Field notes from a campervan
It was 11pm last Saturday when I first started to type this out. We were tucked away in a very stunning and remote campsite location in New Zealand (as with most nights this trip), and everyone’s sound asleep. Heater in the campervan was on to keep it nice and toasty, it’s springtime but the nights could still quite chilly (there was even sprinkles of snow the next morning!)
There is much to love about camping, especially camping in New Zealand - being immersed in nature, sleeping in the wild and in general just getting back to basics.
We were on the road for a total of 21 days. In a way, this is very much a trip down memory lane for both EB and I, as we spent a month back in 2012 here doing a similar road trip, living out of a much smaller campervan (from the same motorhome company, Wilderness) and exploring the country from north to south. It was a trip we spoke of a lot with the kids and we know that we’d bring them back here one day to experience how it’s like to live and travel in a campervan. It’s all very exciting for the little ones (and us), and by all measures, this is going down as one of our most memorable family trips ever. On a few occasions, just before putting the kids to bed, we all popped outside to watch the night sky. With no light pollution, it was pure magic, and a very touching sight to witness with millions of sparkles right above us.
4 years old is a great age for the kids to experience a camping trip like this, and Alexis and Sienna have been excellent campers - adaptable, curious about everything new they see, asking a million questions, patient (mostly) and by and large very good at keeping themselves entertained and happy throughout the whole trip. They loved their “house on wheels” and carved out their own spots in their own “bedroom” + “playroom”. The window view from their bed is the “sheep TV”, “mountain TV”, “ocean TV” and so on, depending on where we are. We brought along a bunch of books and activity/colouring books which came in extremely handy, but some of the best accidental “toys” include these disco pink laundry pegs which they transformed into various objects and shapes, as well as collecting and flipping through local travel brochures from iSite.
The entire trip has been quite an overwhelming experience (in a good way) and it’ll take me a while to process (not to mention the photographs!). So in the meantime, here are some field notes and observations from our time on the road:
The whole country is designed for camping.
Camping seems to be a way of life and a national past time in New Zealand. The entire country’s infrastructure is so well-equipped for campers that every town has some kind of a camping option (whether it’s freedom camping, conversation camping or holiday park), public dump stations, fresh water refill stations, recycling facilities and ample long vehicle parking built for campervans, that even the NZ road atlases have these spots marked out. Recycling is also second nature to the Kiwis and there’s really little excuse not to do our part. This country is blessed with such stunning nature and landscapes but I think even more commendable is their mindset towards preserving and taking care of their pristine nature.
(On a side note, it’s interesting to note how people camp differently in Austria/Italy, where freedom camping is not common (or doesn’t exist?) and where it’s more common to set up base at a holiday park/campsite for multiple days, and explore the area by foot/bike.)
It’s really magical to live amongst nature.
In Singapore we really enjoy going for nature walks/trails with the kids but going for an extending camping trip is really refreshing and immersive, and to live off the grid for a while to places where there’s not even any cellphone reception. Waking up each morning and being surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks, birds chirping, bunnies hopping, and smelling the crisp forest air. Surely this is #whywecamp?
In New Zealand, there are generally a few types of camping options across the country that cater to campers of all budgets and comfort level:
Freedom camping designated spots: These are only for campervans that are certified for freedom camping i.e. you’ll need a portable “toilet”. Usually these are free sites, have no facilities at all, but some of the most stunning and scenic views we’ve seen are at some of these at spots. On the other end of the spectrum, it could just a carpark off the highway.
Department of Conversation (DOC) campsites: DOC is a bit like our NParks, and they do a superb job in maintaining all the parks and campsites under their care. DOC campsites ranges from standard (usually only a toilet) to serviced (hot showers, laundry etc) and the prices also differ accordingly (from $6 per pax to something like $18 per pax). Can’t go too wrong with a DOC site in general.
Holiday Parks and Motor Camps: These are usually more big scale, more commercial, often little character but has all the facilities you might need, and of course, the most expensive (about $20-25 per pax).
Definitely try out the various options to see what suits you/your family. Freedom camping spots and the DOC camping spots are my favourites - it’s a bit more wild, a bit more rugged and usually smacked right in the middle of some stunning forests/lakeside/oceanfront, and is great for self-contained vehicles like ours. Every 4 days or so when we run out of clothes to wear or are dying for a proper hot shower, we do check in to a holiday park/motor camp to make use of the facilities. And when we do, we generally enjoy it very much still, after all, a long hot shower IS a luxury.
Expect a fair bit of daily routines and housekeeping
Beneath the romantic carefree notion of camping is a lot of chores and daily logistics. This deserves a post on its own but briefly, it includes: emptying the gray and black water tank (EB deserves all the credit), refilling the van with 120 litres of fresh water at dump stations, figuring out where to camp each night (we plan on the day itself based on weather and mood), removing car seats and setting up dinner table, and of course all the usual like washing dishes, cooking, making up the bed, doing laundry, sweeping the campervan floor etc. When 4 people live in a small compact space, it’s bound to get messy/dirty very quickly especially when dealing with all kinds of weather conditions even in spring! Snow, hail, wind, rain, mud. And when one of us can’t stand untidiness and the other can’t stand dirty floors, you can imagine there’s always a whole lot of tidying/cleaning up going on to ensure the van stays neat and tidy!
There’s no bad weather for outdoor play (only bad equipment)
This, I learned so much from EB. Rain? No problem - that’s what the rain jacket is for. Snow? No problem, makes for a nice snow walk and some snow play. Windy? No problem, as long as the kids don’t get blown away. Cold? No problem, pile on the thermal, the jacket and the outer layer and we’ll continue with the walk (and keep walking to generate body heat). Muddy? No problem, take off those shoes and walk barefoot.
Camping doesn’t mean eating lousy food
I learnt this back in 2012 - all thanks to EB’s excellent cooking skills. There’s access to amazing local produce, we can eat very well and drink very well even when camping with just a teeny weeny kitchen in the van. We love fresh produce from the farmers markets, small vegetable / fruit stalls, and roadside veggies/fruit stalls, and were reminded of eating seasonal produce when we realised there’s almost no tomatoes at the Hawkes Bay Farmers Market because it’s only spring, so - eat local, eat seasonal. Although occasionally on a cold chilly day/night, nothing beats a piping pot of spicy Korean instant noodles for my Asian tummy.
Go off season, and go with the weather
It’s quite obvious why - when you go off season, you get better rates, less crowds/traffic on the roads, and you don’t need to pre-book campsites knowing that there’ll almost always be space available. We wake up each morning not knowing where we’ll end up that night, so having the flexibility to decide on the spot or just a couple of hours out is really convenient (can’t emphasise this more). Being mobile and flexible also means that you can plan the route/itinerary based on the weather - there are so many scenic sights in New Zealand that’s day and night when visiting on a rainy day vs a clear sunny day.
It’s surprisingly easy to forget details.
What did we do yesterday? Where did we sleep the night before? Where’s the place where we saw that nice waterfall after lunch? What did we cook the other day for dinner? What’s the name of that cute little town we visited? It’s so easy to forget all the myriad of experiences, details and observations that it really helps to document these, in any which way you like - whether it’s analog or digital.
New Zealand has awesome playgrounds
Almost all of the playgrounds we visited are slightly different and promotes creative (and definitely riskier) play than the ones I’ve seen in Singapore.
It hardly feels unsafe
I’m not sure if I’ll freedom camp in many other countries but in New Zealand, we’ve met with no safety issues throughout. If you’re freedom camping (the free spots), choose it carefully and avoid those that look/feel dodgy and trust your gut feel. Most of the times you’ll realise that you’re just surrounding by fellow campers and travellers who are just like you looking to soak up the beauty of this land. We’ve seen all kinds of folks while camping (both locals and tourists) - definitely lots of couples young and old, lots of young families like ours, and then also lots of groups of families who camp together just because it’s a long weekend with sunny weather.
Nice roads and nice drivers
A campervan like ours can’t go more than 100 km/hr on the roads (it’s always a noisy ride with a lot of clanking of utensils that’s in the kitchen cabinets). That means we’ve had to go on the side a fair bit to give way to faster vehicles, but it’s often met with a friendly double beep from the vehicle who overtakes us, sometimes with a friendly wave to thank us. Makes one feel good about giving way and no road rage at all during the whole time we were on the road - sweet. Gotta love the Kiwis!
Last but not least, kids (and adults?) belong to the outdoors
Because nature’s the best teacher.
