New Zealand advice

[ashbyspannerman]

My daughter is planning to head over to New Zealand in the new year, she wants to hire a van and travel, any advice from someone who's done it?
Where is a good place to hire? any ideas on costs? what is the situation regarding 'wilding' in NZ?

 

[Robmac]

Izwozral has recently hired a van in New Zealand and ran a thread about it.

I haven't got time to track it down now, but a search should find it.

 

[rockape]

Izwozral has recently hired a van in New Zealand and ran a thread about it.

I haven't got time to track it down now, but a search should find it.

Well done Rob, Ral is the man, providing immigration don't get him first .

 

[Pauljenny]

Be very careful...

Allow plenty of time.
Ral has 5471 photos to show you.

 

[ashbyspannerman]

Be very careful...

Allow plenty of time.
Ral has 5471 photos to show you.

I'm sure that will bring round the new year quicker for her!

 

[Asterix]

Loads of young folk just buy an estate car and travel around.
There are folk in Auckland who will sell you the car, then buy it back at a reduced rate.
Tell her to research what she wants to do, not you, her!
Look on trade me.
Use an app, to phone up suppliers/sellers and get a feel for the market before committing.
We purchased a motor home then resold it, the cost for 6 months was 150 pounds.
Just get her to research all info, speak to the local population ( no launguage barrier)
Then make an informed decision.

Completely agree with all of that,I would just add that freedom camping must be in a self contained vehicle ie toilet,there's been lots of problems with mainly younger people roughing it in a van or car and using the environment to do their business,the authorities are cracking down on it.

 

[ashbyspannerman]

Loads of young folk just buy an estate car and travel around.
There are folk in Auckland who will sell you the car, then buy it back at a reduced rate.
Tell her to research what she wants to do, not you, her!
Look on trade me.
Use an app, to phone up suppliers/sellers and get a feel for the market before committing.
We purchased a motor home then resold it, the cost for 6 months was 150 pounds.
Just get her to research all info, speak to the local population ( no launguage barrier)
Then make an informed decision.

She will do her own research, but obvs looks to me for some advice, why wouldn't she?
She's in her mid thirties and head of year at her school, but asked me for some tips as I have had my vans since before
she was born, but never having done New Zealand thought I'd ask on here for some extra tips for her.

 

[Deleted member 207]

NZ is one of THE best places in the world to have a self contained campervan/motorhome, not good for the backpacker campers using station wagons or old courier vans.
Self contained means that the vehicle can be driven off when required, has a toilet on board that stores black waste and a grey water storage tank.
Wicked Campers and the like forget to tell people about the self contained rule - which is not uniformly enforced, so car parks that have toilets and showers tend to get full of the backpackers and inevitably attract the attention of the locals who get a bit fed up with 20 vehicles parked up in front of their homes.

Maybe the OP could consider doing a "van swap" for his daughter if she's only going for a few months. Plenty of NZers wanting to go to the UK for van holidays. Maybe that's something that Wildcamping.co could consider?

 

[izwozral]

NZ is great for touring around in a camper, there are freedom camps [free!!] DOC sites [cheap] POP sites [cheap] and main campsites [dear]. As been mentioned, plenty of people buy an estate car or MPV, throw a mattress in the back and do the tour on the cheap. Be aware that most DOC sites and Freedom Camps will fine anyone without a Self Contained certificate, got to say though, it wasn't very well policed.
Hiring campers is expensive, we were quoted by both Britz and Maui £25k for 6 months, however, we paid £9k renting from Advenurevans. BUT, don't rent from them, long story, but just don't.
We found the people very warm and friendly, the scenery is jaw dropping, the roads can be a bit challenging in some areas but that's part of the adventure.
Rankers.com and Campermate.com are brilliant apps for finding campsites, supermarkets, garages etc etc.

The only negative for you. Your daughter may not want to come back! The first words my daughter said to me when i met her at the airport following a holiday there was "I am going to live in NZ". And that is exactly what she is doing now and has applied for residency.

Good luck to your lass.

 

[ashbyspannerman]

NZ is great for touring around in a camper, there are freedom camps [free!!] DOC sites [cheap] POP sites [cheap] and main campsites [dear]. As been mentioned, plenty of people buy an estate car or MPV, throw a mattress in the back and do the tour on the cheap. Be aware that most DOC sites and Freedom Camps will fine anyone without a Self Contained certificate, got to say though, it wasn't very well policed.
Hiring campers is expensive, we were quoted by both Britz and Maui £25k for 6 months, however, we paid £9k renting from Advenurevans. BUT, don't rent from them, long story, but just don't.
We found the people very warm and friendly, the scenery is jaw dropping, the roads can be a bit challenging in some areas but that's part of the adventure.
Rankers.com and Campermate.com are brilliant apps for finding campsites, supermarkets, garages etc etc.

The only negative for you. Your daughter may not want to come back! The first words my daughter said to me when i met her at the airport following a holiday there was "I am going to live in NZ". And that is exactly what she is doing now and has applied for residency.

Good luck to your lass.

I think that's a distinct possibility! We have all been through a rough time, my wife passed away just over a year ago, my daughter got married this April and really missed mum not being there, unbelievably her partner passed away suddenly last month so she is looking for a new life!!

 

[izwozral]

I think that's a distinct possibility! We have all been through a rough time, my wife passed away just over a year ago, my daughter got married this April and really missed mum not being there, unbelievably her partner passed away suddenly last month so she is looking for a new life!!

Geez, that's so sad, my heart goes out to you both, geez.

If your lass needs any info I am happy to help if I can, just let me know.

 

[regnarts]

There was a good article in MMM September Issue regarding this.
The writers outcome was to purchase motorhome in UK get a specialist
company in NZ to organize shipping then sell in NZ when trip is complete.
The demand in NZ appears to indicate easy selling prior to your visit.

 

[Asterix]

Whist I agree New Zealand is nice.
It's very far from the experiences that Europe offers.
Happy to stay for 6 months, but not so happy to live there!
3.5 hours flight time just to Australia.
All depends on your outlook on life!

That's pretty much why I left,travelling is a hell of a lot easier up this end of the planet!

 

[izwozral]

I could happily live in NZ [not that they would want me]. For some, it is a country that grabs your heart and it sure grabbed mine in a big way, it is the people too.
Just finished reading a book called 'Squashed Possums', it is written by a caravan in the wop wops, I kid you not, well worth reading. It describes perfectly the hold the country can get you in.

Me, biased? Nah.

 

[Trompete]

Wilding in N.Z.

My daughter is planning to head over to New Zealand in the new year, she wants to hire a van and travel, any advice from someone who's done it?
Where is a good place to hire? any ideas on costs? what is the situation regarding 'wilding' in NZ?

don't try wilding , use the D O C sites.

 

[Owlhouse]

It's worth doing but you need plenty of time...

don't try wilding , use the D O C sites.

We did it a couple of years ago and found 3 months was not enough!!! Yes it is expensive to hire a self-contained m/h but it does give a lot more freedom. DoC sites are quite often very basic, usually a designated patch of land with a drop toilet and maybe water but are very cheap and there are lots around. Freedom camping has been spoiled in the past by 'mattress in the back of a car' type camping but if you act responsibly most people are happy with self-contained motorhomes, if there is a house nearby just ask - we found most people were happy just because you made an effort. Could be worth joining the NZMCA (NZMCA : Your Journey Begins Here) as they have a good selection of cheap places to stay similar to the Caravan Club CL sites.
We used Pacific Horizon Motorhomes and found them very good (Pacific Horizon Motor Homes > Pacific Horizon Motorhomes is a Wellington owned hire company.), we had the GEM and found it suited our needs.

One word of warning though - the NZ airport immigration people are VERY strict on anything you take in being spotlessly clean - like boots,walking poles etc. - just about everything!! The same applies to travel between the islands, it is very likely your van will be inspected before boarding the ferry between North/South and vice versa! You will need to wash wheels/tyres and make sure you don't have any mud or vegetation hanging around. On saying that they are usually quite friendly about it.