“YOLO” is a 42 foot PDQ catamaran owned by Karen and Jason Trautz. Five months were spent in New Zealand and they submitted this useful and detailed report of tips and advice for any yachts planning on visiting.

YOLO’s blog spot is http://yolotrautz.blogspot.com

New Zealand Logistics – June 2012, s/v YOLO

OVERVIEW

When you get to the western end of the South Pacific, you only have a few options to avoid the summer cyclones which typically arrive during late December through May. You can grab a “cyclone mooring” in Tonga or Fiji, head north towards the equator, or make landfall in New Zealand or Australia. Hundreds of yachts typically head south to New Zealand.

About ten years ago the New Zealand (NZ) government formally developed tourism and it now surpasses agriculture as the number one cash crop. Yachties are now greeted and steered to New Zealand by their marine industry representatives who hawk the virtues of the country know as “The Land Of The Long White Cloud.” Don’t be surprised if you meet one of the NZ promoters at a major U.S.A. boat show, Panama City, French Polynesia, Tonga, or other locations. Their promotional packages and free thumb drives are stuffed with valuable information. The information noted below helps complete the logistical picture of visiting New Zealand with a yacht.

Most Kiwis are warm helpful people and their country has numerous positive attributes. I will not focus on these qualities, instead, I will focus on the little surprises that will crop up during a typical summer in New Zealand.

Cost Of Living

Our NZ friends all cooed the same song…” prices have really gone up during the last few years in New Zealand.” My observation concludes that prices in New Zealand on a whole exceed the costly goods and services provided in French Polynesia, which seemed high at the time. For example, I have purchased New Zealand butter all over the globe (Europe, Africa, the Americas) and the highest price ever paid per kilo was in New Zealand, where it is made. A Yanmar boat part I paid $147 USD last year in the U.S.A. costs $293 USD in NZ. I could go on and on with examples, and the results would be the same. New Zealand is a very expensive place to visit and live in. Everyone, except for the Australians, appears to be on the same page with this conclusion.

The cost of local goods and services continue to climb as demand decreases. Demand is decreasing because the population of New Zealand is shrinking and more and more people are travelling overseas for less expensive services. And, making purchases on the Internet from off-shore locations for less than $400 NZD allows locals to purchase less expensive goods throughout the world. Many NZ boaters now buy most of their parts via the web from U.S.A. vendors and have their goods shipped halfway around the world for far less than the local price.

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

It appears to an outsider that the role of the national and local (“The Council”) government is to regulate just about every aspect of daily life in NZ, womb to tomb.

On Arrival

Starting with arrival to NZ, typically Opua or Whangarei, three government officials will visit your yacht. With no exception, they are efficient and professional.

Caution: There is an extremely long list of items which CANNOT be brought into the country. Most yachts had little or no food items removed from their vessel upon arrival. In a few cases, the government employee basically confiscated most of the items in their refrigerator, freezer, and galley (meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables,). For example, unopened pre-packaged lunch meats of all sorts were confiscated, as well as any cooked meats in the fridge or freezer. Search the Internet before arrival to determine what can and cannot be brought into NZ. Or, be ultra conservative and arrive with unopened canned stores only.

Immigration – Visas

As the marine industry representative stated, “There is no fee for visiting New Zealand.” True, most outsiders can stay in NZ for 90 days…free. However, the cyclone season is greater than 90 days. To extend your VISA you will have to complete a 20+ page VISA extension form. This form requires a copy of your bank statements showing that you have the financial means to support yourself while in NZ, boat papers, and 2 passport photos.

If you want to stay in NZ for a total of more than 9 months you must have a medical exam and chest x-rays from a New Zealand doctor. Depending on your citizenship and in most cases you do NOT have to submit your passport for extending your VISA, Immigration simply notes the VISA extension in their computer system. Yachties should download/obtain and read the guide for completing the extension form before answering the questions.

The fee for the extension is about $140 NZD, per application form, which can include family members. In 2012 $100 NZD equalled about $80 USD.

Hint: To save money make sure all crew on your yacht are considered family members and use one extension form.

Caution: You can mail these items to the Immigration office in Auckland, however, if you failed to answer one of the confusing questions correctly, they will mail the packet back to you with further questions. Exchanging information via mail is a yachtie nightmare…so just to be safe we hand-delivered our application to the Immigration office in downtown Auckland, had it reviewed on the spot, and it was basically approved. We received our confirmed extended VISA approval several weeks later via snail mail.

Marinas – Electrical Inspection

If you plan to use a marina in NZ you will have to pay to have a yacht electrical inspection, “per government requirements.” The marina will typically assist you in getting an NZ certified electrician to inspect your shore power outlet and cord. After paying him/her $50-$100 NZD you will get a certificate which can be shown at each marina you visit in New Zealand. There were reports that a few marinas looked the other way for some international yachties when it came to electrical inspections. Most didn’t.

Propane/Butane – Tank Inspections

The gas in NZ, like most of the world, is a combination of gases. And, the gas bottles used in NZ are like those used in the U.S.A. However, before any gas bottle, or dive tank bottle, will be filled by a service provider, it must be inspected and approved by a New Zealand tank inspector. In a few rare cases in the Auckland area, a government permit to have the tank inspected must be secured before you can get your tank inspected. This governmental permit costs around $75 NZD per bottle. Then you take your cylinder to the tank inspector, wait a few days, and pay him about $50 NZD per tank. He/she will stamp a “New Zealand LAB number” on your tank if the bottle is good. You can then take your tank to a gas fill station or dive shop. The cost of filling a 20-pound tank in 2012 was about $25 NZD.

The above applies to EVERY non-New Zealand tank, regardless of condition, age, or origin. Government regulations state that fibreglass tanks CANNOT be inspected or filled, period. Given the bureaucracy and expense noted above, many yachties simply buy a bar-b-q tank already filled with gas at one of the numerous retailers providing such an option for about $65. In a few rare instances, gas filling stations looked the other way and filled non-LAB certified tanks.

SHORE SERVICES

Credit Cards

Many retail locations in New Zealand require a four-digit security code/PIN to use a credit card. This requirement is uncommon in some parts of the world where signatures remain the norm. If you plan on fueling your yacht, auto, or want the convenience of other self-service options, have your credit card company issue you a security PIN before you arrive in New Zealand.

Sales/Value Added Tax

NZ has a 15% tax on just about everything. In theory, according to the Inland Revenue agent (IRS) I met with, the tax does NOT apply to goods and services for visiting yachts (not yachties). I.e., the parts and services for your yacht are “zero-rated” (tax-free). However, if the yachtie buys clothes, a meal, fuel for a car, etc., it will be taxed.

Despite what the government employee stated and the NZ promoters sing, just about every business in New Zealand will charge you an additional 15% tax. However, in practice, you can save money by pointing out to the merchant your “zero-rated” status for boat-related purchases. Many merchants will spin a yarn about not being able to complete a tax-free transaction at the cash register, however, in most cases, they will immediately offer to discount your purchase. My conciliatory discounts typically ran in the 15% to 30% range. Ask, and you will probably receive…even at the dental office they lowered my bill for some unknown reason.

FYI, upon arrival to NZ, the Customs officer will give you an “Import Entry (Temporary)” form that documents your tax-free status. Carry a copy of the form in your wallet/purse and provide it to merchants upon request as proof of your tax-free status. A few yacht-related businesses have complied with the bureaucracy to deal with the tax-free paperwork they must handle. These firms will wave the tax if you highlight your international yachtie status. Just about everything appears to be negotiable in New Zealand.

Telephones

About a dozen years ago the New Zealand government sold off its monopoly telecommunications company. Many locals noted that since that time prices have gone up and service quality has gone down. When you get to NZ you now have a wide range of cell phone service providers to choose from. They all have teaser rates and promotions, which many yachties fall for. When selecting a cell phone plan ask the representative detailed questions concerning their promotion and try to find and read up on all the fine print concerning your cell phone plan on their web site.

In general, pay as you go plans expire within 30 days. “Free calls” only apply to a very limited number of call options. Each month new programs with new terms replace old terms and conditions. Obscene fees apply to out-of-program calls. For example, phone numbers in NZ are 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 digits long. I could never figure out which numbers related to which location or service providers. As a result, I initially placed some very expensive and brief phone calls. If you call a cell phone within your cell company, and it is local, the call might be free. During “free weekend call periods” some calls are free and many are not…read the fine print.

Regardless of day or time, the majority of calls to local landlines, some NZ toll-free numbers, or cell phones with other service providers will cost you 80 cents per minute or more. A call to North America for 59 minutes or less will cost you a flat fee of $2.00 NZD, which is a great promotional deal. Every MINUTE after that will cost you $4.00 NZD; more fine print. One yachtie yacked for 110 minutes and expected a $4.00 charge for two hours of talk time, per the pitch given by the cell phone company rep. Her billed call was $202.00 NZD. One company charges $16 per minute after your minutes or program period has expired, for their out-of-plan rate. One yachtie “Topped Up” (prepaid) for more minutes while out-of-plan. The Top Up process lasted 4 minutes and cost him over $60 NZD, just to continue his cell phone and Internet service.

NZ toll-free numbers apply to unpublished geographic areas, some as small as providing only free calls to a specific city. Given the above and many other expensive miss-steps, do like most New Zealanders, text message friends and family extensively, and use the phone for emergency voice calls only. FYI, most providers charge about 20 cents per text message. If you want you can pay an additional monthly charge for “add-ons.” The list of add-ons exceeds the imagination…unlimited local calls, call answering, weather, sports, calls to Fiji, calls to England, text messaging, calls to landlines, etc. If you sign-up for the most common add-ons, your month prepaid phone bill will quickly exceed $120 NZD. Buyer beware…

Internet

In summary – Internet services approach third world standards for a premium price in New Zealand. There are numerous Internet service providers in NZ and all of them sell their services with two criteria, expiration date for access and/or a limited amount of data (Mb) you can use. In most cases, the low mega bite threshold will end your service before the week or month of usage has expired. Don’t be surprised if you burn through $40 NZD or more for Internet access per week if you visit sites with lots of popping ads, music, video, Skype, etc. Doing so will require “topping up” more frequently to stay connected.

Expect narrow bandwidth, frequent drops, and no service found in many parts of New Zealand. Internet access via a cell phone connection did not improve things in almost all cases.

Hint: Free Internet access for one hour can be found in some coffee shops, some McDonald’s, a few libraries, and in some community business districts. For some odd reason, most free site block access to Microsoft Hotmail. If you want to surf the web with reasonable up-time, speed, and expense, sail 7 days to Tonga, Fiji, or Australia.

Medical Care

New Zealand has socialized medicine, including 100% free dental care for those younger than 19 years old. Most prescriptions cost New Zealanders about $3 to fill at the “Chemist” (drug store). People from outside New Zealand are charged significantly higher rates and will most certainly seek treatment and medicine from off-shore locations if given the option. Most local doctors are booked solid and refuse to see an international visitor. I wanted to fill a common antibiotic prescription in NZ and was told that it would cost me $980 NZD for 20 pills. In the U.S.A. the same prescription costs $35, tops.

After being told the estimated expense for medical services, several yachties found relief in Asia and the U.S.A., despite the related airfare and hotel charges. If you drop into the government managed hospital it will cost you about $500 NZD for the doctor visit. As a walk-in patient at the White Cross private clinic in Whangarei, my lengthy doctor exam was $123 NZD, a deal as far as I was concerned.

Another exception to costly medical care is dental services. I found the cost of routine cleanings, exams, x-rays, and fillings to be lower than similar services provided in the U.S.A. And, the dentist in Whangarei completed the necessary insurance paperwork for me so I got most of my money back. On a sad note, the dentist informed me that about 35% of young Kiwis never seek free dental care.

MARINE SERVICES

Duty-Free Fuel

We could only find one location in New Zealand that offered duty-free diesel to international yachties. That was Opua. All other locations claimed they didn’t have a method for honouring or performing the duty-free fueling, as promoted by the NZ marine industry. In Opua, you will have to use a credit card and related PIN to purchase the fuel at a self-service pump or pay an additional $10 NZD fee for paying cash or using a credit card with signature at the marina office.

Boat Projects and Boatyards

One of my first and lasting impressions of visiting NZ was the huge number of locally owned boats. They are literally everywhere in large numbers. As a result, boat parts, repairs, and services can be completed in dozens of ports. However, most ports have a single source for each service, such as Opua, Nelson, Warkworth, etc. For example, there might be one sailmaker, one diesel mechanic, one boat electrician, one refrigeration expert, etc. The lack of competition in these ports tends to increase prices.

At the other extreme, the Auckland area marinas have a large number of marine businesses. Unfortunately, in Auckland, they are spread all over a large metro area and the travel time and related expenses are also high.

Buck for the buck, completing boat repairs and upgrades in Whangarei is the place to be. Whangarei is truly a blue-collar town, and it is located between Opua and Auckland. There are at least three competing businesses for every type of marine service and part, which keeps the prices low and scheduling options flexible. And, if you keep your yacht near downtown you can easily walk to all of the marine vendors.

Hint: At least six boatyards in NZ can haul out catamarans. Their locations include Opua, Whangarei, Warkworth, Auckland, and Nelson.

Caution: April and early May is a very busy time of year for boatyards. If the yard hauls out and splashes yachts only during high tide, which is common, the yard might schedule ONLY haul outs for several weeks. I.e., it’s like Hotel California, you can check-in but never leave after the bottom paint dries. Make sure you have a commitment to splash on a specific date before being hauled out. In 2012 some yachts waited several weeks in boatyards for launch dates!

Duty-Free Boat Parts

In brief, according to NZ Customs, foreign yacht owners can import boat parts duty-free. Trying to pin them down concerning the correct procedure for doing so proved impossible for me. I gave up after my sixth e-mail resulted in more cloudy comments from Customs. So, this is how I did it.

A friend in the U.S.A. agreed to receive dozens of boat part packages for me. I purchased about 180 items via the web while accessing the Internet at the library and McDonalds in Whangarei. When all of the packages were received in Texas by my friend, he threw away all of the boxes, excess packaging, promotional junk, etc. and consolidated all of the items into six USPS International Flat Rate boxes. You can send a United State Postal Service International Flat Rate Large Box package to anywhere in NZ for $63 USD as long as it weighs less than 20 pounds. My friend completed the related USPS Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note – CP 72 form and attached it to the outside of each box. This form can be completed online. He noted that the box contained boat parts valued at less than $400 NZD for an international yacht in transit. The boxes arrived in Whangarei, NZ seven to ten days later with no additional NZ Customs or Post Office requirements or fees. If I purchased these same items in New Zealand I would have spent at least $7,000 more.

LAND TOURING

Local and Country Information

There are three sources for great information on just about everything in New Zealand.

Almost every village, town, and the city has an “i-Site”, tourist information centre. The people who work at i-Sites will make tourist booking arrangements, fill your arms with kilos of paper maps and tourist brochures, give you directions and assistance, etc. Most centres offer Internet access for a reasonable short-term fee.

There are also hundreds of “AA” (like AAA in the U.S.A.) locations. They are also very helpful.

The magical third source of assistance is The Post (Office). I believe New Zealand has one of the most comprehensive and best postal systems in the world. Their offices are everywhere, and they provide a wide range of banking, postal, and communication services. They deliver just about everything throughout New Zealand in one day or less, and they still deliver mail twice a day and on Saturdays. Just like the 1950’s!

Hint: Their foreign exchange rates are very good and the related fee is low. If you are leaving NZ for a country with another currency (Fiji for example), drop into The Post a few days before leaving to order up some foreign cash.

Visiting the South Island

In years past yachties frequently grabbed a car, boarded a ferry, and toured the South Island for a good solid month. In 2012 very few sailors could afford this option, which can easily cost five figures per couple. Trying to conserve cash by camping was not an option for most since it rained 8 out of 10 days during 2012 “the summer that never was” and the bug population exploded down south.

In rough numbers you should expect: $8.00+ per gallon for gas, $230 each way for the ferry between the North and South islands, at least $125 per night for the cheapest last minute Internet deal hotels/motels, $100 per day per person for meals, and sightseeing attractions typically cost $100 NZD or more per car or in some cases per person. If you stay at backpacker lodges and share a room it will cost $40 to $70 per person. Campground fees were reported as high as $70 per night in some places.

Given the above, it’s no wonder that New Zealand tourism generates more income than farming and that the number of tourists visiting New Zealand has sharply decreased during the last few years, according to an i-Site representative I spoke with. In 2012 many yachties completed quick bounce trips or did not visit the South Island at all because of the related high cost of travel within New Zealand.

Editor’s Note: The other option, of course, is to take your boat there. See Jim Thomsen of SY Tenaya’s very useful cruising notes of his circumnavigation of NZ in 2012 here. [Broken Link]

Transportation

Almost all forms of transportation (planes, buses, taxis, car rentals) are expensive in NZ. The one exception appears to be the purchase of older used automobiles. I was amazed to see a number of good looking used autos for $1,000 to $3,000 NZD. Walk around Auckland or Whangarei and you will see similar cars. Better yet, visit www.TradeMe.co.nz (New Zealand’s version of e-Bay and Craig’s List) and let your fingers do the shopping. At these prices, some yachties buy cheap cars, drive them for six months or less and then try to sell them for a few dollars before sailing away. I heard of one visitor who did not sell his used car, left it in a parking lot, and still considered himself economically ahead when compared to the option of leasing a vehicle.

Things to keep in mind when purchasing a car for a short-term period (less than 6 months) from one of the firms which focus on providing yachties with guaranteed auto buybacks.

– The term of ownership is negotiable and the longer you keep the car the less you get back. Two yachties I know purchased basically the same car for the same time period from the same broker. One negotiated an out-of-pocket cost of $1500, the other sailor’s deal cost him $900 NZD.

– When you purchase one of these cars you might want to get auto insurance which is NOT mandatory in NZ, and it costs about $500 NZD.

– All vehicles are required to have an annual safety inspection, and if you own the car during the due date, government regulations will nick you for about $50 NZD. Many cars do not pass their detailed inspections, so expect to pay for repairs (new brakes, tires, lights, bodywork…) if required. The car you purchase will have many miles on it and it probably had numerous owners, so you should expect some repairs and maintenance.

– For an additional fee, some auto buy-back firms offer repair insurance for major components of their cars. Some also charge an inspection fee, $50 NZD, when you return the auto to their business location.

Net, net, these cars may cost you a lot more than you initially expect and moving the car around New Zealand while sailing your yacht is challenging at best. If you plan on having your vessel in one location like Whangarei, access to a car 24/7 is truly a luxury, since you can quickly and easily walk to just about everything you need. If you need a car for a quick bounce trip to Auckland or the South Island, $30 per day rental deals can be found at some marinas.

Don’t be shocked by the parking charges in Auckland, even if you are staying at a $175 per night (cheap) hotel. The garages charge about $12 NZD per hour. When driving a car remember that traffic violations are recorded and ticketed by electronic means in some parts of NZ. That is, a camera will record you running a red light, failing to pay a toll, or speeding along an empty stretch of road. In each of these cases you will never be approached by a police vehicle or officer, instead a fine will be levied against the registered owner of the vehicle and notification will be sent via the mail. And you thought the controllers only hid behind the curtain in the Wizard Of Oz!

CONCLUSION

I truly believe New Zealand is full of wonderful people and outstanding scenery. The comments noted above should not be taken as negative or discouraging. Instead, I seek to bring full disclosure to the glossy tourism brochures, slick Internet sites, and the words trumpeted by the marine industry meeters and greeters. And, since most cruisers spend more time on the logistics of moving around the world than trimming sails, I hope my comments reduce the number of land-based squalls you have to contend with while visiting The Land Of The Long White Cloud.

Jason Trautz

SY Yolo