Self drive tour of New Zealand
Posted on Aug 19, 2008 under Tips & Advice |There is no better way to experience the beautiful unspoilt landscapes of New Zealand than in a campervan or motorhome. Doing a self drive tour of New Zealand will enable you to experience and travel around New Zealand at your own pace, and enjoy the diverse environment that New Zealand has to offer. There are so many places whereby you can stop off and visit which you can do leisurely on your own without the inconvenience of sticking to a schedule.
New Zealand has a large number of camping grounds and holiday parks across the country. You can basically park or campervan or motorhome anywhere as long as it’s not private property. Most New Zealand holiday parks offer kitchen facilities, BBQ areas, TV lounges, showers, toilets and washing machines. You have the option of seeing New Zealand in your campervan with the added benefits of these camping grounds or to get away from it all and travel into the tranquil and remote areas of New Zealand. Department of Conservation (DOC) camps can be found throughout New Zealand and provide beautiful camp settings although they offer no facilities like showers, toilets or cooking areas.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
A campervan is THE BEST way to see NZ, but beware that there are an increasing number of posted “no campervans” areas throughout both islands. As tourism and campervan companies have increased, so has regulation of the one-time “camp anywhere” attitude. Ask your campervan company if they have any detailed info as to where “freedom camping” is allowed or at least not prohibited.
My opinion from many summers spent freedom camping around NZ is that the biggest Campervan companies care the littlest about you. They just take your money and push you out the door. They spend their money on marketing, not trying to help you get the most out of your vacation. Go with a smaller company and they’ll take the time to try to help you understand NZ and where you can and can’t camp. The campgrouns are often boring, impersonal and offer little privacy…where you want to be is off-the-path, out in the wilds where you can celebrate the amazing beauty. Lonely Planet and it’s ilk concentrate on most of the commercial stuff, but smaller guidebooks like Nz frenzy will actually tell you the cool spots to visit and camp.
Regardless though, NZ is way cool and you’ll have the best time in a campervan rather than on one of those tourist buses that roam the country.