At 1:42am, the air stuffy inside AGY, the rain bucketing outside, and after several attempts to find a comfortable position in the front seat of AGY, I started to compose this blog in my head. Freedom camping- we had no idea what this meant when we arrived in NZ all revved up and ready to buy a used car. Of course, we found AGY, but never even considered a campervan, probably the most useful vehicle for NZ.
Freedom camping is allowed almost anywhere. Just pull off the road or into a car park, cook your meal on the stove inside, and then curl up on the mattress in back. Even after a few nights of rain and lengthy drives searching for a DOC campsite or paying $30 to stay in a Holiday Park, we’re actually still glad that we chose AGY. We bought a tarp for the rainy days and setting it up had become a topic for discussion and critical thinking. The lack of trees in campgrounds found us tying the tarp to the back of the car, perfect for staying dry when you need something from the boot (kiwi speak for trunk). Not so perfect on really windy nights! On more than one occasion we’ve crawled out in the rain to dismantle the tarp so the constant flapping did not keep us awake.
The rain has been somewhat frequent recently and without a campsite near by, last night we decided to try AGY out on the freedom camping scene. Simple- pull into pupu springs car park, open up a can of Wattie’s (NZ’s Heinz) Hot Chili Beans, eat them cold, recline the front seat and presto, a self contained freedom camping vehicle. After a long night of tossing and not turning, morning arrives and you’re already at your first destination for the day- Waikoropupu Springs, the cleanest springs in the world.
Although the thought of cold beans and unfomfortable nights makes me yearn for a campervan, I can assure you it would not be a Wicked Camper, one of the many rental campervans available in NZ. I will include a picture which almost says it all. Each rental is unique, complete with different but equally terrible and repulsive sentences pained on the back. Driving by the hundreds we’ve seen I often find myself wondering who would rent one of those things- maybe they got a super internet special and did not realize their van would offend everyone they drove by. I’d much rather be in a Spaceship with the back open and a tent assembled to provide extra space or a Juicy recongized by its bright green color. Tonight it’s back to the tent for some much needed rest in the horizontal position.
I would totally rent one of these!
Where did you hire your campervan from? We are looking to get one from Find A Camper.