New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the most amazing destinations in the world to travel to. The country has everything to offer: nice people, cute (indigenous) animals, beautiful and unspoiled nature, beaches and so much more! Our colleague Yoni spent three weeks traveling through New Zealand by campervan. Of course, you can travel New Zealand in several ways, but her favorite way is to discover a country by campervan. Here you can read why.

Yoni: "For the ultimate experience, I choose to travel by campervan."

The first advantage to traveling by campervan in New Zealand is the freedom. You can decide your entire route in advance, but if you want to stay somewhere longer or shorter along the way than the schedule this of course! You are not "stuck" with pre-arranged accommodations and you have your own home on wheels. In addition, you can choose to go to a restaurant, but of course you always have the option of cooking and spending the evening by the campfire.

Second, there are more than enough campsites to be found. In the busier periods, like summer in New Zealand or when the "Kiwis" themselves have vacations, it is advisable to book the campsites in advance. But since there are plenty of places, this also doesn't have to be done weeks in advance. When I was traveling myself, I twice booked a campsite two days in advance so I was sure we had a spot. But when I arrived, there were some spots left in the campground as well. When you are self-sufficient with your RV, you are allowed to camp "in the wild.

Self-sufficient means that you have a (portable) toilet in your camper, also called porta potti. You will get a sticker on the camper stating that the camper is "self contained". Actually, you may camp anywhere in New Zealand and on all DOC campsites. These are beautiful nature campsites that are very inexpensive and reserved for campers with a so-called "self contained" campervan.

Another reason for a campervan trip through New Zealand is, that the roads are well maintained and all very wide so you have no problems driving a campervan. Highways as we know them are almost non-existent. Only around Auckland it can sometimes be a bit busier.Because an RV is generally a bit larger than a car, somecities evenhaveseparate parking lots for RVs, so you won't have any problems parking either. It is also true that you are allowed to drive RVs almost everywhere. When it is really not allowed it is because it is a gravel road which can cause damage. But then you are also not allowed to drive here with a normal rental car. No rental company will allow it.

New Zealand remains a wonderful country to explore. No matter which way: you will have a fantastic trip! But I personally definitely prefer a campervan, because it makes your experience a bit more adventurous and really suits the unspoiled nature of New Zealand.

Tip from Yoni:

If you want to camp in nature take a self contained campervan, with that you are allowed on all DOC campsites.