[renew]

:exit We are very keen campers and have all the kit, including a lovely tent. but we are under the understanding that the tent will have to be scrubbed from top to toe for the lovely MAF. so we are wanting to know is it worth bring over or is it worth buying a new one once there. any one got web addresses so we can look at the tents, and any much needed advice. and what are the camp sites like.
thanks
pinkninny :raebanana :nice1

[Marie P]

Hi Pinkninny
We brought over our tent ,we gave it all a thorough cleaning ,especially the ground sheets. The Maf guy opened the bag and peeped in and said it was fine .
It has to be clear of soil and seeds .
We have only used it once in the year that we have been here ,but we are planning to use it a lot more this year. The site we camped on was fantastic [top 10 in Taupo ]

Good Luck :nice1

Marie x

[Nienke]

We brought our big tent over as well. As Marie, we cleaned it thouroughly, and had no problem with the MAF on this end. Used it a couple of times already.
There are loads of campsites in New Zealand, anything from basic to luxurious sites. This is a great camping country!

[Jenny & Mark]

We are planning on giving our tent<b>s</b> to my younger brothers to avoid hastles. Boths tents have been up and down at least 100 times and we figure it is not worth the cost to bring them (no container - luggage only). :)

Mark.

[walter]

We brought over our tents,we gave them a thorough cleaning ,especially the ground sheets. The Maf guy opened the bag and peeped in and said it was fine. If you have an attachment to your tent/camping equipment....BRING IT!

[wanderingoregonian]

I'd say bring it, just make sure you leave enough time to let it dry after you scrub it (it took mine several days in wet oregon).

I've actually wished I had brought mine with me (rather than send it with the shipment). Tents give you another, and cheap, accomodation option when traveling. There have been a few time where we had to just keep driving because everything thing was booked up alread! If you are thinking of taking sometime to travel before starting work here (or while looking for work here), it might very well come in handy! Plus camping gear looks a bit more expensive here too me.

[veronica]

dont forget to scub the pegs and the bags they are kept in too.

[mossum]

I cleaned our tent in the UK - but not good enough evidently as MAF cleaned our tent also - its pretty big but it cost only $50 . certantly cheeper than buying a new one .

vic

[StevieD]

From what I have seen, camping gear can be expensive down in NZ. But most of the online shops are specialist equipment shops, which tend to be expensive anyway....

We are taking ours, we only bought it new last summer, used twice, and it is a beauty. Should get many years of use out of it. Just got to clean the groundsheets but trying to find a dry enough time, (and the space!) to do it. Mum's back garden is huge, guess we'll have to take it there. And as for taking it on the plane, it would take up our luggage allowance by itself!

Looking forward to getting away for some good breaks down there though. :)

[TFR]

All of our gear was cleaned, scrubbed, and then pressure washed!!! There's no way that MAF will allow anything to "infect" their glorious country - and long may it be so too IMO. They will not let you through the airport with it, and will charge you for the clean.

Camping is superb in NZ - the DOC campsites are basic but fabulous. If you want more amenities then go to the top 10 type sites but you will get a more family-focussed type of site.

DON'T FORGET the 100% DEET else the s-flys will eat you alive

The camping gear is cheap! But what you've gotta realise (as said above) is that the outdoor stores only stock kit that is designed to do the job in NZ! By that I mean keep you warm and dry at 2-3000m! You'll find Mountain Hardware, MacPac, Keela (scottish!), Arc'teryx, Mammut brands etc ONLY - this is top notch kit. You won't find stuff like Lowe Alpine and some Berghaus stuff that's worn by people in the UK to do their ardous Sat afternoon shopping in a light shower! It's the real deal over there :) which is awesome. (apologies to all of you that own this, I'm sure it's great!)

Talking to one of the shop owners and I quote: "If we sold that crap it'd come straight back and they'd be wanting a refund!"

NZ camping is a different thing all together to UK camping :) it's ace! I don't mean to poo-poo anything, it's just different over there, that's all.
Eg: We did the touristy trek thingy up the glaciers - our guide was a sherpa who'd just come back from taking people up Everest!

I bought loads of kit and brought it back to this country! eg Arc'teryx jacket: £500-600 in UK, $300 in a end of year sale in NZ , oh yes:)

If you a keen campers you'll not know what's hit you :) I was like a kid in a sweet shop! Google some kit shops over there and get some prices?

[veronica]

Funny that but running the backpackers here we meet lots of people who camp, who buy the cheapest tent they can find, even ones from the warehouse and strangely enough they manage fine, camping doesn't seem much different to the UK or Europe to me in regards to the equipment. albeit the scenery is different. If you can afford to buy stuff that you can camp up at 3000 m with, then fine, go for it, but it isn't necessary for families etc who just want normal camping holidays.

And being in the ski industry and seeing lots of hiking gear etc then there is lots of stuff of all qualities, from own brand stuff to top notch stuff, lowe alpine equivalents and all.

[TFR]

Hi Veronica - I agree with you (I wondered if anyone would take my post the wrong way :(). The original poster said they were very keen campers. To me that means they're not the stereotypical UK-type camper (which I'm familiar with!) who's idea of "camping" is taking the entire contents of Millets with them and putting a tent up on a piece of mown lawn in 5 star facility with sky TV.
If there are people on this forum who want to do that then absolutely fine, no problem (and with kids I can see the attraction), but personally that's not my idea of "going camping". From what I know of NZ (and no, I don't run Backpackers) there's loads of facilities and sites to support that (Top10 sites etc etc) - and everyone has a great time.

If you're into how shall I say "serious camping", then NZ is utterly superb - I've never seen anything like it! and the shops, which I saw anyway, support it as a serious activitiy along with ice climbing, ski-ing, mountainering etc... I never saw equivalent stores in NZ to the UK stores like Milletts, Blacks and the usual high street places which, let's face it, sell kit which is not upto the same standard as brands I mentioned above, but hten again it's not in the same price range (and you can get some good stuff there if you know what to look for). I saw NZ shops on the "high street" equivalent to Ellis-Brigham etc

But you take your pick...I think it just depends on what your idea of "camping" is perhaps?

Hope that helps...

PS Veronica - which backpackers are you at?

[StevieD]

Thanks for the great tips TFR - we can't wait. We have a decent enough family tent, but may just get a little tent for different type of camping and fishing ;)

[TFR]

You're into fishing as well ! Have you been before? If not, you are going to have an excellent time. The fly-fishing over there is to die for! Think UK salmon = a kiwi brown trout, think crystal gin clear rivers in the mountains where you can spot them, think 5lb'ers are not uncommon and you'll start to get the picture.

Me with an NZ 'tiddler' ;) :
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f364/stu71/3329f8d1.jpg