[BlurKillerEX]

Wow nz biosecurity no joke, spent 2h at arrival cuz of that. I bring tent they also ask if the tent is new.

[megafortress]

speaking about that. i know we cannot bring foodstuff into the country. but things like chocolate and sweets can? coz i got a habit of bringing sweets and chocolates onto plane.

Will they like also check cleanliness of your shoes etc ar?

[Satki General]

megafortress wrote:

speaking about that. i know we cannot bring foodstuff into the country. but things like chocolate and sweets can? coz i got a habit of bringing sweets and chocolates onto plane.

Will they like also check cleanliness of your shoes etc ar?

To be safe just declare everything and let them decide. From what I read, processed food items that doesn't pose much bio hazard risk, if its sealed then should be ok. But open liao then chances are no.

Hiking Shoes they will check I think (similar to hiking equipment mentioned in previous post)

[BlurKillerEX]

megafortress wrote:

speaking about that. i know we cannot bring foodstuff into the country. but things like chocolate and sweets can? coz i got a habit of bringing sweets and chocolates onto plane.

Will they like also check cleanliness of your shoes etc ar?

They don't allow dairy products, not sure if choc classify as such but I did see some ppl throwing theirs away before even reaching the immigration. They have a lot of bins long the way to let you throw your foodstuff.

[appledabble]

Was the 2 hours due to you declaring a lot of items or just in general?

BlurKillerEX wrote:

They don't allow dairy products, not sure if choc classify as such but I did see some ppl throwing theirs away before even reaching the immigration. They have a lot of bins long the way to let you throw your foodstuff.

[JinHockie]

mata_hippo wrote:

booked but pay already? can cancel w/o penalty?

for 9 days, it's better if u focus along this line...


the best parts of nz are along there

I agree with what you said. for my previous itinerary, i need to drive about 19 hours just from town to town and not include the distance within same town. I change my trip as this:
14/10-15/10: Christchurch
15/10-16/10: Tekapo
16/10-18/10: Wanaka
18/10-19/10: Te Anau
19/10-22/10: Queenstown
22/10-23/10: Christchuch

For last day, i will depart from Queenstown in the 22/12 afternoon and might overnight along the way to CHC. any small town to recommend?

[BlurKillerEX]

appledabble wrote:

Was the 2 hours due to you declaring a lot of items or just in general?

In general, the security created a bottleneck which led to super long queues.

I also declared I brought energy bars and assorted nuts(cooked). Was allowed to bring those.

[hawkwind]

JinHockie wrote:

I agree with what you said. for my previous itinerary, i need to drive about 19 hours just from town to town and not include the distance within same town. I change my trip as this:
14/10-15/10: Christchurch
15/10-16/10: Tekapo
16/10-18/10: Wanaka
18/10-19/10: Te Anau
19/10-22/10: Queenstown
22/10-23/10: Christchuch

For last day, i will depart from Queenstown in the 22/12 afternoon and might overnight along the way to CHC. any small town to recommend?

Why stay at Wanaka for 2 days? I was there for a day and it was drizzly so I may have missed something but it seemed much like any other lakeside town in NZ. If you are already staying at Te Anau and Queenstown, it's about the same imo. Try heading straight to Mt Cook from CC and spend a day hiking there. Better scenery imo.

[_Dave_]

IGfusion83 wrote:

I have booked my airbnb and the activities there.
Surprisingly, all the activities require me to call them when i am there, and they do not have whatsap.
I think i may need to borrow the airbnb phone to call them.

that's cos you are going for touristy stuff, and there might be waitlists ma. if you not coming, they jiak your deposit, then slot in another 1-2 people in their tour. understandable..

[_Dave_]

BlurKillerEX wrote:

Wow nz biosecurity no joke, spent 2h at arrival cuz of that. I bring tent they also ask if the tent is new.

you travelled from sg? to which airport? in my experience if you travel from, say, syd to akl, the biosecurity is *not that strict*, cos australia got similar biosecurity laws. plus, akl has lots of biosecurity officers, so the queue is shorter.

[_Dave_]

megafortress wrote:

speaking about that. i know we cannot bring foodstuff into the country. but things like chocolate and sweets can? coz i got a habit of bringing sweets and chocolates onto plane.

Will they like also check cleanliness of your shoes etc ar?

as mentioned, if it's hiking shoes they may ask the history of the shoes (whether you have recently trekked in the malaysian jungles, for eg). same for camping/tramping equipment.

and, when entering forest reserves or islands, they have shoe cleaners for you to clean shoes.

[BlurKillerEX]

_Dave_ wrote:

you travelled from sg? to which airport? in my experience if you travel from, say, syd to akl, the biosecurity is *not that strict*, cos australia got similar biosecurity laws. plus, akl has lots of biosecurity officers, so the queue is shorter.

Fly from SG. Brief stop in gold coast

[lookers]

megafortress wrote:

speaking about that. i know we cannot bring foodstuff into the country. but things like chocolate and sweets can? coz i got a habit of bringing sweets and chocolates onto plane.

Will they like also check cleanliness of your shoes etc ar?

To be honest, there is no need to bring chocolates/sweets/fruits there? Waste of luggage space imho... When you are in NZ, go try the stuff there instead.

And in most cases, usually we will just walk through the nothing to declare lane. As long as you ziplog or seal up the stuff, bo tai ji one lae... Surely got ppl volunteer to declare something to keep them busy. haha

[mata_hippo]

hawkwind wrote:

Why stay at Wanaka for 2 days? I was there for a day and it was drizzly so I may have missed something but it seemed much like any other lakeside town in NZ. If you are already staying at Te Anau and Queenstown, it's about the same imo. Try heading straight to Mt Cook from CC and spend a day hiking there. Better scenery imo.

if wanna do lots of hiking/trails... will be good to have both queenstown n wanaka...

otherwise like wad u said, maybe jus skip wanaka...

[megafortress]

Satki General wrote:

To be safe just declare everything and let them decide. From what I read, processed food items that doesn't pose much bio hazard risk, if its sealed then should be ok. But open liao then chances are no.

Hiking Shoes they will check I think (similar to hiking equipment mentioned in previous post)

_Dave_ wrote:

as mentioned, if it's hiking shoes they may ask the history of the shoes (whether you have recently trekked in the malaysian jungles, for eg). same for camping/tramping equipment.

and, when entering forest reserves or islands, they have shoe cleaners for you to clean shoes.

ohhhh. hmm. i will probably be wearing my sneakers on the plane and putting my trekking boots in the luggage. Will they check my luggage then?

lookers wrote:

To be honest, there is no need to bring chocolates/sweets/fruits there? Waste of luggage space imho... When you are in NZ, go try the stuff there instead.

And in most cases, usually we will just walk through the nothing to declare lane. As long as you ziplog or seal up the stuff, bo tai ji one lae... Surely got ppl volunteer to declare something to keep them busy. haha

haha not putting in luggage la. is carry with me on the plane. i got habit of eating sweets on the plane so i always carry a couple packets of mints with me.