So its been my absolute dream to hire a campervan since I was a little girl. I could honestly live in one. What more do you need? The freedom, the nature, the rush you get when you wake up and open your doors to the most stunning views. I can't believe I made it to 23 without doing it to be honest. What a truly wonderful experience.
Hiring a camper is surprisingly easy, you find one online, pay for it, pick it up and away you go.. the hard part is figuring out a route to take that will have you back in time to drop it off again. My partner and I decided to take a risk and pick the camper up in Auckland, then drive all the way to Wellington (8 hours) and get the ferry across to the South Island. The reason this was risky is because we only had 11 days and we had so much planned! But we still chose to do this instead of flying into the South Island and picking up a camper there. The flying option would have given us a lot more time but we wanted the full experience.
We decided to go with Happy Campers for the van, it took us a while to find as it was summer and majority of the campers were already taken. So make sure you book in advance if you're going during a busy period! Whilst we were in the South Island we wanted to do at least one Glamping trip. There are some amazing places to choose from but we ended up choosing a place called Valley views Glamping, just 12km from Kurow (East of Wanaka). This place was insanely good, but i'll talk more about this later on.
Here's a little cost breakdown for you guys..
Before the trip -
Happier 3 kuga berth camper from 17th November until 27th November (10 nights) - $1160.90 NZD
Interislander ferry, 2 adults, return ticket, including one campervan - $532.00 NZD
Valley views Glamping one night stay - $345 NZD
During the trip -
Campsites - $10-20 NZD per night
After everything was paid for we had about a week to come up with a plan.. it was a last minute decision hence the rush! So I picked all the places on my bucket list to see and created a route. It was pretty difficult but after a few days of staring at a map I managed to come up with one. Now all that was left to do was pack, and buy some pretty outfits for our trip!
Packing list - Essentials and non Essentials
pretty clothes for your instagram shots
a cute hat
a camera (I didn't have a DSLR camera at this point but I took a lot of shots on my iPhone and GoPro)
warm clothes (yes it was summer but it can still get pretty cold during the night time, it was also snowing still around Mount Cook)
duvet and pillows (they provide you with duvets and pillows but I wanted everything to look perfect so I took my own)
fairy lights (honestly the best idea taking these as it jazzed up the campervan and made it even more magical)
speaker
picnic hamper (this is not essential but its just so cute having a little picnic outside your camper)
a good road trip playlist is very important
lantern
bug spray (this is a MUST.. sandflies will destroy your life)
walking shoes (there are lots of places to hike in the south island so make sure you take sensible shoes)
a good book
a map
toiletries obviously
also some toilet paper.. just incase
The great thing about us not flying was that we could pack up our campervan with everything we wanted, we had no luggage limit! Another reason why we decided to do the whole drive!
So, you've picked up your camper, you've packed your life up, you've created your road trip playlist.. YOU'RE READY TO GO! We started our drive on a Sunday late afternoon around 7pm, we had our ferry booked for the next morning so it was crucial that we got there on time. My partner being the great human that he is, drove the whole 8 hours in one go to get us to wellington (I wouldn't advise anyone to do this as driving can be extremely tiring, especially through the night, we only did this as we had a limited amount of time). Once we got there we parked up in a carpark, had a little nap and then woke up in time for the ferry.
There's a lot of waiting around when you're getting the ferry but that's a small price to pay for an amazing adventure. Once we were on, we went and filled out tummies, watched a movie or two.. and before we knew it we had arrived in the South Island.
This was where our adventure truly began, we set off towards our first destination.. Lake Tekapo! We wanted to stop several times along the way if we saw anything worth stopping for. Our first stop was a lake called Rotoiti. A beautiful lake with a great view of the mountains. The lake was FULL of eels, it kinda put me off going for a swim, that and the fact that it felt like about minus 5 degrees. After leaving the lake we discovered a really cool swing bridge, called Buller Gorge. Anyone exploring the South Island should add this to your list, it was super high with nothing but water rapids below. Such a beautiful discovery at only $10 per person. After a long day of driving we set up camp for the night in the mountains, this wasn't a planned stop so we just found a place about an hour before you drive into Reefton. We had forgotten out bug spray and got absolutely eaten by sandflies.
BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU SET CAMP - there will be so many places that you're not allowed to freedom camp. There are usually signs so just look out for them. You can get fined around $200 or more if they catch you camping in the wrong places. Luckily for us there are heaps of campsites dotted everywhere around the South Island so you won't struggle to find one. I know that freedom camping is one of the best parts of doing a road trip but just be wary and make sure you find places that you're allowed to stay overnight in.
Waking up in a Campervan is a wonderful feeling, you open your eyes, open the doors and you're surrounded by nature. So much freedom. Does anyone else get overly excited when they feel free? I personally love the feeling, its such a rush! So we had a bit of fruit for breakfast, got washed up and went on our way. We stopped at a little cafe in Reefton for a cuppa. I can't go anywhere without a cup of tea, typical English. After leaving Reefton and heading towards Lake Tekapo, we couldn't believe our eyes. Ive seen mountains before but nothing like this. Everywhere you looked was just pure beauty!
After a few hours of driving with road trip songs blasting, we finally made it to Lake Tekapo. Now there was two reasons I wanted to go here, one for the beautiful colour of the lake (it wasn't like any other lake, it was a deep turquoise colour) and two because it was lupin season! If you haven't already seen lupin flowers, google them, they're beautiful purple and pink long flowers.. and Lake Tekapo was just surrounded by them! Huge fields of purple all around the turquoise lake, it was the prettiest sight. We spent a few hours getting insta shots, walking round the fields, taking in the views.. my favourite moments!
We had planned to freedom camp around Lake Tekapo but couldn't as there were warning signs everywhere, so we googled spots nearby that we could camp in and it turned out that our next destination had a spot! So we headed there ahead of schedule to spend the night at lake Pukaki. We found the perfect spot to set up for the night, right in front of the lake and mountains. This lake was also a turquoise colour, just dreamy. We read our books for a while, enjoyed the beautiful scenery and had some dinner. I then set up my fairy lights in the camper, it honestly makes all the difference. As it was going dark, we had the lake and mountains in the distance with our twinkly fairly lights gleaming. I felt like I was in a movie.
Mornings in the camper were my favourite, enjoying a warm cup of tea by the lake, the cold air on your skin, knowing there is nothing but you and the nature around you. We had no service for a lot of the trip too, this was a bonus as we had completely escaped reality. We had Mount Cook on the agenda for today.. I bet a lot of you have heard of it. She's the highest mountain in NZ. We hit the road and headed towards the mountain, the views were spectacular!! I haven't really been to many places that have a lot of mountains, apart from Canada, so this was new to me. Again, we just couldn't believe our eyes, I was completely in awe of the beauty I was seeing. Growing up in England, I have always heard people talk about New Zealand, saying how beautiful it is and how it's a completely different lifestyle. They were totally right!!! It's just something else. We arrived at Mount Cook and chose to do a walking track called Hooker Vally track.. we didn't do the full thing as we weren't properly prepared with clothes, I was wearing a dress, boots and a coat, and my partner was wearing shorts. It definitely wasn't a sensible choice as it started snowing! But we walked for as long as we could and it was just amazing. We were completely surrounded by snowy mountains. There were a couple of bridges you had to cross too, with rivers below. Next time we will definitely pack more appropriate clothing!
After a long, cold day of exploring we wanted to relax. We had hoped to do some more freedom camping but everywhere had signs saying you couldn't. So we decided to stay at a camp site next to lake Hawea. What a great choice this was, the camp wasn't busy at all so it was basically like freedom camping. We picked a spot right by the lake, I set up a cute picnic and we drank some wine/beers. These moments were incredibly special, gazing at the scenery around you, thinking about how beautiful the world is. We later read a book and relaxed as the sun went down, then got some sleep ready for another busy day.
Our next destination was Wanaka. I'd been to Wanaka before and it's just so stunning. A cute little town with a huge lake and mountains all around. Wanaka felt like somewhere I would love to live when I'm older. We stopped at a beautiful spot by the lake and just lay in the van with the doors open, the wind was cold and the sound of the water crashing was about the only thing you could hear. I thought about how amazing it would be to grow old here. After a nice lay down we headed to the Cardrona hotel and grabbed some lunch. If you're ever doing the South Island I'd suggest you have a lunch stop here. The hotel itself is cream and red, with an old car outside the front door. Inside is filled with wooden beams and there are animals heads all over the walls. Outside there's a huge fire that blows black smoke from the chimney, a huge green, filled with tables to sit and enjoy lunch. It has a really wintery vibe to it. Its one of my favourite lunch spots. The food is delicious. We spent the rest of the day driving around Wanaka taking in the scenery and then decided to stay at a campsite by the lake again as we couldn't find any freedom camping spots. The campsites were all just as amazing anyway.
Today was a day i'd been looking forward to the most.. we were going GLAMPING! I only discovered glamping last year and its my all time favourite thing to do in NZ. Whats not to like? The nature, the unusual tents, the outdoor baths, the freedom! The one we were doing was called Valley views glamping and it was located east of Wanaka close to a town called Kurow. We were staying in one of their dome tents, kinda like a giant bubble, with a see through part of the dome. The excitement was unreal, I just couldn't wait to get there and check it out. As we approached the accommodation we were wonderfully welcomed by two baby piglets and a lovely lady host. As the lady showed us around we were just gobsmacked at how beautiful this place was. It was so quiet, so private, so peaceful. The lady showed us the kitchen first as this is seperate from the domes, a beautiful, spacious room with everything you could possibly need for your stay. There was also a bbq located outside the kitchen if you needed it. She then showed us to our dome, a short walk from the kitchen.. we had no words. It was just magical.. the layout, the decor, the surroundings, everything was perfect. Then she took us to my favourite part, the outdoor baths! There were two sets of outdoor baths, so you would always get a chance to use them if other people were staying in one of the other domes. The baths had such a rustic vibe, surrounded by forrest on one side and hills on the other, there were fairy lights around the fences for when it got dark and hooks to hang your towels. I couldn't wait to jump in! After our tour we cracked open a bottle of wine, put some food on the barby and settled in for the night. We went for a bath whilst it was light, sat and soaked for a while then went back to our dome to enjoy the sunset. The colours of the sky were like a rainbow, pinks, oranges, blues, and purples. What a beautiful sight. We decided that one bath wasn't enough and went back for a second soak under the stars, it was quiet, nothing but insects chirping and the wind howling, the air was fresh which went perfectly with the steamy hot bath. Waking up in the tent was amazing, I felt refreshed and satisfied. It was the experience of a lifetime and I will definitely be returning in the near future. I'd highly recommend!!
After a wonderful glamping experience we had to head towards our last stop before starting our journey back to Auckland.. QUEENSTOWN! I am so in love with Queenstown, its the perfect place to visit in every season. We had a couple of days here so we made the most of it. We took the gondola up to the top and took in the breathtaking views, we walked around the lake, had mulled wine at the Floating bar and stopped for a ferg burger (only one of the most popular burger places in Queenstown). This ended our trip perfectly and we were so sad to leave. safe to say we will be returning at some point!
So after one of the best trips I've had we headed back to Auckland, we decided to drive up the west coast as we hadn't seen much of that, we managed to spot a hell of a lot of waterfalls along the way and the ocean was always nearby. If anyone is thinking about doing the South Island I cannot recommend it enough! BOOK YOUR TRIP!!! If you want to get more of a feel for the trip you can check out my "campervan highlight' on my instagram page!
Amazing young lady showing us how it’s done to make the most of your travels well done Georgia xx