Things to know for newbies planning a campervan trip in NZ

Things to know for newbies planning a campervan trip in NZ

In early December 2015, my parents and I went on a campervan trip around South Island of New Zealand for 10 days 9 nights. Coming from Malaysia where there is no campervan culture, the experience was totally new and there were some steep learning curves in the process of planning and driving. Here are some tips and pointers I can think of from my own experience planning our trip.

Note that this was written to be NZ specific, although many points can be applicable to travelling in Australia as well I believe (I have travelled in Australia, but not in a campervan).

1. Summer months are popular for both European tourists and locals. If you plan to travel during the summer (December – February), it is advisable to book your campervan 6 months or more in advance. I made my booking in July for a trip in early December, and 80% of the companies I queried did not have availability.
2. Most companies have a minimum time period for booking, such as a minimum of 10 days.
3. There are many factors that may affect availability, such as dates, vehicle model and price range. My first choice company and model did not have availability at the exact dates I asked for, but they did 4 days after the date of my choice. If you have the flexibility, it might be wiser to book your flights after you have confirmed your campervan booking.
4. We also ended up having a 6 berth vehicle even though I only booked a 4 berth one, but we were told the vehicle size is the same. The difference lies in the number of seatbelts available. By law it is compulsory to sit in a seat with seatbelts while the vehicle is driven. I.e. you can’t chill on the bed and watch out the window if the vehicle is moving.
5. I would recommend that the maximum number of adults per vehicle at 4pax. We travelled as 3 adults in the 6 berth, and even though there were plenty of room for sleeping, the corridor is narrow and can be a tight squeeze in sharing the toilet/kitchen/dining area. A 6 berth vehicle will be good for families with small children. Plus, the seatbelt seats are not great for the 5^th & 6^th pax, because (apart from driver and passenger seats in front) 4 people are expected to sit up straight around the dining table, with 2 seats facing the opposite direction. It can be quite a stiff journey for long drives with 4 adults around the table. (Different vehicle models have different seating plans. Check before you book).
6. But then again, the vehicle you get in the end can be different from the one you booked (like my case).
7. Even though there are about 20 different rental companies listed online, there are actually only about 15 different companies (estimate) that actually supply the vehicles. Some rental companies share the same “mother” company where the vehicles come from. Eg. I booked from Real Value campers, but they belong to Apollo. The other companies under their umbrella include StarRV, Cheapa Campers, etc. (This information might be inaccurate. This fact was only realised on pick-up day. I’ve just checked their websites at the time of writing and the brands are different again.)
8. If this all gets confusing, use a booking website like motorhomerepublic.com, which works like an Agoda for hotel bookings. They get cheaper rates from the campervan companies, but they might charge a booking fee.
9. If you fantasize about free camping by the beach or in the mountains with the feeling of “in the middle of nowhere”, it is recommended to go for certified self-contained vehicles. Self-contained means that these vehicles have portable toilets. Many campsites, many of them free, are reserved only for self-contained campervans as there are no facilities available at that site. Even for those that have toilets, keep in mind that the local council is the one spending the money cleaning and maintaining them, so we should do our part if we want free stuff. NZ had a problem of tourists doing their business everywhere, and that just ruins everything. A certified self-contained vehicle will have a card/sticker, and checks might be done by the local council at the campsite, and fines can be incurred if your vehicle is not certified.
10. A note on 2-berth vehicles – some 2-berth campervans, even certified self-contained, is just a regular small van, with no corridor space. The insides are totally taken up by the bed and storage space, and you will have to move about outside the vehicle to cook etc, and can be challenging in bad weather. The portable toilet is just a “poop box” that you have to put outside somewhere in the open. Great for the young and cheap, not so great if you like your indoor comforts.
11. OF course the smaller vehicle you drive, the more remote you can venture to. With the great big 6 berth-er I can drive down some off road areas but only short distances with great care; I have spoken to travellers in smaller vans and they were venturing down long dirt tracks to remote beaches. Pros and cons to each option.
12. Different companies have different insurance packages. It is best to choose one with the least amount of excess as possible, or no excess. (Excess means the upfront cost that you have to pay for before the insurance covers the rest. Eg. the excess is $250. If you incurred a damage of $1000, you have to pay the $250 and the insurance takes care of the rest.). You might think “oh, I am a very careful driver, and I don’t think I’ll incur any damage”. But in NZ, many roads that lead to interesting places are on gravel or dirt roads (still drivable for regular vehicles) and these can have little rocks that can ping a windscreen, or low hanging branches that scrape the body. One of the holiday parks we stayed at had very thick bush and foliage as part of its features. Taking the all-inclusive package just means that you can enjoy a worry-free holiday.
13. Read the fine print with insurance coverage, as there are many variations. For example, I found a package that had the most inclusive insurance with zero excess, but on pick-up day we were offered an additional package to cover damage to windscreen and tyres. Most companies do not cover the bottom or roof, so don’t be too gungho in charging into the wilderness.
14. Being a country with lots of agriculture, diesel in NZ is heavily subsidised. To make up a little bit of that, diesel vehicle owners in NZ have to buy “diesel miles”. Certain rental companies sell “diesel miles” separately. The one I rented had diesel miles included in the all-inclusive package.
15. There are many bits and bobs that can be rented in a campervan, eg. kitchen equipment, TV, GPS, heater, folding tables and chairs (to eat and chill outside), bed linen, etc. The all-inclusive package I chose had all these things already included, so that saved me the hassle of deciding what I might need or not.
16. There really is no need for a TV – you have to retune in every new area you arrive at. Look at the scenery! Talk to each other!
17. I end up cancelling my GPS rental. For the most of South Island, there are not many roads to choose from, they are well signposted, and there are plenty of free maps. For cities or other more complicated areas, I relied on Google Maps on my phone, especially the Save Offline function.
18. There will be surcharges for picking up and dropping off at different depots. There can be more additional surcharges if you drive one way and travel to/from North to/from South Island.
19. When you pack for your holiday, I would not recommend those big & hard luggage cases, because you won’t have a big spacious area to store them in the campervan, and it will end up just blocking your movement/sleeping space (imagine 4 big luggage cases for 4 pax). The van does have many areas of small cupboards and cabinets for storage, so there is plenty of actual storage space. It is best to pack your luggage in soft duffel bags so they can be easily stashed away.
20. A summary of systems and tasks that are required with a campervan – gas (in bottles) to run the cooking stove and heating; getting fresh water in the freshwater tank for the taps, toilet and shower; electricity from the house battery that runs the electronics (tv, microwave, electrical outlet) (separate from engine battery), which needs charging from a main depending on how much you use; emptying the waste water tank that comes from showers, taps and kitchen; emptying and washing the toilet tank (pee and poo).
21. An extra note for those of us born and bred in the tropics – YES there is internal heating in the campervan (although not recommended to be left running overnight, in case of a gas leak and we die in our sleep). Our van was also supplied with a separate electric heater (which plugs into the electric outlet).
22. When you are free camping without being connected to a main, electricity from the battery is used to run the stove (lights and exhaust) and water pumps (for sink, shower & toilet). All other electronics, including the electric outlet, will not work.
23. There is only 1 electrical outlet in our van, and I think that’s the norm. Bring a powerboard/extension power socket strip/whatever you call it. Which is great cos you only need one power adapter for the powerboard, and everyone can charge their devices with their original adapters from home.
24. Bring car adapters to charge your devices at the cigarette port during the day when driving the vehicle.
25. There are 3 types of campsites for campervans (As I categorize them). Free camping, minimal facility sites and holiday parks.
26. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t free camp anywhere in NZ. There are spots that have “No Campervan” signs and these should be respected. NZ locals have had to deal with free camping abusers in the past, ruining places with rubbish, fires etc so please bear that in mind. Free camping could be public land, national parks, car parks or just empty space sponsored and maintained by the local council.
27. Minimal facility sites are cheaper sites that have basic facilities like non-heated toilets, charging ports and waste stations. Many campsites in national parks that are maintained by Department of Conservation (DOC) are in this category, and it is only $6 per adult per night, usually with toilets and water. I would gladly pay this any day for the amount of good work that DOC does to maintain these free recreational areas, including walking tracks that are well signposted and maintained, information signs, and CLEAN toilets with toilet paper. Malaysians! You know the sorry state of parks and toilets at home so don’t be kiamsiap! Support DOC!
28. Holiday parks are full serviced sites with hot water showers, heated toilets, communal kitchen facilities, indoor dining areas, laundry, etc. Some may have swimming pools and playgrounds etc. There are holiday parks/ campervan parks everywhere in NZ, even in the most remote of places. A night in a campervan park is necessary because they have facilities to charge your house battery, top up fresh water, get rid of waste water and toilet waste.
29. At a typical stay at a holiday park, we will connect our campervan to the main, which allows us to use all the electronics, and powers the electric outlet to charge our own devices. The home battery will get fully charged in the process. Before leaving in the morning, the tasks required will be to empty the waste water tank, empty and wash the toilet tank, and refill the fresh water tank.
30. At certain places, there are waste stations for campervans to empty their waste for free. (Not many)
31. If you think that renting a campervan is a cheaper way of travel vs the car & motel model, it might be the opposite. The costs will involve the usual eg the vehicle, petrol, insurance, surcharges; however when you stay in a holiday park/campervan park, it can cost an average of $25 per person per night, which is about $80-$100 for a family per night. So that’s roughly the cost of a cheap motel room, on top of all the vehicle costs.
32. Therefore, if you are good with saving water, use very little electricity, do little cooking, and use public toilets as much as possible, you can get by with two even three nights of free camping in the campervan. For us, we alternate between one night free camping and one night holiday park. In urban places like Queenstown where we stayed longer for more activities, there is little choice but to stay 2 nights or more in the holiday park as there weren’t any free camping spots.
33. Parking is generally not difficult in NZ, as the spaces are much longer or wider. Some cities have designated parking spots for long vehicles. In some cities like Queenstown or Auckland, it is a much harder headache to find day parking in town for a campervan, so parking and staying in a holiday park in town was just much easier. Otherwise it is possible to find free campsites at the outskirts, and then drive into the city in the day.
34. If you plan to travel during the 2 weeks during Xmas and New Year, you will probably need to plan and book every campervan park. Campervan holidays are extremely popular for the locals, and at popular places, families will book out their spots for a few weeks during summer.
35. A great mobile app for campsite searching is Camping NZ by Rankers.co.nz. You can find campsites according to pricing (including free), and search for services such as petrol stations, supermarkets, etc. You can even find discount offers for activities or holiday parks. The best thing with this app is that their map is downloadable for offline use.
36. I-site are tourist information centres all over NZ. It is useful to drop in to an I-site to find out information and local knowledge of the area. There are plenty of brochures and travel booklets specially catering campervan travellers. I have found and used discount vouchers in these booklets so it is worth browsing through them.
37. Check out bookme.co.nz for great deals on activities and tickets. Sometimes up to half price!
38. I was driving the biggest model of campervan available, and even though it felt intimidating at first, I soon got used to it. The width is not much wider than a big sedan, but of course the length is considerably longer. Take care with reversing and parking.
39. Budget more time to drive on NZ roads as it will take more time than you expect. The maximum speed limit for a campervan is 90km/h, and I was covering an average of 80km per hour in the narrow and windy NZ roads. Except in cities, most roads in NZ are single lane. There are even bridges that are single lane. At certain spots there will be passing lanes or vehicle bays for passing, so be kind to your fellow drivers behind and give way when you can, because you will be big and lumbering.
40. And remember that you are BIG and LUMBERING. It is not a vehicle for racing or doing moves. We were on a coach ride to Milford Sound, and while driving on a curvy downhill road a campervan sped past the coach round a bend and almost caused an accident. The coach driver was furious and they reported the incident to the campervan company. So Malaysians, don’t be crazy. Road rules are meant to be followed in NZ, unlike home. If you have forgotten them cos you have never followed them at home, then don’t drive in NZ.

Conclusion

I think campervan travel is something that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime, as it is a lot of fun and gives a great sense of adventure. You enjoy the flexibility of driving yourself, as well as the privilege of staying in amazing wilderness places with the comforts of an indoor bed and kitchen. Doing it in NZ is great because so much infrastructure and tourism is built for campervan travellers. Just keep in mind that there is a reason why these places are so beautiful and popular and we should all play a part in keeping them clean and free.

**Information I have provided here is from my own experience at that time and based on memory. Certain facts might have changed by the time of your travels, so do your own research properly.