Edited to add! Kristy has now been to New Zealand and has written two awesome posts for me:
- Tips for travelling around New Zealand with kids in a campervan
- Kristy’s itinerary for the South Island of New Zealand with kids
Last summer, I nearly went campervanning around New Zealand. I’d started the research, looked at flights, started to get quite excited – and then I was offered a trip to Bali and New Zealand went on hold.
I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand, not just because it’s our neighbour (although from over here in Western Australia, it’s quite a distant neighbour), but mostly because of the amazing landscapes I always hear about, and also because I’ve been told that there are lots of sweet potatoes used there. (!) My parents went to New Zealand a couple of years before I was born, so they never took me, and I’ve been meaning to go forever.
But now my good friend Kristy of Loulou Zoo is going before me! Not only that, she’s doing it by campervan, exactly how I want to! I’m trying to see the bright side of this though, as it means she’s doing some excellent research for me (and she’ll be guest posting when she returns so we can all learn something), but I’m still pretty envious!
Me and my love of campervans
Regular readers will know I am a huge fan of campervan travel. As a nine-year-old, I spent six months in Europe with my family in our stripy campervan and later we also drove around Australia in one; more recently I explored the Flinders Ranges in South Australia in a campervan (or motorhome or whatever you might like to call it!).
Campervans are, for me, the perfect fit for a driving holiday when there’s lots of nature to be seen – you can stop on the side of the road and have your morning tea overlooking amazing scenery, and you can get around to lots of different places in a day, and then easily stop for the night with minimal unpacking and fuss. They are also ideal for a trip with kids, firstly because in my own experience as a kid, they totally love campervans, plus it’s a pretty easy way to keep all your kid-paraphernalia together (way easier than unpacking and repacking in motel rooms or something), and great because food and drink supplies are always on hand.
Campervanning around New Zealand
So all that makes using a campervan in New Zealand a pretty ideal way to travel, I reckon. The people at Wilderness Campervans got in contact with me recently to persuade me further (as if I needed help), and I found that the free ebook you can get off their site is actually full of advice for campervanning around New Zealand I hadn’t come across. For example, most flights will have you landing in Auckland, but it’s often cheaper to rent a campervan one-way from Christchurch (because it’s the opposite way to how most people do it), and well worth hopping straight on a plane from Auckland down to Christchurch to pick up your van. (Plus they don’t charge any extra for starting and finishing in a different spot, which is nice.)
They also have a big bunch of suggested itineraries which have got me rather excited about trying to fit New Zealand in sooner rather than later, and of course the one they call “No Stone Unturned” is easily my favourite (now I just need to find a free month to fit it in!).
Questions about campervanning NZ?
So, my friend Kristy and her young family are zooming around New Zealand as we speak, and when she returns she’s promised to let me grill her for the low down on what it’s really like to campervan New Zealand. If you’ve got questions – she’ll have answers – so leave them in the comments below and I’ll make sure she spills the beans! Of course, if you’ve got tips I can use for my future NZ trip then do let me know them, as well.
Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Wilderness Campervans but my addiction to campervans is entirely the fault of my parents, as is the fact that I still haven’t been to New Zealand yet.
This has been on my list for a while too – I would love to do it. My girls have been asking to see snow and I’d love to take them on a campervan trip around NZ. I suppose the two things I worry about are the icy roads in a big beast of a van (especially when you aren’t used to driving on icy roads!) and if they are warm enough during winter.
Good question – I will make sure Kristy tells us all about the wintery side of things. I know she already told me they got the chance to see snow even though they mostly had nice sunny weather. Lucky things!
Oh they have some good tips at Wilderness Campervans…shame I didn’t see it before the trip he he. Thank you for asking for questions, that’s a great idea.
Ah Malinda I will have plenty of info on icy roads, as this was a very interesting (and unexpected, plus slightly scary) part of our trip! And warmth…well yes I will cover that too don’t worry. Luckily our van had gas heating (which we used a lot!).
🙂
I know – what bad timing, they really do have good info!! Looking forward to hearing about the icy roads. (And more.)
Amanda, thanks for a great blog. I have toured New Zealand but not in a camper. I’ve campervanned around Australia, Europe and the Mexican Baja, and love this mode of travel and the freedom it gives you to leave ‘no stone unturned’. The feet are itching again. Maybe New Zealand is next? I hope you make it over there. 🙂
Thanks Jodie! I’m definitely keen to make it over there. Hope you’ve got another camper journey planned soon!