Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hire
CAMPERVAN
Check your rear-view mirror on any far-flung NZ road and you'll probably see a shiny
white campervan (aka mobile home, motor home, RV) packed with liberated travellers,
mountain bikes and portable barbecues cruising along behind you.
Most towns of any size have a campground or holiday park with powered sites (where
you can plug your vehicle in) for around $35 per night. There are also 250-plus vehicle-
accessible
Department of Conservation
(DOC;
www.doc.govt.nz
) campsites around NZ,
ranging in price from free to $15 per adult: check the website for info.
You can hire campervans from dozens of companies. Prices vary with season, vehicle
size and length of rental.
A small van for two people typically has a minikitchen and fold-out dining table, the lat-
ter transforming into a double bed when dinner is done and dusted. Larger 'superior' two-
berth vans include shower and toilet. Four- to six-berth campervans are the size of trucks
(and similarly sluggish) and, besides the extra space, usually contain a toilet and shower.
Over summer, rates offered by the main rental firms for two-/four-/six-berth vans start at
around $160/200/290 per day for a month-long rental, dropping to as low as $45/60/90
per day during winter.
Major operators include the following:
Apollo
(
0800 113 131, 09-889 2976;
www.apollocamper.co.nz
)
Britz
( 0800 831 900, 09-255 3910;
www.britz.co.nz
) Also does 'Britz Bikes' (add a
mountain or city bike from $13 per day).
Kea
(
0800 520 052, 09-448 8800)
Maui
(
0800 651 080, 09-255 3910;
www.maui.co.nz
)
United Campervans
(
0800 759 919, 09-275 9919;
www.unitedcampervans.co.nz
)
Wilderness Motorhomes
(
09-255 5300;
www.wilderness.co.nz
)
BACKPACKER VAN RENTALS
Budget players in the campervan industry offer slick deals and funky (often gregariously
spray-painted: Jimi Hendrix,
Where The Wild Things Are,
Sly Stone etc), well-kitted-out
vehicles for backpackers. Rates are competitive (from $35/50 per day for a two-/four-berth
van May to September; from $100/150 per day December to February). Operators include
the following:
Backpacker Sleeper Vans
(
0800 321 939, 03-359 4731;
www.sleepervans.co.nz
)
Escape Campervans
(
0800 216 171; www.escaperentals.co.nz)
Hippie Camper
(
0800 113 131;
www.hippiecamper.co.nz
)
