of down time to enjoy. You will never see it all on a visit so a good excuse to go back. The ones that made me laugh are the big Kiwi experience coaches full of youngsters. They get to their evening spot, go in the bar all night, sleep on the coach all day repeat, repeat for the whole trip, so don’t see anything.

 

[funflair]

Well that's it,

Auckland airport and there is a plane out there for us somewhere,

We have found coffee making to be very slow in New Zealand, nice when it arrives but anything up to 25 minutes seems normal, this one was the fastest order on a screen and put your name in and it is made and delivered to the counter like this (Auckland, New Zealand Air lounge)

First time in Business Class, I hope that face doesn't mean she is starting to like the high life,

No WiFi on the plane so posting this from Singapore, my watch says it's 02:25 but that is NZ time, goodness knows what time it is here but our flight to Heathrow leaves in about 4 hours, pity we got so well fed on the plane as the food looks really good in the lounge here, well at least I can use the WiFi and charge my hearing aids

 

[KASPAR]

Martin & Jen thank you for taking us on your trip. Brought back happy memories of a country we loved visiting.

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[Langtoftlad]

I've only just come back (Dec 24), it was a 3 week coach tour but already thinking about a return trip (but practically likely to be a couple of years)

 

[Mikey RV]

Thanks for taking the time to post your travels and photos for us all to enjoy. It’s been great coming along on the trip.

 

[nicholsong]

That depends on whether you want a "route march" to see as much of New Zealand as you can in the short time we have or relax gazing into the distance for a few days.
Depends on what you come to New Zealand for.
For us it's what's the point of travelling all this way without getting the most out of it, but of course it depends on what "your" idea is of getting the most out of it is.

With the long trip each way and so much to see I would think that a MH swap for a year might be a good idea. I am sure there are lots of Kiwis that would appeal to.

Problem is finding an equivalent MH in NZ with reliable owners.

 

[nicholsong]

I've only just come back (Dec 24), it was a 3 week coach tour but already thinking about a return trip (but practically likely to be a couple of years)

Stephen

Do you still get an F1 concession for that sort of trip? Do Air NZ give reciprocal concessions?

I quit at 5 years so never made the 10 years for continuing concessions.

Geoff

 

[KiwiKampers]

funflair Your posts on here have been very interesting and informative. I’ve learned a lot about places I didn’t know existed in my own backyard.
I have also made sure I tell as many people as possible not to use Maui or any Tourism Holdings rental companies.
I would be curious to know what response you got to your complaint about the motorhome you hired and whether you are satisfied with how they handled your complaint? Will you be taking the matter further?
Thank you for sharing your travels with us all. You’ve done a better job of promoting NZ than New Zealand Tourism.

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[Langtoftlad]

Stephen

Do you still get an F1 concession for that sort of trip? Do Air NZ give reciprocal concessions?

I quit at 5 years so never made the 10 years for continuing concessions.

Geoff

Yes, in theory.
But I fly on a commercial ticket to avoid all the subload supposedly firm nonsense.

 

[rolosroller]

Thanks for sharing your

 

[WESTY66]

I’ve washed and cleaned out your van and put it back, other than the 12,597 miles we put on it you wouldn’t know we had been in it

 

[nicholsong]

Yes, in theory.
But I fly on a commercial ticket to avoid all the subload supposedly firm nonsense.

Can be stressful, as I know from commuting from London to my Jersey base. I could see more postings ahead so I quit, best thing I did because I got into Aviation Law and had some great times around the world. Went back to flying in retirement 10 years later with better airline management and went straight in as Viscount Captain and 2 years later ended up as B737 Captain, only because of 5 excellent ex-BA Training Captains there.

[Apologies for interrupting NZ thread]

 

[Mousy]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip, I’ve really enjoyed it. Our first big retirement trip 7 years ago was NZ to visit old friends. We absolutely loved it and recommend a visit to everyone. We must return.

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