Sunday, January 5, 2014

Getting to grips with NZ costs and prices!

                                                                                                              01/01/2014       
Nice new UV covers on headsails

I have previously mentioned how expensive things seem here, especially to a South African cruiser spending increasingly less valuable ZAR wonga!
So, to start out on the right note, I need to put on record that certain things in NZ are FREE………!   No cruising permits, No customs fees, or Immigration fees, or Caribbean style “overtime “fees, No Harbour Dues, Navigation Light Fees or contribution to Healthcare!  Nothing beats FREE, so that’s a really good start!
Costs of goods and services vary enormously, but in our limited experience thus far, they seem to depend upon the hours of chargeable labour included within the product or service.

Toyoya Ipsum
There is no car manufacturing industry demanding protection in NZ, so most cars are about half the price one would expect to pay in RSA. This is due mainly to the importation of low mileage Japanese cars, of which there is an abundant supply. (In RSA these are called “grey market” products, and will not be serviced by local garages. Another term for this practice is blackmail!)
We purchased a 1997 Toyota Ipsum, in excellent condition, with all the bells and whistles, for NZ$3500  (ZAR 27000), with the proviso that a new overhead cam,  and front tyres were fitted. All 2nd hand cars come with a WOF (Warrant of Fitness), which is a mandatory  6 monthly Roadworthy certificate, and a VIR (Vehicle information report) is available to buyers, detailing the entire history of the vehicle from manufacture, date of import, owners details, number of owners, mileage records , history of WOFs, licence details, or police records.

24 seating options??
Our little 7 seater, (with 24 different seat configurations!), has only ever had one lady owner, since it was imported into NZ in 2006,( a Mrs Paki), who had looked after it so well, that we have now christened the car “Mrs Paki”, in the hope that she continues to behave so well!!
"Mrs Paki"

By contrast, we had a cockpit locker modified, to open from the backrest, instead of the seat area. We did this to improve access to the huge lazarette, and to enable a decent waterproofing gutter to be included, (to prevent it taking in water.) It was the first job I gave out, and it was entirely my fault for not requiring a quotation right up front. The end result was an 80cm locker costing NZ $2200 (ZAR R19360), on the basis of 34 hours of labour, and $130 worth of materials. The labour is costed in at NZ $59.50 per hour (R520 per hour), whether its walking back to the shed to fetch a tool, or anything else! 
And I moved the shower fittings and did the paint job!!

That’s nearly the price of the car! I eventually negotiated that down a little to NZ $1874 (R16500 ) which I still think is ridiculous ! They think this is fair, so I am happy to advertise these rates for them!!! Crazy stuff! I did a similar job on the two back lockers giving access to the quadrant………a similar size a job in less than a quarter of the time, and painted the whole cockpit as well!
R16500 water proofed locker !!

One of the two steering access lockers!

In comparison, I had the rigging thoroughly checked again, (as it all came from the old Roberts), and ended up replacing the 4 lowers, the intermediates and shrouds, fitting a new spinnaker track and car up the mast (to get rid of the silly, fragile Isomat system, which kept breaking!) , plus new masthead sheaves, and a boom gooseneck unit. Paul and Rob from Northspar worked regardless of weather conditions, did a great job, and charged me NZ $4300 (R37800), which is LESS than I would have been charged in Cape Town.
Paul , and Robby, were'nt going to let a squall get in the way!


Roger, from North Sails, recut, and modified the Genoa to fit properly, and replaced the UV cover on the staysail, quickly and professionally, also for a fair price.
Mary bought this carrot with all the extra bits, at no extra cost!!!!
My replacement  Mastervolt Chargemaster 12/100A Battery charger, which had been steadily going downhill, was declared US, and was replaced for R4500 less than I had paid for the original in Cape Town, 5 years ago.
The Marina is very well serviced, and costs appear reasonable at first glance, but “extras” soon mount up! One has to have a NZ electrical compliance certificate before being allowed to plug in. This costs NZ$120 (R1020 ), even if one’s system is perfect, and has worked in every Marina we have been in around the world!   Thereafter, it will cost you R20 per day for electricity. If you are not in the marina or on one of their mooring balls, rubbish disposal in their recycling bins, will cost you R50 a time. Parking your car in the marina car park costs an additional NZ$8 per day (R65 per day?).......more than the Marina buoys, which cost NZ $169 per month.
Guess boat work pricing is the reason why these old classics have not been restored ?



Haul out costs for foreign (tax free) boat are NZ$264, pressure wash down NZ $70, daily rate on the hard NZ$26. Rates are 15% less in winter. (after 1st June)…pretty fair.
Restaurant prices, along with supermarket food prices, are about 50% more than one would expect in RSA, with alcohol costing at least double RSA prices.
Then again, I wanted to modify our binnacle set up, to enable the steering and gear/throttle lever to be serviced from the top, without needing to dismantle everything from the floor. (Impossible at sea) This involved some SS welding, which was also needed to repair the dinghy davits. Total Engineering did this for me at a reasonable cost ….. well nearly! NZ $500! Given that the first 2 guys I asked refused to work on boats, because of some nanny state bylaws!(eg. Need to apply for Fire department approval, and needing to have an environmental observer on hand to supervise!  Both at the clients additional cost!)

fixed binnacle preventing access to steering & throttle/gear lever

Modification enables easy access 

Our experiences of medical expenses, indicate two extremes! Dental costs are sky high, which is why so many Kiwi’s fly to Thailand for any major work to be done! A standard filling costs NZ $350 (R3000), and to repair a broken tooth, NZ $450 (R4000).  A root canal treatment, at least NZ $ 1250 (R11000), and a crown NZ $1350 (R12000). A session to have ones teeth cleaned costs NZ $150 (R1300). I know, because with the exception of the crown, I have had it all done already! The crown gets started on Wednesday!
When I had my Kidney stone problem, the emergency clinic wanted NZ $450 up front before admission, if I went during the day. If I went after hours, and used the phone in reception to phone for the “on duty” GP, I would only have to pay NZ $ 100. As it turned out, I made it through to the next day, to take up a standard GP appointment, which only cost me NZ $ 50! (R450)
Offsetting this lot, fishing is a national passion, and the fishing is apparently really good, with no unreasonable restrictions. People seem to be law abiding, and poaching is not an issue. Green lipped muscles, at 50 per person per day, require no licence, and nor is there a fishing licence levy. If one is too lazy to pick your own mussels, they are freely available in Supermarkets, alive and fresh, or marinated…. At quite high prices!
Mary’s cataract (Phakoemusification) op in Auckland, will be in the region of R45000, and the self- service motel in which we will be staying for 4 days is costing NZ100 per day with free parking for Mrs Paki. Thankfully, we have pre-approval from BUPA, to cover the op, although we will have to pay first, and claim it back!
Lesson learnt..... for best value, do it yourself!!

So, all in all, there is a wide scale of costs to be learned, and managed …but we are getting there!  Although we have “shredded wads of wonga” here, we are happy, with the one possible exception, to have spent it sensibly, and feel we have received good service, and have enjoyed working with the Kiwi’s, who, despite beating us regularly on the rugby field, are very nice people!

  

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Sheer Tenacity’s first month in New Zealand

                     30 /12/2013

Start of a new day in NZ
Our first month here can be summed up in one word! Expensive!

The combination of our long list of boat work tasks,  my totally unplanned dental appointments, together with the unusual amount of time spent in an Ashby’s boatyard slip, saw “wads of Wonga” being shredded in a hurry!!

"Q" Dock......excellent dock, very easy for tired sailors to moor on arrival 
Our arrival at the “Q” dock coincided with slack tides, and we were unaware at that stage, of the quite extreme tidal currents associated with the tidal range in the bay. While waiting for the various officials at the dock, we were quite surprised at the riverlike flow streaming past us, carrying scores of enormous brown and white jellyfish with it. The officials eventually checked us in, and relieved us of all our remaining, lovingly prepared, precooked, frozen meals,  (unceremoniously chucked into a big black bag), along with our last remaining onion and tomato which we had been keeping to have with our supper! Our “Q” man told us that, had we brought in raw boneless meat in its shop packaging, depending on its country of origin, he would probably have left it with us! Next time we’ll know better. That, of course, defeats the whole purpose of our passage preparations.

Home of customs in Opua........wonder if they enjoyed our NZ lamb curry?
They were all very courteous, but uncompromising, and also removed our “Pepper sprays”, which we requested they keep “in Bond” for return on our departure.

Once cleared in, we found the facilities excellent, with the only slight problem being the 6km distance to the nearest supermarket, which is in Paihia. There is a limited range “General dealer” on site, but the prices are higher.

Views of Opua Marina from the customs building

 This “heavy” month has also meant that we have not been out and about anything like as much as we would have liked! Despite all this, we have seen enough to understand why people love New Zealand. We too, have formed very favourable opinions about the country, the life styles, the people, their friendly helpful natures, the shops, the services, their values, sense of ethics, quite apart from the natural beauty, the walks, water ways, tourist facilities , camp sites, restaurants, etc. There are so many South Africans about, working and living here that we feel very “at home”.
"Cars for Cruisers" just behind customs.......NZ$1=ZAR8.8
The services that we have used in Opua thus far, include a cockpit locker modification done by Ashby’s, rigging replacement, sail repairs and new UV (North Sails), stainless steel repairs and modifications (Total Engineering), Mastervolt Charger replacement (Enertec), 2 Alternator rebuilds (Marine Electrics), Raymarine warranty exchange (Lusty & Blundell), plus a very wide range of chandlery goods at Cater Marine , including the re-galvanising of our chain and anchor.

Sheer Tenacity in Ashby's Boatyard

We have also stripped and re-varnished all our woodwork, and have begun replacing side dodgers, gas bottle covers, hatch covers etc, converting from our now faded red, to a new pale grey. We have also repainted the cockpit, and are busy replacing the nonslip areas on deck with Kiwi Grip paint.

Rod's been working hard......the teak looks wonderful
We have now moved out to a mooring buoy in the bay which will free us up to explore knowing that Sheer will be safe. Have purchased a Toyota Ipsum (“Mrs Paki”), a tent, camping chairs, a camping cooker, and are beginning to look forward to seeing more of New Zealand shortly.

Mrs Paki.......and our daily visitor, Mr Ducky!

Next week, after my last dental appointment, we hope to do a quick trial camping trip down to Whangerei, to catch up with Steve & Chris (our Scott Free buddies), and then later in January we will be heading down to Auckland, for Mary to have her much needed cataract op  (Phakoemusification!!) NO….. I am not making it up ! It really is called that!
We have booked a few nights in a motel over this period, and will then spend a bit of quiet time back in Opua while Mary heals, exploring the Bay of Islands, before doing a little more camping in Feb, and preparing for Katie’s visit in March.

The Splash Bar in Paihia where Rod recovers from his dental trauma each week

Historic and charming town of Russell





Also during this month, we enjoyed a few special highlights as well……..visits to Kerikeri, Russell (NZ’s first capital) by ferry, and watched the launch of a couple of  beautifully restored old NZ  classics…….. “Matia”, a very elegant 1937 Logan designed sloop, and a 1938 luxury motor launch, “Lady Crossley”.

The Lady Crossley

Many of the guests were in period dress ........each to her own!!
Matia ceremonial canon saluted both launches
Beautiful Matia, relaunched after 12 years 

We’ve joined the Opua Cruising Club. The prices of drinks and food are reasonable by NZ standards and the full meals are huge……..enough for the 2 of us to share. So we find it a good place to watch a bit of sport and meet up with fellow cruisers.

In all, its been a good month (apart from the dentist!) and its good to stop and smell the hibiscus!