Travelling New Zealand in a luxury camper van: toasting a magnificent sunset
AKAROA, New Zealand - Looking out over the wide bay, which was coloured by the most splendid of sunsets, we chimed glasses together and toasted our final evening "on the road.''
We were on New Zealand's South Island, on the last day of a week-long motorhome vacation, and Mother Nature was bidding my wife and me a fitting farewell with an explosion of hues.
Just 75 kilometres from the city of Christchurch, where we had picked up our camper at the start of our holiday six days earlier, we had discovered Akaroa, a historic French and British harbour settlement at the edge of an ancient volcano. We'd covered about 1,300 kilometres by this time, and only scratched the surface of this fascinating island.
We'd travelled far along the island's northern coastline, spending some time hiking the trails in Abel Tasman National Park and enjoying some very impressive coastal scenery. On the way back, we'd stayed at a campground near Nelson, in the heart of South Island's premier wine-producing region.
Time constraints meant we'd missed out on most of the wilderness areas of the island. The lofty mountain passes and glaciers of the Southern Alps, the tranquil fiords, penguin colonies and "Banff-style'' communities were all sadly absent from our itinerary.
We'd missed lots during our campervan adventure, but what we had seen had been reward enough. As we raised our glasses to the brilliant light show in Akaroa on our final evening, there were no regrets.
Energized by the scene, and no doubt the vino, we made a promise we'd one day cash in some retirement bonds and come back, pick up another motorhome, and drive and hike to the places we had missed on this trip.
There's nothing like bringing your home with you when you're exploring a new country, and for a week our rented Mercedes campervan became just that.
At just under eight metres in length, this streamlined baby, with its efficient three-litre diesel engine and automatic transmission, lacked for nothing. We had our own three-burner stove, fridge, shower/toilet and the choice of turning our bed into a palatial double or two single cots, depending on whether we were still talking to one another at the end of the day. It also came with a GPS system as standard — a real life saver.
We found grocery prices a little more expensive than back in Canada, even counting in the fact that the New Zealand dollar is worth about 80 cents Canadian. Not that it prevented us from enjoying local shopping experiences that included rural farmers' markets and, this being New Zealand, visits to wonderful off-the-beaten track wineries to stock up on essential supplies.
We'd lined up our rental van with Maui Campervan Hire (www.maui.co.nz/), a company that designs and builds its own campervans and is probably the largest operator of its kind in New Zealand.
While filled with excitement over beginning a new adventure, we'd had some anxiety about driving a vehicle that was 50 per cent longer than anything we'd handled before, not counting the three-tonne grain truck my farmer father-in-law had once foolishly allowed me to drive.
Adding to our sense of the dramatic was the realization that roads, particularly in coastal areas, are often winding and narrow with precipitous drops. Then again, life would be boring without a few challenges.
Our angst was quickly eased after Maui staff at the airport pickup went over all the operational points of the vehicle and provided an informational DVD for us to take with us on the journey.
Inside the motorhome, all bedding and linen were included in the package. The company has branch offices in all the major tourist hubs where it is possible to restock with a fresh supply of linen and bedding if you are travelling for longer than a week.
For renters travelling 21 or more days, they also offer valet service where they do a thorough cleaning inside and out of your camper. Maui also offers 24-hour free phone support.
The most impressive component in New Zealand's camping scene is the huge availability of campsites right across the country. We used the Holiday Parks of New Zealand website (www.holidayparks.co.nz/) to plan our route and select campsites along the way.
If you travel during the off-peak seasons of New Zealand's spring and fall, traffic is much lighter. We had no problem finding a good site for our campervan even when we had not booked ahead.
The holiday parks we chose had well-equipped communal kitchens, showers, laundry facilities, gas barbecue pits, a television room and friendly staff willing to recommend points of interest in the area.
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If you go...
Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.com) has regular direct flights from Vancouver to Auckland and offers many daily connections onwards to Christchurch and other major centres on both North Island and South Island.
For Travel Information on New Zealand: www.newzealand.com/ca
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By Peter Wilson, Saskatoon Express; distributed by The Canadian Press
