Previously we wrote about our experience traveling New Zealand. While we used a tour operator, and have nothing but good things to say about that, I suggested that next time… we would do it by caravan. I say this even though I am no camper. Well we are still in New Zealand because of the worldwide covid19 situation. Now we are taking our own advice: we got a caravan and are now tooling around the less traveled routes of New Zealand.
Being novice campers we have had to learn the basics. First the camper choice. There is a tradeoff between space inside, and driving a giant vehicle. We do not drive much, our aim is to travel with a light footprint so we try to use public transport when possible. It is almost always possible. We have rented two cars in our two years, each for only one day. Having a vehicle we will experience the flexibility to go and stop whenever we want; a real treat for these nomads. Having to drive a big vehicle is a consideration for us. Plus in our travels around NZ, we have noticed a lot of one lane stretches and thousands of one-lane bridges (narrow, one lane bridges). Most roads, in most countries, are much smaller than in the US we have noticed. We will be driving on country roads, and will expect a lot of wet weather (it’s Winter). Plus we will be driving on the left. So we wanted to drive the smallest, narrowest campervan we could, while still having some space inside. We found a narrow camper, 7.2 meters long. Equipped with a loo and could sleep 3. The third berth is where our giant suitcases will go. It was the best combination for us.
Freedom camping In New Zealand is common and legal. Freedom camping, or free camping is, like the name implies, free. Simply park in a public park or beach overnight. Public toilets in NZ are everywhere; clean and stocked with TP and hand dryers. Sometimes even hot water. Sometimes they are open 24 hours, but always open pretty early anyway. So free camping is very easy. However, to legally freedom camp, you must have a self contained campervan. This means equipped with water and a toilet, and a certification on the camper to prove it. Council employees cruise the campsites and police this rule. Don’t break it. So, while I am not sure freedom camping is for me, we wanted the flexibility in case we get stuck somewhere without a holiday park, so we got a self-contained campervan. Other bloggers mentioned they never used the loo, because public toilets were so many, and showers available too (in the summer – they’ll be cold. Another resource is marinas. Since NZ is a couple of islands, the water is never far away. Marinas almost always have laundry facilities and hot, clean showers for hire. But we are camping in Winter and going out to the loo in the cold or rain is sometimes less palatable then cleaning the loo once in a while. We have used ours some.
Camp sites fall into three categories: freedom camping, campgrounds, and Holiday parks, in increasing level of luxury.
Freedom campsites are often just parking spaces alongside a road, a parking lot, or field. Or beach! And free.
Campgrounds are usually private, may or may not provide amenities like power hook-ups or showers and toilets and cost a bit. Usually $10-$20 per night. Note this is usually per person pricing. They still will not be much more than a parking space. The Department of Conservation also runs campgrounds. They cost a bit more, and are usually without services, but usually in picturesque locations at trail heads or in National Parks. You can get a membership for a weekly rate that may save a lot if you plan to use DOC sites. Just a note: not all DOC sites are covered by the membership, so check before you buy the card that where you are planning to camp is covered. It takes 3 nights in a week to break even.
Holiday parks are the top of the line. They have hot showers, and toilets, communal kitchens, wifi, power hook-ups and dump stations. They sometimes have pools, playgrounds, TV lounges or work spaces. Expect to pay up to $50 per night. Pricing is usually per site, not per person, so it actually is not much more money. In our opinion, well worth it. And more so if you have kids: games, pools, play grounds. And almost every one has a trampoline-like bouncy thing (don’t know what to call it, but kids loved it). And manual powered go carts zipping around everywhere. We planned to mix these up. We plan stays on needs to replenish water or dump waste. And of course we will want wifi every couple days.
As it turned out, we went to almost exclusively holiday parks, unless we could not find one where we are. Turns out, I always want hot water and wifi. But note, the wifi will never be very good. That is really true of all of New Zealand, and no surprise, especially at campgrounds. We got a membership to Top 10 Holiday Parks. With this membership, the cost of the holiday park is comparable to lesser equipped campgrounds. The card also provides perks and discounts at many local places, and on the inter island ferry. The inter island ferry is expensive by the way; the card pays for itself on this perk aloone.
There are great apps to enable folks to find camp sites. Two are Campermate and Rankers. These resources also locate public toilets, waste dumping, and gas stations. User comments provide lots of tips. Rankers is more for freedom camping. Campermate is both. Our campervan came with Campermate already loaded in the navigation program! Download these before you take off on your journey (see above for lousy Internet availability). GPS will lose signal occasionally too. Have your journeys loaded when you have connectivity. That being said, getting lost in NZ is difficult; there are not that many roads.
Another tip: get a New Zealand driver’s license. It is simple to do, go to an AA (NZ version of AAA). It costs $55. Tricky part is having an address to have the card sent. It came in less than 2 weeks. We used an Air B&B for the address with the permission of the host. Having this driver’s license has given us access to locals-only deals. The campervan is A LOT cheaper with the NZ license.
And that brings me to another tip for the not-so-keen camper. We book an air B&B every once in awhile. It is nice to get out of the camper for a night (or a week) and have a private shower, TV, etc. And that is where we do laundry. Air B&B’s also usually provide secure Internet. Still wifi, but much more secure than a hotel. As constant travelers, we occasionally have business we need to do. I always use air B&B’s when this is the case. I never use open wifi for financial transactions or for buying things.
When we decided to campervan, I knew there would be a lot of opportunities to buy stuff we would need. Actually our Britz campervan came with a suite of supplies: linens (2 sets), towels, some pans and kitchen utensils, a plunger coffee maker, dishes and cutlery and camp chairs. We elected to buy and use microfiber camping towels because they dry so much faster than the traditional terry ones provided. You can find them at most sporting goods stores (used for working out too). We got our own wine glasses. We bought clothes pins (called pegs here), they are good for so many things: sealing food packages, clipping towels to curtain rods so you know where to find them (there is a lot of potential for misplacing things in a campervan), and they dry. Bungee cords to secure things when moving. Buckets. This was the best idea. We put all necessary things in the bucket to cart to the communal kitchen and back. We never managed to remember everything we need in one trip (or two trips). But a bucket with a handle is a godsend. You can hold everything with one hand and still open a door.
You will also need disinfectant (to clean your camper, but more importantly, the communal surfaces), window cleaner (you are doing this campervan trip for the scenery, make sure you can see it), TP and paper towels. Dish towels, dish washing liquid and tools, steel wool (constantly burning pans with unfamiliar cookers).
We invested in a door mat to keep some of the grass and mud out of the camper. And a brush for dirty shoes. Also since we are camping in Winter: slip on gum boots for outside muddy conditions, and slippers for warm feet inside.
And I learned about what hot water bottles are for. They are a poor man’s electric blanket. Put it down at the foot of the bed a few minutes before you are ready to put your feet down there. It is bliss!
We thought dumping the waste water and refilling water would be a daunting chore. But not so difficult, or gross, it turns out. Again a holiday park comes in handy, easily accessible and free dumping. When we left a park we pulled in and spent 5 minutes on the job. Otherwise NZ has thousands of roadside dumping stations, but they may cost a few bucks. As the nights got colder, using the onboard loo, versus trekking to the communal ones became more and more common. The biggest bit of advice is not to get mixed up with which hose is for the clean and which for waste water. And don’t confuse the intake (clean water) for the waste valve. Just don’t mix them up!
We have now spent almost six weeks in this campervan and our campervan trek is almost over. We spent time on the North Island, then ferried the campervan across Cook Strait and spent several weeks on the South Island. We had already had the vacation in New Zealand that most people dream of before Covid19 changed things. So this trip has been to get to the out of the way secret places NZ has to offer. It did not disappoint. We have found so many places that should be in the long list of “Must do’s in NZ. Some we had not even heard of before. The best way to find these gems is to talk to other campers. We asked where people had come from, where they were going, where they enjoyed most.
Following was our ininniery
We picked up the camper in Auckland (North Island). First night, after a late start we headed toward Coromandel and free camped near Thames. Second night we made it to Hot Water Beach. We had been to Hot Water Beach on a tour and loved it; so it was the first place we wanted to return to. The Top 10 Holiday Park was the closest accomodation to the beach and it was a great base. Hot water beach is like nothing else. You can rent a shovel to dig a shallow hole in the sand and it fills with hot water. Maybe too hot. People make elaborate canals to ferry the different temperature water to their “spa”.
Next stop Mt Maunganui Beach Holiday Park. A fantastic location right at the base of the mountain and on a gorgeous beach. Cute town a walk away. A walk up the mountain for sunset is a must. The tramp around the mountain is an even better walk.
Next we toured around the East Cape. East Cape is a very less touristy area full of beautiful desolate beaches and very few people. We camped at powered locations outside taverns. One night the power went out, (after the Tavern closed at about 7pm), so we were left with the diesel heater of the campervan. Here is where we learned that the cost of diesel to warm the camper exceeded the cost of a holiday park with power. So we aimed for those going forward.
We hit civilization again in Gisborne and stayed for a few days of wine tasting. Gisborne is not the first place you think of when planning a NZ wine tour. But it was a surprise: high quality wine making going on there. Another holiday park in view of the beach and short walk to town.
From there, Hawkes Bay for a lot more wine tasting. This is where we had an air B&B. Napier is a medium sized city in the Hawkes Bay region. It is a art deco gallery. More art deco buildings than anywhere in the world. Worth a tour.
Then Martinborough for boutique pinot noir.
Next, Wellington. Wellington is where you catch the inter-island ferry. The weather in Wellington was atrocious, with a biting southerly wind. Too bad because it is a darling town with a lot to do. We visited a bird sanctuary and did some good walks, including a trek atop Mt Victoria for a view back to Wellington.
Our ferry was in jeopardy of being canceled because of the rough sea conditions in the straight. It went, it was the only ferry that ran for 2 days, and it was a ride! I loved it, but many around me would have to eat another lunch because they lost theirs.
In the South Island we expected nights to get colder. We needed to stay in Picton where the ferry lands because of the time of day the ferry arrived. We actually loved this town and planned to come back. We stayed 2 nights and enjoyed a great walk just outside of town. Another great walk nearby is the Queen Charlotte Track. This can be done over several days and stay in huts along the way. By hiking or biking. But you can may day hikes out of it too.
When we left Picton we drove the Queen Charlotte Drive through Havelock to Motueka. The drive was gorgeous. Just remember if you do it in the morning, the sun is in your eyes. Where the sun is, is a good thought when planning driving trips. Havelock is the mussel capital of NZ and worth a stop.
Motueka, our next destination, is a bit larger town, bayside, good birdwatching. Another holiday park with a short walk to the beach.
From there, Pohara Bay which is in the Abel Tasman National Park. Another stunning beach. There are lots of day trips for epic walks that can be had from here.
From there we headed to the west coast to Westport. Another holiday park on another stunning beach, this one west facing. We hauled our camp chairs down to the sand with some wine to enjoy the sunset.
Leaving Westport, we went over the Lewis pass to Hamner Springs. The drive was beautiful with snow covered hills not too far in the distance. Hamner Springs was surprisingly chock full of people. Crazy busy little touristy town. This is the only holiday park that was even half full. It was totally full. Beautiful scenery of mountains snow covered all around town. We only caught a glimpse one day as the rain obscured visibility the second. Note, most caravanners move to a new location every day. We almost always stay at least 2 and do day trips from a base on the second day. We think we enjoy more of the country this way. And it gives the driver a chance to participate in the scenery too. Hamner Springs has a hot springs (surprise). It is a big hot springs, lots of different pools of different temps and treatments, and equipped with water park-like slides for kids (and adults that act like kids). The slides were a blast. The sulphur pools very therapeutic.
From there, we went to Christchurch to turn in the vehicle. A 35 day journey. You could do it faster, but you would not enjoy it as much.