For those who are planning a travel through New Zealand and they want to travel by car or van here are a few tips which can be very interesting ... we have put together a guide with everything you need to know if you want Travel by car or van (or motorhome) through New Zealand.
It is not a crazy idea, buying a van in New Zealand is almost as easy as making a pool. In addition, the market for cars and vans is constantly moving, working holidays that expire, tourists leaving the islands to Asia, New Zealanders who renew their cars. If you intend to analyze this option, take a look at this post where we explain how to buy a car or van in New Zealand without messing it up too much.
The most important companies to rent vans in New Zealand are: Jucy, Britz, Mighty or United. Remember that in low season (from June to November), prices will be much lower! The best way to get the lowest prices is to look at some of the websites that compare between all the companies. We usually use Motorhome Republic.
It consists of moving vans throughout the country according to the demands of the company. They are usually from specific points to the most important cities (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch). The prices are very very low, even sometimes 1NZS per day, although the time they leave you is not too much. There are some companies that even include gasoline and the ferry between the islands for one person and the van. On the imoova website you can see all the relocations offers.
By law cars in New Zealand must have passed some Periodics inspections, which control that the main aspects of vehicle safety and mechanics are in good condition. It costs between $ 40 and $ 80 And it can be done in most workshops in the country. After conducting the review they detail the points you need to improve. From there you have 28 days to repair it and return to the workshop to pass the test (free, since you already paid for it the first time). Obviously, if you are renting this you are not interested.
In some workshops you play with many negative points so that the repair (which is usually done in the same workshop) is more expensive. Try to find a legit one and always ask for a budget that you can compare before ... The chain VTNZ and the orange gas stations of GAS They are quite reliable.
It is a way to pay the circulation taxes. If you do not have the REG up to date, your vehicle is not authorized to drive. The price depends on the size of the car, the type of fuel, the brand and model, etc. It usually costs about $ 30 or $ 35 per month. The simplest is to approach any Post shop With your current REG card, fill out the form and pay. You can choose the months you want to pay in advance, it comes out a little cheaper if you pay 3 or 6 months at once. This is also not a point of interest to the one who rents the car or van.
In recent times they are getting very bastard when it comes to allowing campervans to spend the night in any public place. Let's say that to follow a basic rule, you can only park and sleep in the places that are allowed. But how to know which sites are those? Two options:
- I-SITE: tourist offices with lots of information about the area. They are in any medium population and are very useful for asking for maps and the precise location of some point. But they are not very helpful if you want to ask for free places to sleep, as they usually send you to paid campsites, both private companies and DOC. Sometimes you can spend the night in your parking lot.
- Download an application: is what we recommend. Two applications that are going well are CamperMate and above all WikiCamps NZ (The latter is paid, but it is a misery, like $ 1.20). You look for places where you can sleep on the map, look for “non self-contained”, that is, you don't have water inside the van, and check the comments. Some are spectacular places!
Is he Department of Conservation, takes care of maintaining the natural parks and protecting the environment in New Zealand. He has created some spaces (we cannot call them campsites) suitable for campervans, with minimal facilities: bathrooms, running water, picnic tables ... Depending on the site and the facilities they are paid or not (those of payment range from 6 $ to $ 10 per person and night to be deposited in "trust boxes" when you arrive at the site).
The best option to recharge electronic devices are the libraries. In the applications that we have put before all public libraries appear where you can reload. Another option is the restaurants, the i-site and we have even recharged in some bathrooms public
Another fat problem! The answer is almost the same as for the previous section: libraries! There are many scattered throughout the country and most have unlimited free internet, although we have found some with time limits or megabytes. You can also use the wifis of Burguer King, McDonalds & CO.
A good option is to get one SIM card with the company Spark, with which you have 1GB per day connecting to the company's hot spots (they are pink cabins that are in the cities). We have already told you how to buy a SIM card in New Zealand.
Quiet and above all quiet (men are better at this point), you will not have to pee between two cars, recalling your drunk years in your town. In New Zealand nothing else, but public toilets there are those you want! In each town there is a minimum of one, and it is almost always open 24 hours a day. You will see the signs that indicate it, as if you were inside a shopping center. The bathrooms have sometimes become a tourist attraction in itself, like those in Kawakawa.
For the shower It is somewhat more complicated, we heated water with the gas camping and filled part of a bucket, we went to the bathrooms (provided they had a drain on the floor) and we washed there. To do laundry then more of the same.
What, you also dare to travel New Zealand by car or van?
