When you aim to explore countries like Australia or New Zealand a good option to go around is hiring a camper. In this post, I want to share some of our experiences in our life on wheels and learnings as new campers.
When you plan to rent, there are several options available, depending on the budget and personal needs. I guess most basic campers travel with a car equipped with small gas burner, tent and sleeping bags, or you can go with fully equipped motorhome, which resembles a luxury boat on wheels.
In Australia we rented a campervan, which is a van equipped with small gas burner, fridge and sink and bunks for 2 to 4 people. It worked pretty well for two adults, but when you add two kids it becomes already a bit uncomfortable. Can’t really think about the setup with four adults. All the actions needed a lot of planning in such a small place and we were constantly moving things around. After parking we took the luggages to front seats, for dinner we fixed the table, but for the night you needed the table as base for the bed, making upper bunk meant that you could only sit on below etc. And while you were fixing those, others needed to wait outside.
Nevertheless we were managing it pretty well. I guess we were lucky since the weather was warm, and we could use the seats and picnic table to extend the space.
Based on the experience we gained during our two weeks tour in Australia, we decided to
get something more comfortable for New Zealand. Just the fact, that the weather in December is pretty unpredictable and showers are common, meant for us that bigger is better.
It is nice to say that this was a good decision.
We are driving a double-up style mobile home. It is a 7.7m long and 3.3m high shuttle, where the driver and all passengers are in front at a separate cockpit.
At the back we have beds for six people, two on top of the driver, two next to the entrance and two on the back when the dinner table is folded down. We have a galley with regular size cooking top, owen, micro, running water etc. and a comfortable dinner sofa at the back. Actually all the same functions were available in our previous one, except the shower and toilet. Those have made us practically independent and since NZ is full of nice and free places to stay, it has really been worth of every penny.
Since we are traveling with two small kids we have pretty standard daily routines like at home; we wake up, do the morning wash, change clothes, fix beds, prepare and eat breakfast. Then decide where to go and what to do. These decisions are mainly based on weather, mood or tips what we have gathered on our way.
We have been mainly eating at “home”. Preparing the dinner gives a nice balance between the driving and exploring plus personally I have missed cooking. Sure we have tested some local restaurants too, but I guess that hasn’t been on top of our list. After the kids are tucked in the upper beds, we have the usual couple of hours for us. We cannot leave the car while the kids are sleeping, so we don’t get to see the local nightlife, but that’s ok. Parents know, how the days go.
We do grocery shopping every 3 to 4 days. We need to
be a bit careful with our small fridge. It consumes a lot of electricity, so no ice in our Bailey’s. We keep the fruits and veggies in a cardboard box, which is easy to stove and move around.
We have tried to keep daily driving time in minimum and after longer legs we have kept at least one day off from the road. Around 6-7pm. we look for the place to stay over night. Usually somewhere with a nice view, by a lake for free. We can be 2-3 days with out plugging to electricity and then it is a good time for us to look a paid camp place with services. While plugged to 220V, we can charge fully all the gears, cars batteries, laptop, iPad, phones etc. This is a good cycle for laundry too. It is like having a pit stop.
For kids, the regular stops in playgrounds and libraries are a must and gives a bit peace of mind for adults.
For entertainment we have ipad, which is used mostly by the girls. We downloaded some games and movies to watch. Limited options give some sense of repetition for them, which might be good in the modern times.
We use laptop for our movies and occasional Skype chats with family. We have an only i-pod for music. Good headset is essential for a sense of solitude, whenever a escape is needed.
To find our way, we used mobile apps that give the location of different services, especially all the free and paid camper parks around. Campers update the info based on their experience, which helps us to find the sites worth to visit. We have also Lonely Planet’s digital guidebook available, which comes handy when we search more details about the local activities.
We have bought on the airport a local mobile sim card, that gives us access to internet. New Zealand has been quite poor with wifi. Usually it is available in central areas and as paid service, but quite easily you loose the connection, when driving out the city. Even with our mobile wifi connector the internet has been unavailable in many places. This is not necessarily bad thing, but good to keep in mind. Local libraries usually has good internet.
In the end I have listed some of the key things to keep in mind when you are planning or having your first camper holiday.
- Fridge takes a lot of electricity. Forget the ice cream if you need days off the grid
- Every tank meter lies. No matter if it is fuel, water, gray water etc.
- Don’t mess around with the car keys. They bend and break easily
- If it’s windy, park either the front or back towards the wind. Not sideways
- When its wet, check the ground before parking on gravel or grass
- Don’t park on areas where local teens burn rubber or goes drifting
- Take it easy and don’t drive too much per day. 100-150km is good
- Rent the bigger one with good holding tanks. Avoiding a paid camp place is a 35-55 bucks saved
- Fill the tank when possible, don’t take risks.
- Know your measurements. At least height, length and radius
- You can heat the house while making pancakes
- Enjoy and have a safe trip!
4 bags of clothes 