[NZ] travelling South Island in winter

Hi all!

I am in Auckland right now and plan to travel the South Island for about 2 -
3 weeks from the end of July. I recently bought an old, used car for this
(and other) purposes. We don't have any definite travel plans as of now,
we'll drive to Christchurch, possibly Dunedin, and go up north on the west
side of the island again.

I was wondering what sort of road conditions I will have to expect. Would it
be wise to buy a couple of snow/winter tires beforehand? The guy who sold
the car that this is not common practice in NZ. Well, I am sure you don't
need 'em in AKL, but what about South Island? Do people use
"regular" (summer) tires and put on chains once the weather turns bad or
they drive up into the mountains? Or do most people switch to snow/winter
tires in winter?

Maybe this question is a little funny, but back home (Germany), you're
actually legally obliged to have snow tires in winter... I'd just like to
be on the safe side here. ;-)

Cheers,
Chris

--
Reply to:
christoph[dot]stark[at]tu-clausthal[dot]de

"Christoph Stark" wrote in message
...
Hi all!

I am in Auckland right now and plan to travel the South Island for about
2 -
3 weeks from the end of July. I recently bought an old, used car for this
(and other) purposes. We don't have any definite travel plans as of now,
we'll drive to Christchurch, possibly Dunedin, and go up north on the west
side of the island again.

I was wondering what sort of road conditions I will have to expect. Would
it
be wise to buy a couple of snow/winter tires beforehand? The guy who sold
the car that this is not common practice in NZ. Well, I am sure you don't
need 'em in AKL, but what about South Island? Do people use
"regular" (summer) tires and put on chains once the weather turns bad or
they drive up into the mountains? Or do most people switch to snow/winter
tires in winter?

Maybe this question is a little funny, but back home (Germany), you're
actually legally obliged to have snow tires in winter... I'd just like to
be on the safe side here. ;-)

Cheers,
Chris

I'm a South Islander - Dunedin - and just use standard car tyres year
round. I have never bothered with chains.
You won't need anything special unless you intend to go right up into the
ski fields, but most times you can even do that without chains. There are no
special laws as you have in Germany. Some roads, like the mountain route
from Queenstown to Wanaka (called the Crown range) can be closed because of
snow, but ther's always an alternative. There is nothing you will have to
plan ahead for.

Hi Fred,

Fred wrote:

I'm a South Islander - Dunedin - and just use standard car tyres year
round. I have never bothered with chains.
You won't need anything special unless you intend to go right up into the
ski fields, but most times you can even do that without chains. There are
no special laws as you have in Germany. Some roads, like the mountain
route from Queenstown to Wanaka (called the Crown range) can be closed
because of snow, but ther's always an alternative. There is nothing you
will have to plan ahead for.

That's good news; thanks for the info. As we might be going up into the
mountains for a couple of days for skiing (not sure yet), I am wondering if
it is easily possible to rent a couple of chains for a few days in South
Island. Maybe at one of the AA offices?

Cheers,
Chris

--
Reply to:
christoph[dot]stark[at]tu-clausthal[dot]de

Hi Cath,

.. wrote:

On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:50:37 +1200, Christoph Stark
wrote:

I am in Auckland right now and plan to travel the South Island for about 2
- 3 weeks from the end of July. I recently bought an old, used car for
this (and other) purposes. We don't have any definite travel plans as of
now, we'll drive to Christchurch, possibly Dunedin, and go up north on the
west side of the island again.


Take it you are going to cross over from Wellington to Picton on the
inter-island ferry, then take the coast road down to Christchurch.

that's right.

[icy west coast & helpful links]

thanks for the info. So having chains is probably a good idea if you want to
be on the safe side. Do you know places where I can rent a set of chains &
what's the damage?

South Islanders generally just use regular tires and use chains when
necessary. If you haven't used chains before, get a set and learn how
to put them on BEFORE you need them!
Surpise - many don't and have no clue as to fitting them when the need
to.

been there, done that ;-)

Thank you for your feedback,
Chris

--
Reply to:
christoph[dot]stark[at]tu-clausthal[dot]de

"Christoph Stark" wrote in message
...
Hi Cath,

.. wrote:

On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:50:37 +1200, Christoph Stark
wrote:

I am in Auckland right now and plan to travel the South Island for about
2
- 3 weeks from the end of July. I recently bought an old, used car for
this (and other) purposes. We don't have any definite travel plans as of
now, we'll drive to Christchurch, possibly Dunedin, and go up north on
the
west side of the island again.


Take it you are going to cross over from Wellington to Picton on the
inter-island ferry, then take the coast road down to Christchurch.

that's right.

[icy west coast & helpful links]

thanks for the info. So having chains is probably a good idea if you want
to
be on the safe side. Do you know places where I can rent a set of chains &
what's the damage?

South Islanders generally just use regular tires and use chains when
necessary. If you haven't used chains before, get a set and learn how
to put them on BEFORE you need them!
Surpise - many don't and have no clue as to fitting them when the need
to.

been there, done that ;-)

Thank you for your feedback,
Chris
I still doubt that you will need chains, but they're readily available at
gas stations and other retailers. See this link
http://superior.co.nz/table.htm I don't think they're very expensive, but
you could hire them from any hire business. See this
http://www.hirequip.co.nz/online_cat...S3?ss1=1&s3=39

Fred wrote:

I still doubt that you will need chains, but they're readily available at
gas stations and other retailers.

Yeah, maybe you're right. Nevertheless, it's good to know where you'd be
able to get a couple of chains on short notice, if we do need them after
all... ;-)

See this link
http://superior.co.nz/table.htm I don't think they're very expensive, but
you could hire them from any hire business. See this
http://www.hirequip.co.nz/online_cat...S3?ss1=1&s3=39

Thanks a lot, Fred.

Cheers,
Chris
--
Reply to:
christoph[dot]stark[at]tu-clausthal[dot]de