Campervan Lyfe in New Zealand

By Colbi on Monday, March 5, 2018

Say hello to our very first guest writer, Colbi. She will be writing a two-part post on our time in New Zealand!

Paige has always been my go-to travel consultant. She has helped me plan my itineraries, build up my points game, and find the latest and greatest in every cities I explore. She has travel down to a science. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to meet them in Australia for a couple days and spend two weeks with them in New Zealand.

Over the years, the three of us have skydived in South Africa, experienced a seemingly untouched world in Cuba, and survived Fyre Festival in the Bahamas. These trips have always been full of new adventures, some major hiccups, and all together incredible memories. This trip was no different.

The Game Plan (or Lack Thereof)

Since Ben had spent some time in New Zealand while abroad, he took on the role of quarterbacking our itinerary. We knew the marquee places we wanted to see and things we wanted to do. Given the flexibility and convenience of a self-contained campervan, we decided to roll with a loose plan (and make it up as we went along).

Originally, there was quite a large group slated for the trip. However, plans changed and some people got nervous about the idea of a RV for two weeks, and then there were three.

Jucy Gang

After landing in Christchurch, we met at the rental center to pick up our Jucy Chaser and familiarize ourselves with our new “home.” We had quite the “what did we sign up for” moment when we closed all the doors. We quickly realized we were going to be spending the next 15 days a mere 2 ½ feet from one another at all times.

It was that moment we decided that:

Ben had definitely been duped by incredible online marketing
It was absolutely necessary to make a MTV Cribs inspired webisode to laugh at our “situation.” Side note: 88% of my followers voted we wouldn’t last the two weeks in the van.
We were not going to use the facilities (the shower or toilet) besides the sink.

Freedom Camping

It took a few positive affirmations before we rolled out of the parking lot and started our journey. After a quick stop at the grocery store, we headed to Arthur’s Pass on our counterclockwise route around New Zealand’s South Island.

The perk of the camper, in theory, is that you can camp anywhere on the South Island. The reality, we came to find, is that “freedom camping” has been significantly restricted due to campers not being responsible and respectful of the land. As a result, we spent our first night in a hotel parking lot because we couldn’t find any nearby freedom camping sites.

For the rest of the trip, we came to rely on the handy CamperMate app to find designated camping sites. We spent about half of the nights at free camping sites and the other half at paid holiday parks where we could shower. We eventually the hang of freedom camping and stayed in some absolutely beautiful spots. My favorite was Lake Pukaki. We parked on a hill overlooking a glacial lake and admired Mt. Cook from a distance.

Once we got smarter, fell into a routine, and made the most of our little home, we covered a lot of ground and took advantage of all that the South Island has to offer. Stayed tuned for a recap of some of our unforgettable experiences!