New Zealand Motorhome Travel

[Jamstart]

Been to NZ many years ago too, spent 3 weeks in both south and north islands. Didnt drive all the way to Auckland as most claimed it is more like a city area, shopping centres and restaurants, nothing much. For scenery, better do it in the South, though North part also have some. Accomodation in NZ is easily found, every town you reach will sure have one, so you dont really need a motorhome. Besides, motorhome requires to park at the destinated bay where you require to use their electricity.

It had been more than 10 years and I still cannot forget my trip there. I am sure I will go back there again.

[Will_I_Am]

Let me share my experience. I went on a 16 days self drive trip in a Campervan in May last year. I must say it was the most memorable trip I had in my entire life. Planned my trip 3 months in advance and flew to Auckland on SQ (promo tixs). Rented a Campervan that was self sufficient with toilet, bed, TV, DVD and kitchen with oven and fridge and everything imaginable. From Auckland (North Island), I travelled South covering Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, Hastings, Wellington. Crossed the Straits with my Campervan to the South Island covering Picton, Kaikoura, Greymouth, Haast, Arrowtown, Queenstown, Te Anau, Dunedin, Timaru and finally conclude my trip at ChristChurch. Returned my campervan in Christchurch and took a domestic flight (1hr) back to Auckland for my trip home to Singapore.

 

* The campervan, though MANUAL transmission, comes with Cruise Control, which is very useful for long driving.

 

* Speed limit in NZ is 100kmh on highway, be it car or campervan. Town is mostly 50kmh. Very rare to see traffic lights other than major cities like Auckland and Christchurch. You will see a lot of roundabouts everywhere. Roads are mostly single lane even on state highway. Some single lane roads are shared for both directions so you have to be careful when approaching it.

 

* NZ is the perfect place for self drive campervan trips as they have lots of facilities across the whole country with their Caravan parks, camping ground, holiday parks with power sites meant for this type of vehicles. You can get fresh water, dump your grey water (bathing/washing) and dark water (sai chui) at destinated locations everywhere. In fact, it's even better than Australia after my recent self drive trip in WA. Accomodation options is aplenty. For me, I just drive to any holiday park along the way when it gets dark, pay a small fee (like NZD5 to NZD20 per pax) for a power site to park my campervan and connect to a power source. Most sites comes with toilets, showers, kitchen, pools, relaxing rooms etc.

 

* We cooked our own meals on the campervan or at the kitchen in the Caravan park. We bought groceries at New World or Pak N Save and keep everything in the fridge onboard the campervan. I can stop as and when there's nice scenery, make a cup of kopi, toast a pizza and enjoy in the cooling weather. Very SHIOK! Also, you get fuel discount (4 cents to 16 cents per litre) when you purchase certain amount at the super market.

 

* Get a Vodafone mobile broadband SIM card (Less than NZD50), bring your own unlocked 3G modem and you can surf Internet anywhere you go.

This is how we make last minute Hotel bookings in the cities like Auckland or Christchurch. Can also use it to do research online the night before on the places you want to go the next day. Coz basically, there's nothing much to do after 5pm when the sky gets dark.

 

 

* The NZ people are very friendly and helpful lot. The most amazing thing I notice - They have makeshift stalls along the highway selling fruits, with just a money box for you to drop your payment. No people to watch over the stall. In Singapore ah, not only the money box and the packed fruits all kenna stolen, I think the whole makeshift stall also gone. AMAZING!

 

* Toilets onboard a campervan is very useful especially on long driving trips. You never know when you need to go wee wee. Waste disposal is very easy and not as disgusting as I thought it was. They got special waste sachets which you drop inside the dark water tank to remove the smell.

 

* It's very difficult to see people in most town. You see more sheeps and they are everywhere.

 

* The scenery is breath taking in most places, especially the coastal roads. Heaven is an under statement. Bring cameras/video cams with lots of memory cards. I had over 10hrs of footage alone.

 

* If you want, you can try ferrying your campervan from the North (wellington) to the South Island (Picton) onboard a big ship. A first time experience for me. Cost about NZ300 plus depending on vehicle size.

 

 

* I covered over 3000km all in all from North to the South island. Domestic flights are cheap in NZ, unlike Aussie. Less than NZ50 per pax for promo tixs.

 

 

Last but not least. KIA ORA

 

 

 

 

Was thinking of going Auckland for a 10 day motorhome travel...Anyone have done it before?? Please share your experience like the convenient and inconvenient of travelling by motorhome.

 

Can we park the motorhome overnight at anywhere we like or it is only limited to motorhome park? How's the motorhome charges and motorhome park charges?

 

As much info will be appreciated

 

[Seaweed]

wow...your comments are very positive and inspirating !!! So should I do it or should I not ??? I am thinking of a 7 to 10 days trip just on the north island...how's the travelling of campervan into city ?? will it be a big hazzle ??? if I pass by any nice place...can I just stay over night in the campervan??? or it is a die die must stop in campervan park because of safety and it is illegal etc etc??? which company you rent your campervan from ??? which type did you rent?? how many of you went together ??? sorry for the many questions...cause I am planning either 2 or 4 person....if 2 person...probably I will take the 2 berth with toilet....if 4 person then will choose the 6 berth with toilet...

[Lh77]

wow...your comments are very positive and inspirating !!! So should I do it or should I not ??? I am thinking of a 7 to 10 days trip just on the north island...how's the travelling of campervan into city ?? will it be a big hazzle ??? if I pass by any nice place...can I just stay over night in the campervan??? or it is a die die must stop in campervan park because of safety and it is illegal etc etc??? which company you rent your campervan from ??? which type did you rent?? how many of you went together ??? sorry for the many questions...cause I am planning either 2 or 4 person....if 2 person...probably I will take the 2 berth with toilet....if 4 person then will choose the 6 berth with toilet...

 

I have had a few trips on campervan /motorhome in US, Melbourne, Tasmania and New Zealand.

They are always enjoyable and memorable.

My recommendation is to do it... it's just different and you will really appreciate the different experience you will gain out of the trip..

Some answers to your questions

 

1. Campervan in city... it's just like a car, not diff. especially for a 2 or 4 berth.. No hazzle and you will see many campervan in newzealand

2. You can stay at a nice place in your campervan if you want but the fact is a lot of campervan park are at really scenic place, and with the convenience of power, washing facilities, toilets and safety.. I will recommend to stay over at a campervan park

3. Any rental company will do. Search the web.

4. 2-3 berth for 2 person and 6 berth for 4 person is good if all are adults.. It gives more space and comfort. Normally we dont utilize the toilet unless it's 'emergency'.. I mean, you have less sh** to clear off when you are at the campervan park.. aferall, we are on holiday to enjoy, right

[Seaweed]

how does the clearing of waste from campervan work ??? sorry....have absolutely no idea....is it very tedious ??? should we not stay at power site in a park...what power supply does the campervan still able to supply with engine off ??? thks for the info...

 

[Will_I_Am]

Bro, I will say just do it. Trust me, you will not regret it. 10 days a bit short to cover both island. I would suggest the South island for first timer as there's much more stuff to see. You can visit the Glaciers, Milford Sound, Dunedin (Calbury factory) , Mount Cook , Kaikoura coastal drive, Lord of the Ring scenery routes etc.

Let's put it this way - NZ and SGP has almost the same population, which is why it's hard to find a single soul most of the time. Maybe all stay indoors. You get to see more people in the bigger cities like Auckland and Christchurch. Even so, traffic is very light and easy to go about. Most town are free parking with time limit for some. You get to see sign like 1/4P (15mins), 1/2P (30 mins), 1P (60mins), 2P (120mins) etc, which allows free parking up to that time limit. They got enforcement officer going round using chalk to mark your vehicle tyres to check if you have cross the time limit allowed. Some hotels comes with free parking for guest.

 

You are not allowed to camp anywhere you like, but they have designated camping grounds with basic facilities like fresh water and toilets. Some are FOC while some are chargeable at a small token. I would suggest the Caravan park as they comes with power for your campervan, bathing, kitchen facilites and definitely safer. You can refer to the following for more details - Camp Sites. They have scenery lookout all over the place where you can stop to enjoy the scenery, take pictures, have a picnic etc.

 

There's plenty of choice when it comes to campervan, but I went for a Base Jumper S3 meant for 3 adults from Wilderness Motorhomes in the end, after much research. The choice is yours and homework is necessary.

 

Last but not least, Campervan is the way to go to truly enjoy NZ.

 

 

 

wow...your comments are very positive and inspirating !!! So should I do it or should I not ??? I am thinking of a 7 to 10 days trip just on the north island...how's the travelling of campervan into city ?? will it be a big hazzle ??? if I pass by any nice place...can I just stay over night in the campervan??? or it is a die die must stop in campervan park because of safety and it is illegal etc etc??? which company you rent your campervan from ??? which type did you rent?? how many of you went together ??? sorry for the many questions...cause I am planning either 2 or 4 person....if 2 person...probably I will take the 2 berth with toilet....if 4 person then will choose the 6 berth with toilet...

 

[Will_I_Am]

Not tedious at all. The dark water (poo and wee wee) are collected under the toilet in a cartridge which is accessible from the side of the campervan. You can dump the waste at the caravan park or at designated dumping ground located along the highways. Same for the grey water which you used for bathing and washing - you dump them using a hose that looks like a washing machine hose. There's 2 separate water tank - one for fresh water, the other for grey water. You fill up the fresh water like you pump your petrol.

 

There's battery packs in a campervan which makes it self sufficient for days even when the engine is off. The batteries are charged when you are travelling with the engine on, or at the power site at the caravan park.

 

how does the clearing of waste from campervan work ??? sorry....have absolutely no idea....is it very tedious ??? should we not stay at power site in a park...what power supply does the campervan still able to supply with engine off ??? thks for the info...

 

[Godfather]

i agree with mazda_mad. just do it..u will not regret..i travel around in my own campervan for 5 months and it is really a experience travelling and sleeping in a campervan..u will grow attach to your campervan at the end of your trip.

 

 

Below are a list of camping ground

 

commerical

http://www.hapnz.co.nz/

http://www.top10.co.nz/

http://www.kiwiholidayparks.com/

 

government site

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreatio...ites-by-region/

[relacker]

thks for the great info...so seem I should not give it a try.... rather get a car and stay in motorlodge etc on the way......

 

 

just get a car and book motels. we did it for honeymoon and it is breeze to drive with the gps, the road very simple, no many cars. joy of touring NZ is actually the driving itself as the place is so scenic, stop where u wan to take pics

[Karoon]

i agree with mazda_mad. just do it..u will not regret..i travel around in my own campervan for 5 months and it is really a experience travelling and sleeping in a campervan..u will grow attach to your campervan at the end of your trip.

 

you,sir, are a legend

 

[Seaweed]

5mths !!! wow !!!

[Manterror]

Was thinking of going Auckland for a 10 day motorhome travel...Anyone have done it before?? Please share your experience like the convenient and inconvenient of travelling by motorhome.

 

Can we park the motorhome overnight at anywhere we like or it is only limited to motorhome park? How's the motorhome charges and motorhome park charges?

 

As much info will be appreciated

Hi Bro, I got the same plan but goin probably during school holiday at the end of the year. If you too goin on those periods, probably we could meet up and plan something. Always wanted to try out Motorhome.

 

Cheers.

[Kb27]

They are pros and cons. Some people like it, some don't.

Some like the outdoors and have no problem with inconveniences.

 

Whatever decision you make, think very hard.

 

Think about your passengers too.

 

Motels/motorlodge are plentiful in NZ, almost every town you can be sure of finding at least one.

 

Finding a camping ground is a little bit restrictive. You need to plan what road you want to take, how long you take to reach there, to rest for the night.

 

If you're touring only North island, it's a bit easier. You don't have to deal with ferry closing and timing. But imo, the better sceneries are all in the South island.

 

I went to NZ during November, it's supposed to be near summer, yet it's freezing cold at night. If you drive campervan, there's no way you can anyhow park. The heater will not work without AC supply available at camping ground.

 

Some of us end up lingering at a hotel on top of Mt Cook, bcoz it was too cold inside the campervan. I had a stomach cramp the next morning bcoz of the freezing cold. It was a bad first night experience for us. I guess we didn't read the manual on how the heater works.

 

 

[Seaweed]

humm....so we have got some who think it is an unforgettable positive experience...some who think it is an unforgettable kind in a more negative way....humm....it is to be just a relax drive for me...i got not much of a plan where to go....i have nothing in mind that is like die die must see must try....its like a kind of drive where...stop where kind of trip....i am more concern about the comfort and safety should we decide not to spend a night at a camper park....so if it is a real situation of you will definitely suffer in the cold should u are not in a camper park to power up the heater or you are likely to get rob or disturb if not in a camper park....then i think i would decide not to..

[Friedpiggy]

i recommend you watch this campervan camping holiday by top gear. It has 3 parts(10 minutes or so per part). below are the links part. but watch all 3 parts if you have the time to fully understand most of the considerable points of doing this trip. It is definitely an experience depending on how you see it haha.

 

part I

 

part II

 

Part III

 

Minimum you have to watch part III, that shows the facilities of the campervan in use.

Edited May 15, 2010 by Friedpiggy

[Jermy]

great info! my wife & i are going to NZ with another couple in mid Sept too. Looking forward to it

[Godfather]

There will be at least one place in each major town for you to free camp..there will be sign to inform you if you cannot camp/park overnight.

most likely u will not be alone when u find a suitable place to park overnight, there will be other campervans to company you throughout the night.

I did it b4 and nothing happen to me.

 

for more comfort, u just need to hire a bigger campervan..weather wise, i dun find the cold unbearable when i slept in my campervan and my campervan does not even have a heater.

If u find it cold, just go and buy a blanket. get it from warehouse..it is cheap.

[Genie47]

VIC, AU has a law that if your car is either FWR or RWD, you have to have chains on your tires. Snow tires or not. If your car is AWD, then snow tires w/o chains suffice.