Campervan Travel
We toured South Island, New Zealand from 4 – 18 Dec 2012. We saw Christchurch, Kaikoura, Greymouth, Franz Josef, Wanaka, Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook.
We spent 10 nights in the Campervan and 3 nights in a motel in Christchurch. This post is about our Campervan travels.
We booked our campervan from Britz. We booked in Aug 2012 and got it at a rather good price of $3130.
The company provided a shuttle service from the airport to the campervan office. We were terribly excited. We did the paperwork, and watched the orientation video.
There was apparently a pantry where campers could help themselves
to all sorts of stuff which other campers left behind.
We discovered it only after we came back from our travels.
How sad for us.
But it was nice to see how friendly and considerate the community was.
There was an issue with our campervan. Apparently the one (Britz Explorer 4 berth Campervan) which we booked had only 4 seat-belts and we had to book one with 5 seat-belts. Edmund was quite sure he mentioned to the sales personnel that we had 5 travelers, so we were rather unhappy. We felt that we were being held ransom (since they were our only option – we did not want to take the risk/time/trouble to look for an alternative company).
They managed to find one with 5 seat-belts (Alpha Mitsubishi 4/5 berth) but we had to top up with another NZD165. We also collected the campervan only in the late afternoon.
During our 10-days travel, Edmund also had some trouble with the clutch and the toilet. Upon our return, we gave them our feedback with regards to our unhappiness about the change in campervan, and the troubles we had. They very kindly re-funded us the money which we had to top-up!
So I must say that our overall experience with Britz was good. They were very reasonable and did provide very good service.
This was our campervan!
Here we are, plugged into our power source!
Most sites have power and water. But not all sites have a dumping station (where you can dump your waste). You can pick up lots of useful information at the airport or at the “i” sites. Although we had already decided on the holiday parks we would camp at before the trip, we still collected copies of holiday park guides. It was not really necessary, but oh well, we might go again, right?
We did not get a GPS
so we mainly depended on travel maps
and the holiday guides.
See how torn and tattered our map became!
The holiday park guides
included information on the types of facilities
at the campground.
Here was how our Campervan looked like on the inside:-
This was the dinning, living cum sleeping area
and the kitchen.
I must say there were quite a lot of storage areas.
But we had to remember to “lock down” before we drove off.
That was rather exciting, because inevitably, we forgot sometimes…
This was how we transformed the dinner/sitting area into a bed! (Most of the times, Elkan, Elias and I slept there.)
Rightly speaking, the boards with the round holes were supposed to be kept.
But we left them up all the time, so we saved ourselves one step.
Step 2: Slide the cushions down onto the two boards.
Step 3: Remove the pole from under the table,
and place the table top level with the two sides.
Step 4: Remove the back cushions
and place them on the “Table top”
Step 5: Put the bedsheets on and…
Tada! We’ve got our bed!
This was the other sleeping area.
It was a nice cosy place to sleep, but I did not like it much.
I tended to be very disoriented when I first woke up,
and on the first morning, I nearly fell off the ladder while climbing down…
So it was mostly Edmund and Samuel who slept up there.
(Samuel loved it up there!)
In the mornings, we stored all our PJs, pillows, bedsheets and blankets up there.
The other pictures showed the kitchen.
Look at the amount of things we had in the kitchen!
I thought the way they stored the cups and plates were really cool!
Campervan travel did not fail us. It was extremely fun.
Samuel mostly sat in front with Edmund and I.
It was easiest because I could take care of him,
e.g. put on lip balm and sunblock for him.
The older boys had much fun chatting at the back.
But everyone got a turn trying out the different seats.
Except for Edmund…
We listened to audio stories too.
We ate most of our meals onboard the campervan, but we did minimal cooking in the campervan itself. The only thing we did was to heat up canned soup, and boil water so we could make cup-a-noodles (which we had brought from Singapore – we brought about 10 packets).
Seriously, a large part of the fun was being able to eat, play and rest, rather comfortably wherever we were, rain or shine. With young children, that was more a necessity than luxury.
See our cup-noodles, and pot of canned soup
(that’s dinner, although the sun’s still shining bright!)
We ate breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea too!
The children had fun chatting, reading, playing…
We did the cooking at the Campsite kitchens – nothing fancy, just fried bacon, ham and eggs and toasted bread. We also heated up “TV Dinners”.
Honestly, we enjoyed the ham and bacon and eggs for many days.
But we got quite tired of them in the end…
We also enjoyed the first two TV dinners.
After that, we just stuck more with Fish and Chips and Fastfood…
Of course, we used the common bathrooms at the Holiday parks. It was troublesome – having to bring our toothbrushes and bathing stuff everyday to and from the different toilets (and I had more stuff to carry, obviously). But it was fun in a way.
We had to wash up three times a day.
In the morning, when we shower, and before we sleep.
We did not shower everyday though…
because it was a hassle… and we had to pay at some places…
The children showered super fast though,
because there was a time limit for heated water…
I wish we could install such a system back at home…
Our first campsite was Woodend Beach Holiday Park. It was between Christchurch and Kaikoura. It costs us $51 for 2A, 3C. No, we did not go to the beach. But still, we liked it there.
When we arrived past 8:30pm, the gantry was closed!
We panicked, till we saw an “Emergency telephone number” posted outside the office.
Thankfully soon after we called, someone came to let us in.
The place had a nice little playground which was great for Samuel.
(The other two just had time to wake up, wash up and have breakfast)
before we had to drive off.
Our second campsite was Kaikoura Coastal Campgrounds. We paid $51 for 2A, 3C. It was rather good too, but we lost some of the photos which we took there. So there is only one photo of the toilets… with the cafe entrance. It was the only place, where we had to input a code to enter the bathroom. I did not like it that the female toilet was round at the end. It was quite scary for me to go there at night.
Our third site was a Department of Conservation (DOC) Campsite – Lake Mahinapua Coastal Camping Ground. It cost us $21 for 2A, 3C.
The view was beautiful.
They used a “self-service” payment service.
We paid up only the next morning because we arrived in the dark
the night before.
Our fourth site was a Top 10 site at Fox Glacier Top 10 Holiday Park and Motel. Excellent, and most expensive at $75 for 2A, 3C. We arrived at the holiday park at 5pm – the earliest we have ever arrived at any of the holiday parks.
We loved the playground.
The children treated it as an obstacle course.
They had no problem getting through it. I had lots.
We indulged in some ice-cream.
It became too hot outside, so we went into the dinning area,
which was next to the kitchen.
The kitchen was so clean.
Our fifth site was another DOC Campsite – Moke Lake, which was quite a drive in from the mainroad (see the last para of this post) It was really beautiful though.
I can feel the tranquility and early morning freshness,
just looking at these pictures.
Our sixth site was at The Chalets Holiday Park at Cromwell.
The holiday parks were spotless.
The waste had to be sorted out.
I was really impressed.
Our seventh site was a Kiwi Holiday Park at Dunedin Holiday Park. We stayed there for 2 nights. It was a really cute and interesting place.
See the train mural! Cool!
There were many riddles on the walls
leading to the toilets and kitchens.
Each of the boys posed with their favourite riddle.
It was the only place where we ate breakfast
outside of the campervan.
We had more time in Dunedin,
because it was the only Holiday Park
which we stayed two nights in.
Our eighth site was at Lake Tekapo – Lake Tekapo Holiday Park. It was the only campsite at Lake Tekapo.
Our Campervan was parked up there, behind those trees.
The boys played at the playground a short drive away
from where we camped, but still in the park.
Edmund had to do the disgusting job
of clearing the waste of the Campervan.
A real man, is a man who does not shun dirty jobs.
I love my husband, for many reasons
and this is definitely one of them. *Kiss!*
Our ninth and final site was at Glentanner Park Centre Mount Cook Holiday Park. This was the only park which we booked before hand. The pictures on the website were so breath-taking that I wanted so much to stay there. It cost us $70 for 2A 3C.
It was slightly below my expectations, but I was alright with it.
Quite beautiful!
That ends our Campervan travel story.
I had thought that the next time we travel, we would do car-and-motel, but the boys wanted to travel in a Campervan again. Elias went as far as wanting to live in one when he grows up. Oh well.
Thank you, our little mobile home!
Hi Elisa, I subscribed to your blog, and before I even see the photos (in Gmail), I was already very excited about the prospect of a campervan (caravan) adventure !
A pity I am the only driver, it will be too tiring.
No GPS? This will be a challenge 🙂
My concerns would be food and security.
Do they serve food in DOC campsites?
Is it safe to sleep in the campervans at night?
Thanks for the nice writeup, this is the “alternate” way to travel. NO more Itinerary Yeah !
Hi Andy! Is your family used to self-drive holidays? If you are, it should not be a problem driving. NZ drivers are very friendly and considerate. My husband had to drive on manual gear, not sure if they have auto. If so, you might want to ask for that, it’ll be much easier.
You can get a GPS if you need. We did not because we felt we would not need it. I think you probably will only really need it in the cities.
No, they don’t serve food even in the paid holiday parks like top 10. Everyone cooks. If you are not good with food, just go with fastfood, it’s the cheapest (and subway is probably the most healthy). Or you can do what we do – get TV dinners and heat them up.
Actually cooking up bacon and eggs and sandwiches is not too difficult.
For bacon, we cooked them all up on day 1, and just heated them up on the subsequent days. Bread is really cheap there, and very nice. I love the multigrain types they had.
Yes, it is safe to sleep in the campervans at night. We are at the holiday parks, so it’s alright, even at the DOC campsites. We felt safe.
A big Thank you, NZ has always been on our wishlist, but with kids, the Budget are beyond us, so your camervan idea really clicks 🙂
I will reference your blog if we are heading south, meanwhile I am recommending your less-common adventure to my friends too 🙂
We have been to South Island of NZ, fully rely on map, it was good!
And now we begin the idea of revisiting the country with the kids, campervan is one consideration. I thank you for such insightful information sharing here, surely help solving my puzzle of toilet issue. But what about big luggages storage? Haa….
Hi PC, thanks for leaving a comment! Yes, if we can, we would love to revisit. The children have been asking to go back.
Actually, the next time we travel, we’d probably take one without the toilet. It’s really quite convenient, and the children will be bigger, and so we will probably not need it.
Bring smaller duffel bag types, it’ll be easier to store. Although you might be uncomfortable with checking those type in.
I didn’t show pictures of what we did with our luggage. We had three. We stored one underneath the dinning/sleeping area. The other two were just sitting there. We shifted them around the camper according to our needs… Not too inconvenient.
Hi
Would like to check with you, do you do your laundry? Where do you wash clothes?
Hi Audrey!
Yes, we did. For the paid sites, there are washing machines and dryers which you can use. (So make sure you have lots of coins!).
The problem is with the drying, because sometimes the dryers are not as effective, and you do not have time to hang out the clothes and wait for them to dry. So we end up hanging clothes inside the campervan while we drove on (That’s the beauty of the space in the campervan!)
We brought along travel clothes line, those came in handy.
Hi Elisa
Thanks for your reply.
I’m planning our New Zealand trip with your blog as a reference.
Hi Elisa
It’s me again, Audrey. Just to confirm that we can bring instant noodles to New Zealand, we are intending to buy maybe 20 packs over.
Thanks
I managed to bring some over. I only brought along those which are “Made in Singapore”.
Excited for you!!
Hi Elisa,
We are planning a caravan trip to Perth too. looking at Britz 4 berth Explorer too. The size of the car seems quite big, measuring at abt 3x7m (1.5x of our sedan car in terms of width and length). Is it difficult to drive?
Hi Eric! Here’s an answer from Edmund, the driver and the man…
The campervan, being longer than a car, will have a greater differential during turning. so you have to have the campervan overshoot the turn a bit before you actually steer the vehicle.
Also, because bigger and heavier, you have to slow down earlier and remember that your acceleration is less than before so give more space before you enter main roads.
Finally, remember that the campervan has a range of about 450 km to the next station, so plan to top up first of you go some real ulu places.
Hi Elisa, after reading your campervan trip blog, it brings back fond memory of my trip in 2012 during June school holidays.
Just like you, we had the exact same model, an Alpha 4-berth and yes, its a stick shift, and its the only one that has 5 seat belts.
I would love to go back again soon.
Not sure you came across this article of our trip
http://sgtravellers.com/travel-article/adventures-in-a-campervan-exploring/2927/1
Hi David! Thanks for your note. I read the article. Hey your daughter wrote a blog about the trip, wow, I’m impressed! Yeah, I would love to go back again too 🙂
Hi.Elisa.Planning go to South Island in this Nov 2015.this is first time travel with campervan with my 2 sons and my hubby.not so familiar with booking the holiday park while last trips we always book motel thru Booking.com.
Q1:can you let me know what website for booking holiday park ?
Q2:Do they have free cancellation ?
Big thanks..
Hi Kim
I don’t think you really need to book, because we did not do any booking, except for one of them, and that was because I was so taken by the website that I did it. When we were there, the parks had many available lots. For the one which I booked, I went to its website. I do not know about free cancellation. I can understand your anxiety though – what if there are not places available for us?! Like I said, I doubt if that would happen, but you may want to check with other travellers to be more certain 🙂
Hi Elisa,
What is the driving license required to drive the camper van? Class 3 is sufficient?
Cheers
WK
Yes, WK, a class 3 license is sufficient.
Hi Eliza, I’m in the midst of planning a trip to NZ. It’s a lovely read abt the campervan. Seriously thinking of getting the campervan too. I also read somewhere abt the deposit. What’s the deposit like? Do we need to buy insurance when we travel? My youngest is only 5. Do u think it’ll be inconvenient to use public toilets & bathroom if I get a campervan without toilets facilities?
Hi Gladys. Excited for you! I can’t recall the details about the deposit.. and yes, we did get insurance. I can’t recall whether it was mandated by anyone, but I would usually get insurance for big holidays like this.
On the 5 year old, I think you know your child best – is he easy to manage wrt toileting? Does he need to use the toilet in the night? Can he hold his bladder well, and is he compliant when you insist that he goes to the toilet when it’s available? If yes, then your need for toilet in the campervan is much lesser.
My experience with NZ when we were there was that it was safe to walk to the toilets at night, though we never had to do that. The public facilities are comfortable to use. The other thing you would want to consider is whether he would need to do “big business” at inconvenient times. That didn’t happen to us.
I hope this is helpful enough for you to make a decision. Hope you will have a safe and fun trip.