Touring a country by motorhome can be a cost-effective way of travelling, particularly if you like to have a few home comforts. Unfortunately for Kiwis, shipping a vehicle across the ditch can turn into a costly exercise.
Q. You own a motorhome which you bought in New Zealand and have been touring around the beaches and countryside in retirement. You now want to ship it to Australia and spend the next two years doing the same thing over there. After finishing the trip, you want to sell the vehicle in Australia and return to settle down back in New Zealand. Can you do that?
Sorry, but my understanding is you can’t do it. The Australians have traditionally been very protective of their motor vehicle manufacturing industry – not that they still really have one. The government over there won’t let you take a motorhome bought here to their country with the view to selling it again on departure. This applies even if you want to spend a couple
of years driving it around their country beforehand. Even with cars you might be attached to, or which are rare, they will not let you take them unless you intend to stay there long-term. They won’t even hand over your car until you show them the appropriate stamps in your passport. I suggest you sell your vehicle here and use the money to buy or hire another one once you arrive – it’s quite possible you can find exactly the same model. Don’t be too downhearted, the red tape involved in shipping any vehicle into Australia, even if you’re going there for good, is pretty off-putting and costly. Take the simpler course, I reckon.
Q. Your sister has called to say she and her littlies are dropping in for a cuppa. You dash down to the supermarket to buy some iced animal biscuits for the children but can’t find any. In fact, the shop assistants don’t even know what you’re talking about. Oh, no! Quelle horreur! Have the manufacturers stopped making them?
Interesting. I tried to find iced animal biscuits at my supermarket and there were none. I called Griffin’s manufacturing plant in Auckland and they told me they didn’t make them. When I asked when they’d stopped making them, their marketing people said they had no recollection of ever making them. I felt sure Griffin’s used to make them but clearly I’m wrong. But there is good news. Arnott’s, the Australian biscuit maker, manufacture iced animal biscuits and they are sold in New Zealand supermarkets, so they should be around. I guess it comes down to demand at individual supermarkets. If they are not in your supermarket, speak to the manager and ask if they can get some in. Meantime, the kids might have to get by with Big Tedz biscuits. I must say, I haven’t seen an iced animal biscuit in years. We used to get complaints to Fair Go that the machining was so poor you could no longer tell which animals they were. But children will still have fun trying to figure it out.
Do you have a question for Kevin? Email [email protected] (Subject line: Consumer) or post to: NZWW, Bauer Media, Private Bag 92512, Auckland 1036.
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Image: Jason Hamilton/ bauersyndication.com.au
