New Zealand Delica Campervan

Once we selected New Zealand as our destination for this year's international trip, the next big task was deciding on how we were going to travel. We wanted to find a unique way to see the country and after some internet searching we decided on traveling around in a campervan. Campervan travel is one of the most popular ways to vacation in New Zealand. There are many rental companies in New Zealand offering vans in several configurations, sizes, and prices.

We try to support independent businesses as much as we can when we travel and after all of our research we decided to contact http://www.campasouth.com/ and see about the vans they offer.  Boy were we pleasantly surprised.  John and Lyn proved to be wonderful to work with and very helpful selecting the best van for our travel style and needs.

Enjoying a light lunch on the beach

We liked being protected from the elements and staying out of the rain while cooking, but if we were cooking a meal with strong aromatics, the smell would linger all night long. The setup also required the bed to be folded up in the 'stored' position in order to cook and access the sink. I like to wake up early and get coffee and tea going in the morning prior to Krista getting up, and with the bed folded out, I was unable to do so. I would have preferred a stove that dropped into its indoor cooking place so that, on nice days, it could be brought outside for cooking.

Cooking dinner in camp

The van offered plenty of storage and came fully furnished with enough cooking gear to prepare a great meal. Pots, pans, tableware, etc. were located under the stove in a plastic container. There was also enough room in this location to store most of our dry goods such as quinoa, dried fruit, spices, and wine. Space under the sink housed the water and propane tanks, and the emergency jack.

The kitchen setup

The kitchen setup

The van offered plenty of storage and came fully furnished with enough cooking gear to prepare a great meal.  Pots, pans, tableware, etc. was located under the stove in a plastic container.  There was also enough room in this location to store much of our dry goods, such as quinoa, dried fruit, spices, and wine.  While the space under the sink housed the water and propane tanks, and the emergency jack.

Under counter storage

Storage for water and propane

The van offered plenty of storage space under the rear of the bed. We were able to keep both our backpacking backpacks (once Delta Airlines finally delivered mine), the camp chairs, easily stored away with plenty of room for a stowaway wallaby or two. There were also compartments under the bed for additional storage space.

Gear storage under the bed

Overall we were very pleased with both the service from Campa South and the Delica. While we didn't push the van to its limits, it was able to take us everywhere we wanted to go. It worked very well over the several thousand kilometers of pavement and two-track dirt roads we traveled along. While there were a couple of things we would have changed with the layout, (we are continually finding things to improve on our 4Runner too) the Delica was a great setup. We are envious of those who have access to drive and camp in these great vans. We wouldn't mind picking one up for ourselves!

A note to those in the States who are used to camping in any spot flat and clear enough to pitch a tent or park your rig: New Zealand is quite strict about camping. Camping is only allowed in Department of Conservation campgrounds or in Holiday Parks. This type of camping was different for us, but was quite nice, especially while on vacation, as we were ensured a nice hot shower each day we stayed at a Holiday Park.