We rented a campervan for 5 days/4 nights in Northern New Zealand.

We drove close to 600 miles. Overall it was a good experience, and we don’t have much experience with campers, camping, the rv tribe. We agreed it is a good way to see parts of the country and to save some money on sleeping and eating.

Here are my top 5 things to know when renting a campervan in New Zealand.

1. Get the right sized van for your needs

We had a brand new Maui -2 berth/4 person campervan. It was roomy and comfortable. It did have a closet, but no place to store suitcases. It seemed like one of the bigger vehicles on the road and was cumbersome to drive. I did like the amenities: microwave oven, small oven, stove top burners, under-counter fridge, roomy banquette seating area. I think we could have used a slightly smaller van and been a little more comfortable driving the roads. This model has 2 beds and there was bedding for both beds. We should have left one set of bedding at the rental office which would have given us much more storage space in the closet.

2. Make sure you know how to use every bit of gadgetry on the campervan before you leave the rental lot

This is very important, because the rental people will quickly review the systems with you, and you’re in a hurry to get this show on the road, but take a little more time and make sure all the hoses fit properly, that you know how to clean out the toilet container (and how to flush it), that you know which switches need to be up or down to work the various electrical/heating/cooling mechanisms. Also make sure the GPS tablet they give you is charged and actually working and that you know how to work that and how to get help if you need it for any of the above systems. An extra ten or fifteen minutes in the rental lot may save you hours broken down on the road. We couldn’t find the toilet flush lever for the first day because it was hidden next to the wall and finally had to call for instructions. That was not a fun situation. Also the water hose we had did not have the correct connection to our outside water faucet, but luckily most of the campsites did have a water hose that we could attach.

3. Do some advance planning

Part of the fun of having a campervan is being able to travel the back roads and stop when you want. New Zealand is particularly suited to campervans, with many excellent holiday parks, camping areas, and pretty good road signage. But it’s a good idea to plan where you are staying for the first night. During high season and school holidays the campgrounds can fill up so reservations will give you peace of mind.

4. Seeing the Sights

The local area i-sites have good maps and people who may be able to give you great directions. You can also use your campervan’s GPS tablet for information when there is no cell service (which happens a lot in remote areas). There’s an app called Rankers Camping NZ which lists most of the camping locations along with cost. Your camping vehicle should have the certified “self contained” sticker on it to have the widest variety of camping options. I ended up getting a membership to the Top 10 Holiday Parks group, saving money on each reservation along with other discounts. We also knew the region we wanted to see during our camping trip, but I would say that we tried to go too far and see too many things in the time we had allotted for the trip. It takes longer to get places than you think it will. The roads are small and the locals drive fast. Taking it more slowly will definitely lessen the stress. There are really beautiful places to stay all over New Zealand.

At home in the campervan

5. Food and Meal Planning

 Take advantage of “free” boxes if you can use any of the items left out for travelers at holiday parks and the rental company. Most holiday parks have good cooking/dining/cleaning facilities which saves you gas, water, electricity. We found that once we parked at the campsite it was hard to leave again to go find dinner. Stop along the way and get staples, fresh food, snacks, beverages, and decide what you want to do for dinner so it’s easy to park and set up camp for the night. It’s always fun to pop into local grocery stores and see what’s new and different.

Would we do it again? Maybe, yes. We would definitely know better how to organize ourselves to make it a fantastic camping trip!

Good to Know:

Information about Camping in NZ:
https://www.newzealand.com/int/holiday-parks/
Information on Freedom Camping in NZ: http://www.doc.govt.nz/freedomcamping
http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/free-camping.html

Campervan Rentals
http://www.maui-rentals.com/nz/en

NZ Camping App
https://www.rankers.co.nz/respect

Holiday Parks NZ

Top 10 Holiday Parks
https://top10.co.nz/
Kiwi Holiday Parks
https://www.kiwiholidayparks.com/