My second opportunity to go travelling with a camera in a campervan, the first time being Iceland.  I just love the freedom it gives you, stopping by the ocean, scenic mountains or beautiful lakes.  There is nothing like opening the campervan door each morning to these amazing scenes.  All good vehicles should have a name, and ‘Lucy’ she was christened!

I stayed a few nights in Auckland on arrival to get over the jet lag and refresh.  A nice city, but not one I warmed too. One of the main features here is the Sky Tower at 328m.  Auckland was the only time I used the Fuji in NZ, the Nikon was my camera of choice for landscape shooting.

Van tip, if you want to stay on the roadside in NZ (freedom camping), you must be ‘self contained’. This means washing and sanitary needs can be catered for a minimum of three days.  Some towns don’t allow freedom camping and you must go onto a designated site.  This is heavily monitored and fines are around $200 for non compliance.  Campsites are plentiful, with prices varying from free upwards.  Check out local tourist information centres or the internet for location details.  Dump stations for waste and water disposal and refills are readily available for free.

New Zealand isn’t cheap so hire a smaller van to keep the cost down. I used the Jucy campervan rental company and chose the ‘chaser’.  Everything you need is included, cooking equipment, fridge, 2 beds, loo, shower, bedding and towels.  It is surprising what you can cook up on 2 gas rings.  The local meat and fish was delicious.  Look out for home smoked fish signs on the roadside, it was the best I have ever tasted.  The chaser can accommodate 3, but 2 maximum for comfort I would recommend.  As always, with any travel, take as little luggage as possible to give yourself more room.  

The scenery never stops in NZ.  You can see my driving route / overnight stops / distance in the google map and some of my photographs from the North Island in this blog. It is so difficult to pick out the best bits as they were all great!  But if forced to, personally, I would highlight ‘The Coromandel’, south east peninsula and all that has to offer.  A visit to Driving Creek Railway on the outskirts of Coromandel town is a must.  Sadly its creator Barry Brickell passed away last year after devoting much of his life to building this amazing narrow gauge railway, the only one in NZ.  Barry also restored acres of forest with its native kauri tree.  Inspiring what one man can achieve in a lifetime.  Also the memory of meeting Morris Crane in Thame will stay with me forever.  Other highlights, Whananaki which is home to the longest footbridge in the southern hemisphere and the beach at Ruakaka.  Of course, there are plenty more…

NZ drive on the left hand side and I felt comfortable driving here.  The roads are well kept, some are gravel, but they do drive fast.  Make sure you check out driving regulations / limits before you arrive in any country.  Keep in mind when planning your trip, roads here can been steep / across national parks etc, so driving 200 kms in NZ is very diiferent to what you are used to – it will take more time.  Plus, you will want time to enjoy the stunning, non stop scenery.

Lucy covered 1643 kms in 7 days in the North Island.  Great if you want a ‘driving holiday’.  But for me, this was too much time on the road and not spending enough time doing the doing – personal preferences on what you want from your trip.  If I had my time again here, I would have headed south from Auckland and spent that time exploring places in more depth.

More on the South Island in a future blog.  But in short, NZ holds some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen and everyone wants to hear what you have been up to on your travels.  Definitely one for the bucket list.