Going to New Zealand want to take my Mk1 XT

[INBOC]

Hi
I am going to New Zealand and want to use my Mk1 XT there, currently I happy to plan all trips using a windows laptop and base camp before transferring to XT when doing trips in the UK and Europe normally.

Basecamp on the laptop has City Navigator NTU 2025.1 and Global Map

XT in my maps area has :-
TopoActive PS Europe West
TopoActive PS Europe East
TopoActive PS Europe Central
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 All South
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 All North
Europe DEM
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 Foursquare
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 Parkopedia

1. Can I use my XT in New Zealand without any issues ?
2. If the answer to 1 is yes how to I go about changing Basecamp on my laptop and changing the maps on my XT ?
3. When I get back to the UK how do I return the laptop and the XT to their current settings ?


Many thanks in advance for anyone’s time and help in this matter, it is much appreciated
INBOC

 

[Cheney Triumph]

Hi
I am going to New Zealand and want to use my Mk1 XT there, currently I happy to plan all trips using a windows laptop and base camp before transferring to XT when doing trips in the UK and Europe normally.

Basecamp on the laptop has City Navigator NTU 2025.1 and Global Map

XT in my maps area has :-
TopoActive PS Europe West
TopoActive PS Europe East
TopoActive PS Europe Central
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 All South
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 All North
Europe DEM
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 Foursquare
CN Europe NTU 2025.10 Parkopedia

1. Can I use my XT in New Zealand without any issues ?
2. If the answer to 1 is yes how to I go about changing Basecamp on my laptop and changing the maps on my XT ?
3. When I get back to the UK how do I return the laptop and the XT to their current settings ?


Many thanks in advance for anyone’s time and help in this matter, it is much appreciated
INBOC

The XT will function fine in NZ with the correct maps loaded. You can go one of two ways, download Open Street Maps (OSM) which are free. Alternatively, you can purchase an SD card or download the map https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/116482/pn/010-D1257-00 looks like they will set you back £149.
Once you have the maps on the unit, you can select them in Basecamp from the map selection box in the top left hand corner. You may have to run Basecamp with the XT connected to the PC to access the maps, I have no idea if you can download the maps to your laptop.

Once you return to the UK, just set the maps that you require in Basecamp.

 

[Mzokk]

If you are using a Windows PC the maps for basecamp are stored in c:\ProgramData\Garmin\Maps . The easiest way to sort the mapping would to fork out for Garmin mapping. But £149 is a fair old chunk? Do you intend to use the XT on a hire bike or car? Do you intend to use pre defined routes? Would point to point routing using google maps meet your needs. Would using a phone app like MyRoute app or OSMand (which already include NZ mapping meet your needs). Free Garmin-ised OSM maps for NZ are available here.

OpenStreetMap-Garmin maps | Maps Download

alternativaslibres.org

I have no Idea about maps from this site as I have only used OSM maps from Freizeitkarte (which have been good) or make my own bespoke OSM to Garmin maps using mkgmap and splitter. These are command line tools and not really user friendly

Here's where maps are on a Windows PC





This is what they look like in the Basecamp menu.

 

[Mzokk]

Loaded those NZ maps onto an sd card and Put them in the XT they show up on Basecamp OK and seem to route as expected

 

[Wapping]

Very useful links and help from Mzokk.

Equally helpful were his suggestions of My`Route and / or by the ‘point and squirt’ of Google maps. It all dead on how much planning you want to do.

 

[INBOC]

hi gents, many thanks for your replies so far, to add a bit more info to answer questions from others answers
We are renting a motorcycle for 25 days and there will be a supplied route on Google maps, I would however like to adjust it to suit the itinerary we wish to do, I like to do the route planning for our Europe trips including details of fuel stops , accommodation stops and site seeing etc. I would like to use my own xt and have the routes nailed for the trip before flying out. I get the principle of what Mzokk and Cheney Triumph have said, and I know if I play around with it I won’t break it (hopefully), is the gist of it, get a OSM map of New Zealand onto an SD card, then put the card in the XT and make that map active ( do I untick the others ?) then connect the XT to the laptop and drive basecamp and make routes using the map on the XT card , is that correct
Many thanks again and for any further assistance INBOC

 

[Mzokk]

"get a OSM map of New Zealand onto an SD card, then put the card in the XT and make that map active ( do I untick the others ?) then connect the XT to the laptop and drive basecamp and make routes using the map on the XT card , is that correct"

In a nutshell . And yes I would untick the other maps. It won't take long OSM maps are not too big.

Sounds like a brilliant trip. Don't forget to do a write up........to make us all insanely jealous if nothing else.

 

[Mzokk]

Oh and I might be teaching Granny to suck eggs but if you can use a 32gb OR SMALLER micro SD card for the map. Garmin only recognises cards formatted to Fat32 and Windows PC's will format to this standard by default on cards less than 32gb. Larger cards are formatted by default to exFat so using a larger card may lead to a bit of hair pulling as the card that is seen by your PC cannot be seen by your Garmin XT.............I won't tell you how I know.

 

[INBOC]

IT'S NEW ZEALAND, FFS!

How complicated do you anticipate the road system to be? In 20 years of living there it's impossible to get lost.

There a VERY few major roads, North-South, East-West. Forestry roads are abundant in the Central North Island but without very specific local knowledge, you'd be best away from them.

All rural roads are well-signed (courtesy of the NZ AA) , most rural intersections, too. And someone will always be there to tell you the way.

A basic map will save you all of the analytics that you seem determined to perform.

Hi Kitsilano,
many thanks for your reply much appreciated, I don’t expect the road system to be complicated, and your feedback from 20 years living there is appreciated, I’m not trying to go out of my way to be analytical about the route planning, I actually enjoy doing it, and with all satnavs it is a useful tool to have when visiting a country you have never been to before and are exploring on a motorcycle , many thanks INBOC

 

[Wapping]

is the gist of it, get a OSM map of New Zealand onto an SD card, then put the card in the XT and make that map active ( do I untick the others ?) then connect the XT to the laptop and drive basecamp and make routes using the map on the XT card , is that correct

Yes, that’s it.

Do untick any other maps, or your XT will try running two or more maps at once. This leads to all sorts of confusion. You can practice by downloading a UK map from Open Street, creating a route and then running it on your XT. Just make sure the Open Street map is routable, as some aren’t.

====

Edit. Beaten to it.

 

[Kitsilano]

Hi Kitsilano,
many thanks for your reply much appreciated, I don’t expect the road system to be complicated, and your feedback from 20 years living there is appreciated, I’m not trying to go out of my way to be analytical about the route planning, I actually enjoy doing it, and with all satnavs it is a useful tool to have when visiting a country you have never been to before and are exploring on a motorcycle , many thanks INBOC

Well, your reasoning is sound and it's YOUR trip to enjoy in your own way.... Ride safely and take it all in.. It will be an experience!

 

[INBOC]

Yes, that’s it.

Do untick any other maps, or your XT will try running two or more maps at once. This leads to all sorts of confusion. You can practice by downloading a UK map from Open Street, creating a route and then running it on your XT. Just make sure the Open Street map is routable, as some aren’t.

====

Edit. Beaten to it.

Afternoon, sorry about the coms black out, we have been offline due to BT and there incompetence, now have a temporary fix, so hopefully I will be able to try and experiment using the advice given so far, I will report back or possibly ask for some more guidance, many thanks
INBOC

 

[Berin]

One last thing to check - does your hire bike have a wired Zumo mount?

 

[INBOC]

One last thing to check - does your hire bike have a wired Zumo mount?

Hi, thanks for the prompt, I have been able to confirm I can use my XT on a ram ball mount as I do currently on my motorcycle, and I can use the “canbus” plug in point under the front instrument cluster, I will modify my loom with the BMW plug and 3 yellow wire tails
Many thanks again
INBOC

 

[Berin]

Have a great trip, it sounds fabulous