Bike Transport:

Please see the information in the german version. As we shipped the bikes from Germany I don’t think these information will be of any use for someone outside Germany. Here some information in short, just in case:

We organized the shipping from Hamburg to Sydney through:

Brigitte Druskus
INTRANS GMBH
Mündelheimer Weg 25, 40472 Düsseldorf
Postfach 103017, 40021 Düsseldorf
Tel.0049-211-7335351
Fax0049-211-7335354
www.intrans-gmbh.de

We had to put the bikes in crates and everything went great.

Costs for the two crates (measures 210x120x70cm, weight 200kg plus crate):

• 600,- EUR freight costs
• 230,- EUR pick-up from Frankfurt am Main
• insurance 1,5% of the bike value
• 291,- EUR (456,- AUS$) harbour fee in Sydney

The wood crates had to be treated according to ISPM15-Standard to avoid any insects etc. to be brought into the country. If you don’t do these before sending it to the harbour they will treat the whole crate including your bike at the harbour at your costs.

In Sydney we have been contacted by ASG World Transport and had to do the following:

• Pay the harbour fees and get the so called „Delivery Order“
• See customs and quarantine; Customs House, 10 Cooks River, Sydney International Airport, MASCOT, Phone: 1300 558 287, 9am-4.45pm, www.customs.gov.au
• For the temporary import of a vehicle into Australia you need a carnet de passage which you can get at the automobil club ADAC in Germany.
• Customs will make an appointment at the harbour to check your bike and the carnets and confirm the import on your carnet. Second quarantine will check if your bike is clean. Make sure it is very! clean.

Registration:

Unfortunately you have to check with every state in Australia as they have different rules and they also change from time to time. The RTA in Sydney (Phone 132213) gave me the following information about New South Wales (October 2009):

RTA_Contact_Centre@rta.nsw.gov.au

Vehicles visiting from overseas must have current overseas registration and their country of origin number plates fitted.

These vehicles are exempt from NSW registration.

A vehicle exempt from NSW registration is also exempt from the requirement to have compulsory third party insurance. A NSW third party personal injury claim involving a vehicle visiting from overseas is made against the Nominal Defendant Scheme. This scheme is administered by the MAA.

If the overseas registration expires while the vehicle is in NSW, the vehicle must be fully registered in NSW if the owner intends to keep using the vehicle.

In Queensland they told us that the vehicle has to be registered and undertaken a roadworthiness inspection. You will find a registration office for example in Currumbin, Unit 3/109 Currumbin Greek Road. Please contact Ph. 132380 for any information about other offices. You will also have to get a third person insurance which is valid for 6 months (but only in Queensland) and costs 154 AUS$ (e.g. rasq, ph 131905). We decided not to register our bikes and never have been stopped. But this is of course everyones own risk and decision.

Victoria: Please phone 131171 to get the necessary information

Western Australia: Ph 0894276404

Northern Territory: Ph 0889993111

Southern Australia: Ph 131084

Tasmania: Ph 03623335201

Mechanics:

Some travellers told us about poor services in garages. Therefore we suggest to look for licensed garages for your bike brand which you will find in every bigger city at least for the japanese brands.

Travelling in Australia:

Australien ist perfect for camping. You will find campgrounds everywhere and they often have very good facilities e.g. laundry, kitchen, swimming pools etc. In remote areas you will also find free campgrounds but mostly only with toilets. A good overview of campgrounds is given in the book: Camps Australiawide (45 AUS$). As a biker we can also strongly recommend the book Motorcycle Atlas, which tells you about a lot of good routes in Australia and includes detailed maps of whole Australia.

Traffic: We found it very relaxing to drive in Australia. You should just avoid driving from dusk till dawn as the nocturnal animals such as kangaroos might jump on the street which is no fun at all… Also be aware that speeding is very!! expensive in Australia.

Outback: We really loved the outback but as it was summer we decided not to go there with the motorbikes. Be aware of the heat and the huge distances if you drive yourself, but in winter it might be a great medidative experience. We flew from Melbourne to Alice Springs and paid 250 AUS$ /person with Tiger Airways. You can book all kind of tours there and we choose a 4 day- 4WD-Tour with www.adventuretours.com.au for 780 AUS$ and really enjoyed the trip.

Costs:

Campgrounds: between 12 AUS$ und 35 AUS$. In Tasmania you will find beautiful free campgrounds in the national parks. Motels: about 100 AUS$. Dorm: 22 AUS$. Good hotel offers can be found at www.wotif.com.au und www.agoda.de

Ferry to Tasmania: www.spiritoftasmania.com.au We paid 460 AUS$ /person incl. the bike but this was during the summer vacation which is generally more expensive. In the main seasion the ferry leaves from Melbourne daily at 9am and 9pm and needs 9 hours to Devenport in Tasmania.

Petrol: At the end of 2009 it was 1,35 AUS$ /Liter. Use the 95 Octan as the 91 is supposed to be very bad.

Internet and mobile phones: We choose a prepaid phone card (NextGen Phone is needed if you want a really good coverage) from Telstra (www.telstra.com.au) as this company offers the best coverage. We also bought a wireless broadband Stick for 300 AUS$ which can be used in other countries as well. You can get a mobile broadband contract which costs 59$ for 1GB Traffic or 89AUS$ for 5GB and can be terminated anytime. You will receive the invoice online. The coverage was really good.

Tours and Activities are quite expensive in Australia. At least this was our impression but everyone we spoke to has exceeded the planned budget. But who knows how soon we will come Down-Under again 🙂

And the most important thing in Australia is: „No worries, mate“