New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Ramrod]

Legacy Wagon - I might have a look for one of those, or a Forester.

 

We fly out of JHB on the 17th April, although we are still waiting for our passports to come back to VFS. Visas were granted on wednesday last week already.

You are lucky.

 

My wife and kids were scheduled to fly out last night but couldn't because they didn't have their Visas.  Now I have booked for Thursday in the hope that we can get them sorted in time.

[Dirty Sanchez]

More riding on the North Island:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1VOJvHWuIQ

[patches]

Just some ugly views from my local MTB trails...

 

 

 

[nolipoli]

You are lucky.

 

My wife and kids were scheduled to fly out last night but couldn't because they didn't have their Visas.  Now I have booked for Thursday in the hope that we can get them sorted in time.

Eesh. Thats not great. We are only able to collect ours today apparently, after they were granted on Wednesday last week. 

[hayleyearth]

Eesh. Thats not great. We are only able to collect ours today apparently, after they were granted on Wednesday last week. 

 

Did you send them your passport?

If so, when did they request that?

[hayleyearth]

http://www.statravel.co.za/cheap-flights-to-australasia.htm

[nolipoli]

Did you send them your passport?

If so, when did they request that?

We submitted our applications at VFS in Pretoria, and handed over our passports at the same time. This sounds like you need to make a phone call for some clarity.

[nolipoli]

http://www.statravel.co.za/cheap-flights-to-australasia.htm

We just boooked directly on Emirates. They were cheaper by far than the rest, and only 1h45m layover in Dubai.

[hayleyearth]

We submitted our applications at VFS in Pretoria, and handed over our passports at the same time. This sounds like you need to make a phone call for some clarity.

 

Oh ja, I did an online application. They don't always need to submit your passport, sometimes one gets submitted a separate page (seems like this is the norm with online applications) which you just carry with your passport then (Patches has one like this)

[durbanjacques]

Haha, when I lived in NZ I had a Legacy wagon. Jap import, it was cheap and was scary fast. We drove the South Island flat in that thing, no roof rack though we just threw the bikes in the back. Good times.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Oh ja, I did an online application. They don't always need to submit your passport, sometimes one gets submitted a separate page (seems like this is the norm with online applications) which you just carry with your passport then (Patches has one like this)

Nita does not have a physical visa in her passport. She has an a4 page that she folds up with it. It is her visa.

 

Everywhere here accepts a drivers license as id. Even the banks. So once you are here, ill take you to go get your drivers and then you dont have to carry passports and a4 visas around.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[patches]

Oh ja, I did an online application. They don't always need to submit your passport, sometimes one gets submitted a separate page (seems like this is the norm with online applications) which you just carry with your passport then (Patches has one like this)

 

 

Nita does not have a physical visa in her passport. She has an a4 page that she folds up with it. It is her visa.

 

Everywhere here accepts a drivers license as id. Even the banks. So once you are here, ill take you to go get your drivers and then you dont have to carry passports and a4 visas around.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

Yup, I got one of those ghetto PDF visas. It's like it was faxed slightly skew then PDF'd, hahaha!

 

As for the drivers licence. I went down to the VINZ (Vehicle Inspection New Zealand)... handed in my forms. Got the photo. Paid the $52.

 

...but then failed the eye test

 

I declared that I wear contacts to drive. I was wearing them for the eye test. But that ghetto 1970's machine gave me hassles. I could see the letters clearly, but when I had to have both eyes open, 1 of the 3 columns wasn't visible.

 

So now I have to go to an optometrist to get a test. I inquired at one but they only do the full test (not the Drivers License only test). They did however say that a lot of people with 100% corrected vision have the same problem with that archaic machine at the VINZ. Good to know it's not my eyes.

 

So yeah, when I get a gap I'll finish sorting that out.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Yup, I got one of those ghetto PDF visas. It's like it was faxed slightly skew then PDF'd, hahaha!

 

As for the drivers licence. I went down to the VINZ (Vehicle Inspection New Zealand)... handed in my forms. Got the photo. Paid the $52.

 

...but then failed the eye test[emoji38]

I declared that I wear contacts to drive. I was wearing them for the eye test. But that ghetto 1970's machine gave me hassles. I could see the letters clearly, but when I had to have both eyes open, 1 of the 3 columns wasn't visible.

 

So now I have to go to an optometrist to get a test. I inquired at one but they only do the full test (not the Drivers License only test). They did however say that a lot of people with 100% corrected vision have the same problem with that archaic machine at the VINZ. Good to know it's not my eyes.

 

So yeah, when I get a gap I'll finish sorting that out.

I also failed the eye test.

 

But thats because i am blind in one eye and tried to cheat it.

 

Had to go to the optometrist and then back to the AA to re apply.

 

Whole thing to less than a week.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[patches]

I also failed the eye test.

 

But thats because i am blind in one eye and tried to cheat it.

 

Had to go to the optometrist and then back to the AA to re apply.

 

Whole thing to less than a week.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

so I'm not alone then, hahaha!

 

But yeah, I'll head to the optom this week. They said they just need that and they can continue with my current application.

 

What is cool though is that one only has to do it every 10 years!

[patches]

Come to the South Island!

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

Come to the South Island!

 

Came here to post this vid.

 

Would love to ride those trails...