Tag: camping

New Zealand Road Trip Route

Our two month campervan road trip of New Zealand is over and we had a great time. The New Zealand road trip route took us from Tauranga, North Island to Fiordland in the South and back. We drove over 6200km and saw countless beautiful sights.

Freedom camping near the beach in Hawkes Bay
Freedom camping near Napier, Hawkes Bay

Planning Our New Zealand Road Trip Route

Small as New Zealand is – equivalent to Colorado – there’s a lot to see and do. Before we hopped in the van, we didn’t have much of a plan besides seeing as much as we could. We bookmarked Lonely Planet, read people’s blogs, and used Google Maps to decide where to go and what to do.

Once we started driving, we only knew where we were going next. Then, as the days progressed, we booked two things weeks in advance: the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, and the Kaikoura Coastal Walk. Everything else we booked a day or two in advance or last minute.

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Our Campervan in New Zealand

We bought a campervan! One of our goals in New Zealand is to drive the whole country, north and south, and freedom camping is the way to go. We bought the campervan, a Toyota Hiace, within a week of arriving. It’s a little old so Brian did a lot of work sprucing up our campervan in New Zealand.

We haven’t gone campervanning since Iceland so this is going to be an adventure! But before we really hit the road, here’s details on our campervan in New Zealand.

Buying a Campervan in New Zealand

Yes, we could have rented a campervan, but bought instead because we will be using it for months. We want to drive all over the north and south islands over a few months, so buying seemed more practical and hopefully economical as we want to sell it when we’re done.

Because so many people want to drive around the country, there are lots of campervans here. When people arrive, they buy, and when they leave the country, they sell. As a result, there are many ways to find a campervan to buy in New Zealand. We found ours at the weekly Auckland car market. Other ways of finding cars and campervans are through numerous Facebook groups and Trademe.com.

car market, Auckland, New Zealand
Busy car market in Auckland
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Day 5: We The North

We’ve been exploring the north of Iceland today, which included some really bizarre and interesting geologic formations and lots of sheep. Plus, April, you will be happy to know I took some heel clickers!

iceland Map
Iceland Road Trip Day 5
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Iceland Road Trip Views

Our fourth day on the road in Iceland took us from the Eastern Fjords north to the Arctic, with a lot of interesting and picturesque stops in between! Our Iceland road trip views keep getting better. This country is beautiful and today we got some classic Iceland views of the sea, the sky, and lots in between. We even got to really use the 4WD. Brian was happy about that!

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Watch Out for Sheep When Driving in Iceland!

There are lots of sheep in Iceland! I said Iceland, not Ireland, but you would think that right? My warning to you, is to watch out for sheep when driving in Iceland.

Sheep are Everywhere

They are all grazing alongside the major highway and often with no barriers to the highway, also known as the ring road. Needless to say, I had a close encounter with some sheep! It’s all ok. They move surprisingly fast and I had a lot of notice they were coming. They moved so fast neither myself nor Brian were able to get a photo (boo!). Anyway, for the remainder of the day, I had to keep on the alert as the sheep were never far from the road.

The Views in Iceland are Gorgeous

Other than sheep, we saw a lot of beautiful natural wonders: glaciers that stunned us into silence with their magnificence and beauty, waterfalls and streams cascading down rock cliffs and mountains, fjords and more. Our campsite last night was alongside one of the fjords with a mountain view to match. Iceland is gorgeous.

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