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Again in 2018, Heath and I ventured throughout the ocean to New Zealand for our first large worldwide RV journey. This journey modified our lives—plunging us additional in love with journey and convincing us that we must always transfer to this beautiful nation instantly.
We all the time dreamed of returning to New Zealand someday however puzzled if or when it could ever occur.
Then, as we booked flights to Japan, a thought crossed our minds. Ought to we hop right down to New Zealand? We have been already midway there!
Nicely, we have been kidding ourselves if we thought Japan and New Zealand have been remotely shut to one another! Japan is among the northernmost international locations in Asia and New Zealand is the southernmost nation in Oceania. It took a protracted, ten-hour in a single day flight, however we made it to Auckland prepared to begin our subsequent journey!
Try our first day choosing up our motorhome and getting down to discover the North Island:
On this weblog put up, I need to share useful fundamentals for anybody impressed to take their very own highway journey throughout the islands of New Zealand. I’ll cowl what you could know earlier than you go, plus ideas for planning your route across the nation.
Visas
In case you’re American, you do want a visa to go to New Zealand. (This got here into impact in 2019, after our first go to to New Zealand.)
You should apply for what is known as a NZeTA, or New Zealand Digital Journey Authority. The applying is straightforward and simple. You’ll want your passport useful for this, however it shouldn’t take greater than two minutes of your time.
I needed to get 4 of those whole—one for every member of the household together with the kids—and every software was authorized in about 60 seconds through e-mail. They advise that you simply apply a number of weeks forward of time in your visa as a consequence of processing occasions and you’ll even pay further to have your visa processed “in a number of hours.” I utilized a month earlier than our journey and as I discussed, we have been immediately authorized.
Whereas these visas are simple to get, they aren’t low-cost. They price $58 NZD or about $36 USD every, that means it price practically $150 to acquire visas for our household.
Driver’s License
You don’t want a world driver’s allow or IDL to drive in New Zealand. All you want is an energetic driver’s license out of your nation—with an English translation, if obligatory—and the boldness to drive on the left aspect of the highway!
Flights
Flights to New Zealand might be costly and, if you happen to’re coming from the States, very lengthy. Now that now we have children, now we have a brand new journey rule: All the time fly direct. We flew direct from Tokyo to Auckland and because the flight was in a single day, jetlag wasn’t too unhealthy. (Plus there’s solely a four-hour time distinction between New Zealand and Japan.)
I extremely advocate flying Air New Zealand if you happen to can. We flew Air NZ from Tokyo and residential to Houston. Each occasions have been superb and a few of our best flights but with the youngsters. To not spoil the final video of our sequence, however let me simply say, I’ve NEVER had such good sleep on an airplane. 10/10 would advocate.
Air New Zealand doesn’t fly out of each US metropolis, however they do fly direct out of main jobs. It’s value it to guide with them to begin and finish your New Zealand journey!
(I’ve no affiliation with Air NZ, however flying with children and infants is tough. They made it simple. I’m now obsessive about them.)
Finest Instances to Go to
New Zealand, as I discussed, is the southernmost nation in Oceania, that means you possibly can anticipate chilly winters. That is the one time of yr I might not advocate visiting New Zealand. You’ll be able to campervan the nation within the winter—particularly if you happen to prefer to ski—however if you happen to’ve ever camped in freezing temperatures earlier than, you understand the challenges that include ice.
For each of our visits, we selected to go to throughout the fall months, March, April, and Could. The temperatures are excellent this time of yr. It’s heat throughout the day and chilly at night time, although you possibly can anticipate rain. You’ll want a heat jacket and a swimsuit (for these scorching springs!). You’ll get related temperatures of their spring months, September by means of November.
Summer season might be one of the best time to go to, with heat climate excellent for New Zealand’s many seashores or mountaineering by means of the mountains. But it surely’s additionally peak season for tourism, which is why we usually keep away from it. Busy season requires extra planning and reservations for campsites, which could be a headache to guide from overseas. We desire shoulder season to beat the crowds and have a extra versatile plan. (Bonus: leases and different issues are often cheaper within the low season too!)
Packing
Packing for a tenting journey could be very totally different than packing for different holidays. You’ve obtained to consider in case your suitcase can deal with mountaineering boots and if you happen to’ll want a heavy jacket for tenting within the mountains. (I like to recommend each for New Zealand!)
One factor we have been very cognizant of after our first journey to New Zealand was our variety of luggage. We had three checked luggage for our journey and failed to comprehend that our last flight into New Zealand—all booked with Delta—was on a companion airline that solely allowed one checked bag per particular person. We spent 20 minutes on the ground of the airport repacking objects to suit into two luggage and be inside weight! (These mountaineering boots ended up on our ft.)
A number of years older and wiser, albeit with children in tow, we now journey with just one giant suitcase.
How can we match every thing for 4 individuals into one suitcase for a month-long worldwide journey?
The brief reply: packing cubes. Folks swear by packing cubes and I’ve been transformed. They make packing SO MUCH EASIER.
The lengthy reply: a three-page record of must-have journey objects that I comply with to the letter.
Packing for a highway journey could be very totally different than packing for a visit the place you propose to remain in resorts or Airbnbs. You need to understand that you’ll spend most of your time outdoors, that you simply’ll doubtless be cooking extra meals than consuming out, and that you simply’ll be in additional excessive temperatures in comparison with a climate-controlled resort.
Fortuitously, if you happen to guide the correct camper, you don’t have to fret about packing sheets, towels, dishes, and different tenting gear.
Reserving a Camper
Heath and I’ve nowed RVed in 10 international locations, renting an RV in every. Not all RV leases are created equal. For instance, in Japan, we needed to pay further for a stovetop, cooking utensils, and sleeping luggage. And in our upcoming journey within the UK, we’re paying further for sheets and towels. Personally, I discover this extremely irritating. Nobody needs to fly midway the world over with sheets of their suitcase!
However in New Zealand, we’ve by no means needed to fear about this added trouble.
Throughout each journeys to the nation, we rented our RV from Wilderness Motorhomes.
Once I say they’re the very best RV rental firm on the earth, I imply that very sincerely.
What makes Wilderness one of the best?
- Have a look at that motorhome. It’s so extremely spotless and delightful. (Guys, getting a clear RV with the mattress neatly made… This isn’t a assure with different leases. Belief me on that!) Every little thing a few Wilderness motorhome is opulent.
- Wifi included! Many rental choices don’t provide wifi. The web on board our Wilderness is a number of the finest connectivity we’ve ever had in any nation. We had wifi service in every single place we camped. And we camped in some fairly distant locations!
- Superb customer support. Customer support is a key element of any journey plan, particularly if you’re flying world wide to go to a rustic. If one thing comes up earlier than or throughout your journey, their staff is fast that can assist you resolve any issues.
After we picked up our Wilderness Motorhome, one factor you don’t see within the video above is us signing the rental settlement stating that our rental could be returned on Could eighth. There was just one downside with this. I booked our return flights to the US for Could ninth! 🙈 Such a rookie journey mistake on my half. I fully combined up the times after I booked our flight residence. Wilderness waved off my stress and rapidly adjusted our rental to be someday longer. There was an up to date settlement in our e-mail inbox earlier than we pulled off the lot. The staff was so fast to adapt, sympathetic to my mistake, and so form to allow us to lengthen our journey.
I, alternatively, am nonetheless embarrassed!
We’re all the time blown away by the professionalism and heat of the Wilderness staff. There isn’t any different rental firm we’d select to hire in New Zealand!
Planning our Route
As we state within the video, throughout our final go to to NZ, we spent most of our time on the South Island. A lot time the truth is, that we needed to lower our North Island go to brief.
There have been a number of locations I knew I needed to revisit on the North, like Rotorua and Taupo, however I didn’t know the place to begin planning for the remainder of the island.
I headed to Wilderness’s web site, remembering how they helped me plan our journey again in 2018.
They’ve over a dozen highway journey itineraries with stops, issues to do, and handy notes like what number of days a route may take. I grabbed the Auckland to Cape Reinga highway journey in addition to the Auckland to Coromandel itinerary. (You’ll see us begin driving the Coromandel peninsula within the video. Holy WOW it is among the most lovely landscapes I’ve ever seen.
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In case you’re planning a highway journey to New Zealand, I extremely advocate downloading one in every of their free highway journey itineraries that can assist you begin planning!
Issues to Know Earlier than You Go
I’ve lengthy believed New Zealand to be essentially the most lovely nation on the earth. Revisiting New Zealand and seeing extra of the North Island has solely additional bolstered this perception. It’s really a gem that must be on each bucket record.
We are able to’t wait to share this New Zealand video sequence with you. Be sure you subscribe on Youtube for all the movies 🙂
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