Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pegasus Rental Cars
( 0800 803 580, 03-548 2852;
www.rentalcars.co.nz
)
MOTORCYCLE
Born to be wild? NZ has great terrain for motorcycle touring, despite the fickle weather in
some regions. Most of the country's motorcycle-hire shops are in Auckland and Christchurch,
where you can hire anything from a little 50cc moped (aka nifty-fifty) to a throbbing 800cc
touring motorcycle and beyond. Following are recommended operators (who also run guided
tours) with rates from around $85 to $320 per day:
New Zealand Motorcycle Rentals & Tours
( 09-486 2472;
www.nzbike.com
)
Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Tours
( 03-377 3211;
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz
)
INSURANCE
Rather than risk paying out wads of cash if you have an accident, you can take out your own
comprehensive insurance policy, or (the usual option) pay an additional fee per day to the
rental company to reduce your excess. This brings the amount you must pay in the event of
an accident down from around $3000 to nil or around $300, depending on how much you
pay.
Most insurance agreements won't cover the cost of damage to glass (including the wind-
screen) or tyres unless you take out extra cover, and insurance coverage is often invalidated
on beaches and certain rough unsealed roads − read the fine print.
PURCHASE
Buying a car then selling it at the end of your travels can be one of the cheapest and best
ways to see NZ. Auckland is the easiest place to buy a car, followed by Christchurch: scour
09-525 1920, 03-343 9850;
www.turners.co.nz
)
is NZ's biggest car-auction operator, with 10 loca-
tions.
Legalities
Make sure your prospective vehicle has a Warrant of Fitness (WoF) and registra-
tion valid for a reasonable period: see
www.nzta.govt.nz
for details.
Buyers should also take out third-party insurance, covering the cost of repairs to another
vehicle in an accident that is your fault: try the
Automobile Association
(AA; 0800 500
444;
www.aa.co.nz
)
. NZ's no-fault Accident Compensation Corporation scheme covers person-
al injury, but make sure you have travel insurance too.
Various car-inspection companies inspect cars for around $170; find them at car auctions,
or they will come to you. Try
Vehicle Inspection New Zealand
(VINZ;
0800 468 469, 09-573
3230;
www.vinz.co.nz
)
or the AA.
