Tag: Backpacking

A new landing pad for Spaceships and accommodation for wayward travellers

On the wake of the massive earthquake that hit Christchurch in recent weeks, many families and companies were forced to evacuate and abandon Spaceships Campervan Hiretheir premises, unable to return indefinitely. As business ground to a halt, accommodation has become a big issue as hotels and backpackers etc were also forced to close their doors.

One of Transfercar’s valued partners, Spaceships Rental Campervans,  were one of the unfortunate rental companies to be hit hard and have now relocated to a new depot that they call “The Castle”:

Continue reading A new landing pad for Spaceships and accommodation for wayward travellers

Annoying animals across the globe

This is an interesting article from Stuff.co.nz and one I would love to hear more about from Transfercar’s readers and drivers.  Post your comments here or on Facebook and tell us what your craziest/scariest or just weirdest animal experience was while travelling!

cute squirrels“Aw, isn’t it cute?”

That, right there, is the officially accepted response to any animal contact the world over. Animals are cute. They’re there to be photographed, adored, and occasionally fed.

But you know what? Not all animals are cute, or adorable, or even nice. Some of them are a rank pain in the butt.

When you travel, you come into contact with all sorts of animals you never even dreamed existed. Some of them are amazing creatures that you’ll be telling friends about for the rest of your life.

Some of them just annoy the hell out of you.

Read the full article here……..

Transfercar’s itinerary for the ‘Big Day Out’ New Zealand & Australia! January 2011

The Big Day Out

It’s the event of the year for many hard core party goers! People come from all over the world to witness a gathering of extraordinary musicians and some of the hottest and heaviest artists in the world today.

Melbourne, Goldcoast and Sydney are all sold out with Sydney planning its second event. Auckland tickets won’t last long as many will be lining up to see the 34 bands banging out their tunes on the multiple stages within the venue.

For all our Transfercar drivers, keep an eye out for our free relocation cars and campervans heading to event locations around this time!

Transfercar’s suggested itinerary:

  • Request a relocation vehicle in advance for both journeys there and back if you can
  • Have a 5 day holiday cruising in a free car or campervan as you travel to and from the “Big Day Out” near you
  • Arrive at destination – Drop off vehicle
  • Taxi to the event – Taxi to your hotel (SLEEP)
  • Take your new transfercar home/or fly/bus/train if you are feeling a bit jaded!!

Links to the full lineup:

Auckland Fri Jan 21 (MT SMART STADIUM Maurice Rd Penrose. Gates open 11am) Lineup

Gold Coast Sun Jan 23 (GOLD COAST PARKLANDS Smith St Southport. Gates open 11am) Lineup

Sydney Wed Jan 26 & Thu Jan 27 (SYDNEY SHOWGROUND Showground Rd Sydney Olympic Park. Gates open 11am. Event closes midnight) Lineup

Melbourne Sun Jan 30 (MELBOURNE FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE Epsom Rd, Flemington, Melbourne. Gates Open 10.30am) Lineup

Adelaide Fri Feb 4 (ADELAIDE SHOWGROUND Rose Tce Wayville, Adelaide. Gates Open 11am) Lineup

Perth Sun Feb 6 (PERTH CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND Graylands Rd Claremont, Perth. Gates Open 11am) Lineup

When it is actually ok to use a tourist bus

Regardless of what form of transport you use in New Zealand, there will always be areas where you can’t bike or drive a motorised vehicle. There is simply no other option than to hoof it. And that’s ok.

Take for example the Coromandel; it’s not possible to drive the full circle around the top of this peninsula. To the west from Coromandel Town the road heads North through Colville, along the Hauraki Gulf, and stops just past Port Jackson. To the east it curls its way up the Pacific coast to come to a halt at Stony Bay. In between lays the Garden of Eden: Cape Colville Park, a DOC owned sanctuary -to say the least- with a world renowned walking path that connects Stoney Bay with Port Jackson in a truly spectaculair manner.

Walking is good though, and fun-apparently. So this is not the problem.The problem is getting to these remote sanctuaries in one piece and good health.

Should you for example be renting a car during your holiday, getting up the Far North of the Coromandel is, to say the least, a bit challenging for the international and national out-of-towners. Not only are you usually not allowed to drive on gravel roads with your rental-from Colville on everything is gravel road-, in this particular case you would be in need of some serious four-wheel-drive-activity at times as well. Your rented 1.3L stationwagon is not going to be cute for this.

Not to mention that the roads themselves are quite……tricky. Imagine extremely small winding gravel roads going up and down steep hills with, just on the side of the road, sheer drops of hundreds of meters to ocean pounded rocks far, far below. And now imagine you and your rented sleeping-4-campervan creeping up these narrow roads. Not pretty.

So, what to do if you’re driving a no-go car or campervan? In this case, contact the Coromandel Strongman Coachlines, ask for the feisty sixty-something driver and co-owner Jocelyn with her big smile and even bigger wrap-around sunglasses to book you on one of their coaches going up the Far North. They have a regular service dropping people off at one end and picking them up at the other. And this type of service will be provided by others in many other remote areas throughout New Zealand as well.

Now, you might have to share a ride with the occasional corporate Aucklander out on a bonding weekend, but try to keep the bigger picture in mind while enduring this phenomena. Think of it as a mantra-hear the ‘hummmmmmmmmmmm….’ And here we go….Your doing this because: You can leave your precious rented car/campervan behind, enjoy the ride to and from safely, take as many photo’s on the way as your 64mb memory card can possibly store and, last but definitely not least, you don’t get into trouble with your rental company.

“hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….everybody wins!”

Be smart when renting or relocating vehicles

There are unfortunately a handful of…..let’s say unsavoury rental companies in New Zealand-a few more than a handful world wide obviously-that spoil it for the good ones. Mind you, there is a vast majority that handle ‘situations’ professionally (like the companies on this website), but some kinda..don’t.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, or more specific the Consumer Issues Branch, often deals with complaints about rental car companies. Particularly from travellers:

“These travellers have since returned home to their respective countries only to be greeted by a credit card bill with additional charges by rental companies for damages to the car. Damages these travellers say did not happen while they had the car in possession.” (March 2008 Newsletter Ministry of Consumer Affairs)

Cue to: It’s-your-word-against-theirs-drama.

It happens to the best of us: To my next door neighbour last year in Australia, in January this year to my brother in Belgium and, I suspect, to a whole lot more travellers world wide.

But, when renting a car you can protect yourself from any unwanted bills afterwards. And this is rather easy to do so too.

It might seem a bit over the top or even paranoid to you, but taking a couple of photos of your rented (or to be relocated, mind you)ride before and after each trip doesn’t hurt anybody. Particularly photographing any current damage(s) before driving away into the sunset. And, of course don’t forget to point out these existing damages to the rental company while you’re picking the car up. Even when the employee says: “Nah, that’s sweet” -as they usually phrase it here in New Zealand- persist and have it put on paper anyway and get a copy of it. You’re not being painful -well, maybe a little bit- but you’re just covering your ass, nothing wrong with that.

Now, when you drop your rental off at the designated point of no return, it’s best to get someone from the company to give it a final inspection and literally -yes, LITERALLY-sign it of as, again, ‘sweet as’. And while you’re at it, get a copy of that ‘sweet as’.

However, this is easier said than done as many travellers are droppping the car off outside office hours. Probably because that’s the whole concept of backpacking (or travelling in general for that matter); postponing and avoiding by all means the ‘office hour life’. But apparently early flights or late night flights have got something to do with it as well. So it would be a good idea to go with a reputable company that has staff available that’s willing to stick around for 24 hours a day for when you -emotionally-part ways with your rental set of wheels. 

Please note that most of New Zealand’s rental car companies are a member of the Rental Association of New Zealand, and you can rely on them to treat you fairly and ethically. But should a company -where ever this might be on Mother Earth- act dishonourably (a.k.a ripping your off), then there are some rights you may have which could be useful to know.

The two major credit card companies, Visa and Mastercard -with whom travellers have a hate/love relationship-have outlined terms and conditions with regards to the rental charge backs.

So read them and know what can and can’t be done: Visa and Mastercard

And, as they would say in the States:”For God sakes, take those photos of the damn car will ya”

Driving throughout the Land of the Long White Cloud

When you set foot on beautiful Aoteroa you probably have already made up your mind on how you are going to get you and your backpack around New Zealand. Some backpackers are very keen and pedal their way around the islands, other hitch-hike while some rent a car or motor home.

Another option worth considering is a backpacker bus. A sort of magical mystery tour, taking you from one hotspot to another and in between designated stops you can drink, sleep and do…..stuff. Please bear in mind that these busses are also know as ‘The Gonorrhea Experience’. So be smart boys and girls.

Now, with these busses you’re guaranteed at the end of your journey to have ticked off most of popular New Zealand destinations on your list. Examples of backpacker busses are the Magic Travellers Network, The Kiwi Experience or Stray Adventure Busses. But in all honesty; I get a severe case of the flock-of-sheep-feeling when I see one of those busses.

So, for the adventurous and brave backpacker-boys-and-girls arriving in lovely New Zealand, there is another option: Buy your own car and go from A to B to C to D in your own good time.

You’ll need-depending on your nationality-an international drivers license to go with your countries divers license. So yes, you need to have a drivers license in your country of origin.

Please enquire about insurance prior to buying your car. BBH and the AA are both good options. Do not drive without insurance!!! You will not be the first traveller to get into trouble because you’re not covered by any insurance.

And, maybe most important:Drive on the LEFTSIDE! Put a sticker on your steering wheel: LEFT is GOOD, RIGHT is NOT CUTE.

All good, but where to find a car?

Depending on what time of year you arrive, you’ll have either an easy time or a potential headache finding a car. The tourist season kicks off around December and there will be lots of new arrivals looking for a limited number of good cars. Best bet is to look for a car as the tourist season comes to an end (around May) and people are desperately looking to unload their vehicles. But most people arrive in New Zealand in December with a good reason and it doesn’t make sense to plan your entire trip around when the best month to buy a car is. So even if you arrive as things are getting busy, there are still places to look for a bargain.

New Zealand’s anwser to eBay is called Trade Me, and this is a good place to look for a fine deal. Notice boards in backpacker’s hostels are another great place to look, especially in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as they have international airports and people tend to either start or end their trips in these cities. Most major cities will have a car fair or car auction, so ask around once you get to town. Checking the local papers for private sales or heading to car dealerships will also give you some more options. At the start of the tourist season the best cars will go fast, so make sure you get yourself a mobile phone (on pre-pay) and don’t count on emailing the seller back and forth.

I’ve heard that some people who are unable to sell their cars end up leaving them parked at the airport with the keys inside and a not staying ‘take it’, but this could be just another urban legend.

When you find the car of your dreams, arrange with the seller to take it in to a garage for a thorough vehicle check.

The AA can check for you (via a pre-purchase vehicle inspection) if there is for example money owing on the car or other interests pending. If all is good, including the asking price, you’ve got yourself a car!

The only disadvantage of buying your own car is that you, at the end of your trip, will need to sell it again. Depending on the season this could be easy-peasy, but if you’re off-season it can be very hard unloading it. Start a few weeks before you have to go and try Trade Me, notice boards in as many backpackers possible, supermarkets, car markets, newspapers and last but not least; a mega big sign behind the window of your car. Be realistic in price and throw in a few chattels like gas cookers, pots and pans and so on if you happen to have been camping. You can try selling your car to a car dealer, but most of them are not keen to purchase backpacker-cars and in the event they do, you’ll only get a coin.

So, worst case scenario: It’s time to go and your car is far from being sold.

Nothing left to do but to leave the car behind at the airport with the keys inside and a not saying ‘take it’ for the next backpacker to come around.