We didn’t come to NZ really equipped for the backcountry, wherever that might be, but instead we were kitted out more for travel “camping”. In our case, that turned out to be a small Toyota HiAce van with an extended roof so you could stand up inside. I should point out that generally only ONE person could stand up at a time. The space could be described as cozy or cramped, depending on how charitable you’re feeling.
Our van is shown in the picture, camped at the Holiday Park in Raglan, North Island, underneath a flowering pohutukawa tree, a day before we flew home to Canada.
There were dozens and dozens of rigs like ours on the roads, along with many, many, many other types, most being larger and some even smaller and simpler than our rig. Although our rig was quite small, it had the advantage of being easy to negotiate the narrow, winding roads that were so common in many parts of NZ. I’m not sure, given the narrowness of some roads, if I’d want to be driving anything much larger than the vehicle we had.
Inside was a cabinet with storage and a small sink. Another cabinet with storage and a “cooker” which was a 2-burner propane unit. A small fridge went below the stove.
The unit was small and compact and just barely big enough for the two of us. For an extended trip like ours (about 5 weeks), it was a tad confining. Fortunately, it was spring so we were outside as much as possible. Unfortunately, there were blackflies….and wind….
Some interesting equipment (unusual in our camping experience) was supplied with the van: an electric kettle and an electric toaster. The fridge was also electric only, meaning that you either had to drive some each day to keep the battery charged up or you had to stay in a “holiday park” where you could plug into the “mains”. We also had a little plug-in electric space heater which was actually quite useful on a few nights.
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