Travelers are seeing New Zealand through campervan windows. It’s a culture around here really, with multiple companies renting out vans and car markets catering specifically to foreign visitors. With a few simple campervans tips your sure to have an amazing time.
Hitch-hikers weighed down by backpacks wait for travelers with wheels to take them to the next small town, and to any given destination, there will be more vans on the road than cars. Just as unique and rewarding as any of the world’s great road trips, a campervan journey around New Zealand is worthy of the bucket list. If you want in on the action, here are some campervan tips for traveling around New Zealand.
Buy Or Rent? How To Decide
The first step to any road trip is to get your hands on a vehicle. There are plenty of companies that will rent you a campervan for your journey and also plenty of people that will sell you one, no strings attached. It’s important to ask yourself some of these questions before making a decision.
Will you be traveling for under three months or longer?
Renting a campervan for a short-term trip can be quite affordable. However, if you plan on traveling around New Zealand for 4 months to a year, it may be more cost-effective to purchase a campervan and sell it when you are finished.
Do you know your way around a motor?
If you aren’t very confident in your vehicle knowledge and can’t fix a flat tire to save your life, renting from a company may be the best option. You can trust that their vehicles have been fine-tuned and up to safety standards. Plus, if you do break down, they typically offer assistance to get you back up and running.
If you purchase a campervan yourself, it’s important that you can take an educated look at what’s going on under the hood before purchasing and be able to make small repairs if you end up stuck on the side of the road.
Are You Willing To Take A Financial Risk?
If renting a campervan, the transaction is simple; rent, pay, return. When buying a campervan, you will be under pressure to make sure it gets sold when your trip ends. If you have a plane ticket out of the country or the market for buyers is low, you may need to take less money than you paid for it in order to get rid of it quickly.
Where To Find A Campervan
If you plan on renting a campervan, check out some of these campervan companies to decide which one sounds best for your trip:
- Escape
- Spaceships
- Apollo
- Wicked
- Hippie Camper
Hannah & Adam rented their campervan with Escape rentals, picked up and returned their campervan in Christchurch.
If you want to purchase a campervan vehicle, check out some of these resources to get you started:
- The Backpackers Cars/Vans Sales Auckland: A Facebook group where other travelers buy and sell vehicles.
- Trade Me: A New Zealand website for selling items, services and posting jobs.
- Hostel Notice Boards: Most hostels will have a board in their lobby where other travelers will post For Sale signs.
- The Backpacker Car Markets: There are two markets that run on the weekends in Auckland, City Car Fair and Auckland City Car Fair.
What To Keep In The Campervan
Everyone’s preferences are different but some useful campervan tips on gear to have:
- Large Tupperware containers to separate food items, cooking utensils, clothing and shower products.
- A stove and propane tank
- Basic kitchenware (pots, pans, utensils, bowls, cups, plates)
- Foldable chairs
- A flashlight or headlamp
- A cooler to keep perishable items fresh for short periods of time
- Multiple towels for showering and the beach
- Cleaning supplies (wet wipes, paper towels, dish soap, sponge)
- Books and magazines for downtime
- Large water jug
Useful Resources
Knowing where to get the right resources can help you have a smoother trip and cut down on planning.
- Camper Mate App: If you have a smartphone, download this app for your trip. It was made in collaboration with the tourism board and works offline to help travelers find places to camp. It offers map labeling campgrounds, their prices, facilities and extremely helpful reviews left by other campers. With this app, travelers have the freedom to drive around without much planning in advance.
- Information Centers: Most towns and national parks around New Zealand will have information centers full of knowledgeable staff, maps and pamphlets for things to do in the area. Many of these places have free WIFI and offer services to book tours for you right from the center.
- Public Libraries: Even the smallest towns around New Zealand tend to have at least one public library. They typically offer free WIFI and can be used as a resource in case you need to do some planning, fill up your water bottle in the sink or use the bathroom.
Long expanses of uncrowded roads, hills of farmland views and a sprinkling of antiquated towns there’s a reason why this country is so popular for road tripping. What do you think? Are you ready to make the trip?
About The Author
Shannon is an American travel blogger and writer who has been traveling the world for 10 years. She has taught English in China and Thailand, backpacked around Europe, road tripped around the U.S and is currently living out of a van in New Zealand. You can follow her adventures at Lives Abroad or visit her on Facebook.
Have you campervanned in New Zealand? What are your campervan tips?
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