Author Topic: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag - In Australia  (Read 3276 times)

Offline RGardner

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Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag - In Australia
« on: July 03, 2015, 05:44:40 PM »
In May 2015 OzSTOC Exec kindly provided the fledgling NZ contingent with our own flag.

This Topic has been set up for posting photos of the flag as it travels our NZ icons. Please message RGardner if you are planning a trip and want the flag to go with you.

As circumstances would have it the flag returned to Australia in June 2015 as part of an ST tour around the Murray-Darling Basin (article http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=9560.0 ).

The first post is of that Murray-Darling River Basin and Great Dividing Range trip...

Rob
Palmerston North
« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 05:39:49 PM by RGardner »
Rob NZ
 
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Offline RGardner

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2015, 06:04:27 PM »


Murray River, Mildura, Vic



SA/Vic Border crossing



Vic Border Crossing



Lock 2 on the Murray River, SA



NSW/SA Border Crossing



Lightning Ridge, NSW



Qld/NSW Border Crossing



Townsville, Qld



The flag with RGardner and Streak, Toowoomba, Qld



RGardner, Bathurst, NSW



Conrod Straight, Mt Panorama, Bathurst, NSW



In transit back to NZ, Mainfreight Depot, Botany, Sydney

Rob NZ
 
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Offline winston66

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2015, 06:17:31 PM »
That was a great write up Rob, It looked as if you had a great time, I have itchy feet now.
You appeared to be travelling very light as far as gear and stuff was concerned ,
I liked the look of the tent and how you packed stuff on to the steed,
Could you give us some idea of what and how you packed the necessary.
 stuff for that little jaunt.
Cheers Winston66
Northampton WA.
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Offline RGardner

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2015, 07:29:10 PM »
Hi Winston66,

I think I’ve got my packing down to a fine art – for me at least anyway. The secret is to have a removable netting partition between the pannier main compartment and the lid.

On the back seat I strap down the tent, sleeping bag, self-inflating mattress and rubber ground sheet (Aussie Three Corner Jacks tend to make short work of air mattresses without a decent ground sheet). I also have a collapsible bag strapped there for a polar fleece, plate, cutlery and 2 thermal tops. The tent is a 3-man one so I can bring my riding gear in out of your night-time creepy crawlies.

Under the seat are tools and tyre repair kit.

Fairing pockets have tyre pump, sunglasses, glass cleaner, tissues, headlamp and a few more tools.

Road-side pannier is 5 changes of clothes, toiletries, micro-fibre towel, 1-2 cans of stew, muesli bars and small gas cooker.

Left pannier is first aid kit, ‘Camps Australia No. 7’ map book, billy, coffee, mug, bottle of wine, chips and general odds and sods.

And on the rider is the Camel Back, camera and GPS Spot Finder.

I actually have room to spare. I easily added to a pannier my flat battery when it failed and I picked up a temporary replacement one from ST2UP.

I tend to shower at roadhouses, caravan parks or council swimming pools ($4-$5).

I cook up a can of stew at my night camp site or eat at roadhouses or pubs.

PS: The bottle of wine and chips are essential while the tent goes up and the stew cooks. I have however learnt that half drunk bottles of Pinot Noir don’t survive well in 40 degree heat inside panniers while being shaken all day at 120km/hr!
Rob NZ
 
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Offline winston66

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2015, 11:35:31 PM »
Hi Rob ,
That was a quick reply, I did not expect such a quick and comprehensive answer.
You certainly have this packing and travelling thing pretty well sorted out.
Good for you.
I will try to remember some of your ideas just in case I decide to do a bit of touring in the future.
Cheers , Winston 66, Northampton WA,
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Offline DougieNZ

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2015, 08:56:06 AM »
Gidday Rob,

I'm interested in exploring a little more about this as an Aussie touring option is something I have looked at in the past.

Can you tell me the cost of shipping and who you used? Did you make the crate yourself looks great BTW)? How much hassle was it and how long do you think you would need to be over there to make this option worthwhile?

Cheers

Adrian

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2015, 09:08:14 AM »
Great story mate
 

Offline RGardner

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2015, 06:27:10 PM »
Gidday Rob,
I'm interested in exploring a little more about this as an Aussie touring option is something I have looked at in the past.
Can you tell me the cost of shipping and who you used? Did you make the crate yourself looks great BTW)? How much hassle was it and how long do you think you would need to be over there to make this option worthwhile?
Cheers
Adrian

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Hi Adrian,
Sorry about the slow reply.
It’s really easy these days. I used Mainfreight because they knew all about it and made the process really smooth. They do a complete package covering all handling and processing of documentation. Also their Sydney depot is very close to the airport at Botany for a quick pick up after you get off the plane (If you get the early morning flight you’ll be riding out of Sydney well before lunch).
They cost about $1,100 each way.
On top of that you’ll need a Carnet through the Automobile Association (look it up on their website). This will cost about $700 and allows you to ride on your NZ registration without having to worry about Australia’s compulsory Third Party.
For insurance I found John Baker Insurance which is a subsidiary of AON very good and one of the few companies that will insure a NZ bike while overseas. (I didn’t worry about being insured while on the water as that was $400 and I figured the chance of a complete loss over the side of the boat is pretty remote these days).
For a crate, go into your local motorcycle dealership and ask them to keep the box for the next big bike the get in. I used a Harley Davidson crate for a trip to Oz I did in 2012 and a Gold Wing one earlier this year. Both times it cost me a carton of beer as the boxes are normally just given to the recycler.
Duration of trip to make it worthwhile – 4 to 7 weeks. My 2012 trip which was all the way around the coast plus the Red Centre was 7-weeks which is a long time to be away from family. This year I did two lots of three weeks with the bike stored at my brother-in-laws place in the Blue Mountains for 6-weeks in between.
Cheers,
Rob
« Last Edit: August 13, 2015, 06:31:21 PM by RGardner »
Rob NZ
 
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Offline DougieNZ

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Re: Travels of the NZ OzSTOC Flag
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2015, 11:31:31 AM »
Brilliant Rob.

Some excellent information to go on there mate. Very much appreciated.

Regards

Adrian (DougieNZ)