Laura, you might receive more replies if you started a new thread with questions. Anyway, you now have 5 posts, so you might also be able to send personal messages.

The cheapest bike hires I could find were Waikato Car Rentals and Colemans Suzuki.
For a 6-week rental the Canadian couple were sure they wouldn't be stuck with a bike at the end of the trip that they couldn't sell. For longer periods and especially if you're returning to the country, purchasing a bike is probably a better option. There are also some bike dealers who will do a buy-back option if you want to be sure of selling the bike before leaving the country.

Insurance is not compulsory in NZ, but 3rd party insurance is usually cheap and is highly recommended. Included in the registration fee is a contribution to ACC, a compulsory accident compensation scheme for those who are injured in accidents. It does not cover any damage to property.

You could try contacting Star Insurance who have previously covered overseas riders in NZ, to hear what their prices and conditions are. Their email address is on the contact page.

The TradeMe Terms and Conditions for becoming a member has as the first condition:
"Becoming a Member: Becoming a member is free. You may only register as a member if you are resident in New Zealand or Australia and can form a legally binding contract that is enforceable against you. For example, you must be 18 years old. By registering as a member, you warrant that you can form a legally binding contract."

I know someone who lives overseas who has registered as a member, mainly to keep a watchlist of items of interest, but without the possibility of bidding on or buying auction items directly. You can certainly get someone in NZ with a TradeMe account to bid on your behalf.

In NZ anyone without a full motorcycle license is limited to bikes of 250cc or less. So it depends on how the authorities view your Canadian license. A 250cc with low seat height would be a good option for touring and for riding some of the gravel roads that are found in abundance. Unfortunately since all learner riders are limited to 250cc or less these bikes tend to be relatively expensive.

Great advice from artig there.
If you are hiring from Waikato Car Rentals, say Hi to Murry Mark, the owner. He is a very good friend from since we were babies! They don't come more straight or friendly than him. Say hi from me.

And thanks to all for your kind and encouraging words, I really appreciate the messages and emails. It's kinda over-whelming really.

Looking forward to meeting you all in about 6 weeks.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Nigel
Sorry to hear about your health issues and applaud you for continuing to host this meeting
I am currently planning a trip via Asia to the UK, therefore was eagerly wanting to attend workshops at the meeting to gather as much information from experienced motorbike travellers.
My question is, as this meeting has to be scaled down can you give some indication of the new format and will there be opportunities to get one on one advice (this will be my first meeting).
As I live in Auckland I need to judge whether or not to extend my budget to fly down to CHCH for the weekend.

I thought that I should introduce myself and join in this thread. Deb and I are the other "Canadian couple" who are renting bikes for our 6 week vacation in New Zealand (starting in just over 1 week). I've been exchanging e-mails with Arne for the last month as we have worked out the details for our bikes during our trip.

Keith pointed me to this site and the HU gathering last fall when I was e-mailing him for tips about travelling in NZ. Although Deb and I would like to join in and meet some more people, it just won't fit into our schedule. We will likely be heading back to the north Island on Feb 16 or 17 as we will be flying back to Canada on Feb 28. Our plans are not as flexible as they might be since we will be travelling with 2 other Canadian couples for much of February and we have to ensure everybody get to see some of the areas they want.

Laura, if you want any details about our rental situation, please contact me. I will be riding a Honda Transalp from Waikato (my dealings with Murray Mark have been super to date and the rental price was very good for our purposes). Deb will be on a Suzuki DL 650 from Coleman Suzuki (thanks to a nudge from Arne that worked out very well). We spent a lot of time checking into the option of buying bikes then re-selling them, but felt that the possibility of not being able to sell them quickly might increase the cost past that of renting.

By the way, we both ride Honda ST 1100's here in Canada and love them for their ability to eat up lots of miles in North America. For our trip to New Zealand, we wanted to go with dual sports so we can see if we enjoy the gravel road riding as much as the pavement. If so, we might have to add some to our stable back home.

Hi rossmac.

That's a good question, and I should have put something up before.
What will happen is there will be a blackboard up so people can write who they are, and where they are going/have been as well as what they want to get from the meeting. That way you can track down the people who may be able to help, as well as knowing what other people want to hear about. Also people can write suggestions for what they want to do the next day.

Officially, things start at 1pm, but anyone can arrive earlier then that, but will run a serious risk of being given a job! I do the spit roast the traditional way, with a hardwood fire and hot coals under the lamb, which is rotated by hand by everyone for the five hours or so that it takes to cook. It's great fun and VERY thirsty work

There could easily be a couple of informal workshops during the afternoon, should anyone want to kick one off.

Peter and Kay Forwood are speaking in the evening. As they are the most travelled motorcyclists ever (in fact they are the most travelled of anyone in the world on any motor vehicle), they are a veritable wealth of information and they both have a great manner when it comes to imparting what they have learnt. They have stayed with us twice now, and we have hung on every word. 12 years, 193 countries, 515,000km and they are off to China if all goes well, right after the meeting. They are worth the price of admission alone!

There will be lots of time and opportunities to get one-oon-one time with people, and I'm pretty sure I could organise to collect you from the airport if you come down.

Hope we see you.

Kind regards

Nigel Marx

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Just a note to all that I will be unable to reply to emails and PM's very often over the next 12 days as I am away from the computer for work reasons and and then 10 days holiday, camping on an island on Lake Ohau, fishing and reading..... I may not come back...
I will check a couple of times while we are away, when I get near an internet cafe, but we are only planning one fresh food run in that time.

If you are looking for accommodation close by, the nearest cheap hotels and backpackers are in Lyttelton Tunnel Vision Backpackers Accommodation Hostel Home
Empire, Lyttelton Hotel
Royal Hotel - Lyttelton, Hotels & Taverns in Lyttelton - finda New Zealand

Of course Google will also help you find something. Be a bit careful to check that the address for accommodation is Lyttelton itself, as there are many places around Lyttelton Harbour and could be 40 or 50 minutes drive away. Lyttelton is 5 minutes away through the tunnel, and we will be running a van to pick up anyone from there and probably a return as well (although there are buses every 10 minutes past our house).


We are looking forward to meeting you all.

Kind regards

Nigel and Lee

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Nigel,
Thanks for that info, looks like you have got things well organized.
Sounds like it will be worth making the trip (if only just for the spit roast )
Thanks
Ross

Hi Nigel

We have not spoken befor but i am looking to attend the meetimh in Feb but do not know venue location or if we can get accommodation at this late stage could you please advise venue so i canm sort out accomodation .

Andrew Lush
Winchester SC