hanjan

Hi, We are busy planning our fact finding trip for next March/April and want to hire a campervan to have fun and explore with the children. Can anybody advise us on the best deals or recommend any good companies.

Joanna1

We used backpacker rentals last January and they were excellent. If you want to save a few $ and get a slightly older version, then would recommend them. Basically they're cheaper as they use the other companies 'cast offs'.
We're not backpackers but were camper vanning on a budget, and were really impressed with the service and price. www.backpackercampervans.com

Otherwise you're looking at Britz or Maui as other good companies - more expensive, but newer vans

ianandhelena

try www.drivenow.com.au and www.drivelater.com.au which both work for NZ as well as Aus and the UK.

asiatic

Maui are one of the most well known. We hired a six berth on a one-way hire from Auckland to Wellington in April 2006. On pick-up, the Maui representative was very informative and helpful. The drop-off was straight forward, though a liitle strange. We were instructed to leave the van at a holiday park, where we just left the keys with a person in an office - no questions, no forms to fill-in, no problems. Easy.
Only concern with the van was reverse gear - it was difficult to find it, so we resorted to grind it!
Oh, a bit of advice - avoid travelling around the Coromandel Peninsula with the kids in the back - they tend to turn a funny colour and decorate the interior of the van.

Woodlea

Same goes for the road from Christchurch to Akaroa. We had a bach near Akaroa and we were going back and forth to Chch every other day and the family were nearly always feeling seasick by the time we finished the journey. Not to be missed though - the Banks' Peninsular is marvellous.

GowHow

Backpacker Campervans are the ones we used too. They are run by Maui and you pick them up from the same depot. Once you get over the fact that you are not getting a brand new van, its fine. Ours was perfectly reliable and very comfy. With our boy only being 18mnths old it worked out well as we didn't worry too much about things getting bashed or scratched.

Kea Campers looked nice when we saw them too.

lardyl

Just excuse em whilst I hijack the thread......
Anyone had experience of travelling with one of the 4 berth campervans and mounting a child seat or two in them??
MrsL is worried about where these are fitted and how secure the kids would be.
Anyone clarify so I can persuade her??

thanks
LL

danny.f

We were in a 6 berth and used a car seat which the company provided. It was fitted into the area where two sets of seats are opposite each other with the table in the middle, which all collapses to become a bed (sorry you are probably none the wiser from that description). It was easy to fit with the existing seatbelt, which secured the chair which then had it's own seatbelt for Joe (he was 2). I sat in the front with Danny most of the time with the kids in the back and they were easy to see, talk to etc. We had no problems and no concerns (being a children's nurse I'm quite twitchy about car seats, safety etc, on top of the usual twitchy mum stuff). We used it for over 2 weeks and had no problems, Jow was happy in it, could see out the window and comfy for snoozing in.
Go for it Mrs L

PS we also used Maiu who were brilliant (even when we smashed the side light off due to Danny's parking on a lopsided street in Deliverance) :scared:

SirEglamore

Marvellous but scary rds. we tried the road from Akaroa to the headland above the marine reserve in a car. dirt track up z shaped single track roads, in low cloud, rain, wind and then met a road grader/bulldozer towing a pick-up coming down. OH freaked and changed her mind about going!!! needs a 4x4 methinks

Am Loolah

We used United campervans who we found to be very good. We had a fuse blow (only for a light) when we were in Whitianga in the Coromandel Peninsula, it was a Sunday but they had a technical guy on the other end of the phone, who booked us into a local garage for first thing Monday morning.

Lardy, we had a car seat for the 3 year old which was very safe and secure, you just book it when you book the campervan. Also can add on extras like bikes, optional extra insurances etc, etc.

lardyl

thanks guys - now read the website in more detail and spotted the optional extras - useful to know how it all fits together as MrsL is pretty neurotic on safety (or careful you might say) and has heard that in NZ there is less of a "hands on" approach to kiddie safety....... "good" I say, "bad" says she ------ ho..hum

shortfatbloke

Hi Hanjan

Have you booked the campervan yet?

SFB

hanjan

No we havn't. We are still making up our mind whether to campervan it, or hire a car and motel it. Our kids get really travel sick and we are worried about the interior design!

shortfatbloke

I would, from personal experience, not hire a campervan. We spent three weeks travelling around North Island in Dec 05/Jan 06 and travelled all over - Auckland, the Coromandel, down to Welly via Rotorua and the coast and then up to Northland. We travelled with our two boys who were aged 5 and 2 at the time. My wife ended up doing the majority of the driving as she could not go in the back for more than five minutes before feeling very ill. The car seat for the two year old did not really fit into the campervan and had to be wedged in with pillows (if I can find a photo I will post it). We also felt that we spent 4-6 hours a day driving and missing out on our holiday. Finally, some of the campsites are pretty dire - not the best way to see the country.

If we were to do it again, we would definitely go down the car/motel route, less hassle by far. I'm sure you'll have a great time in NZ it's a lovely place.

GowHow

Just to balance things up. We were undecided about whether we should do camper van or car/motel and in the end went for a camper. We have our 18 months old with us for 4 weeks. He was never car sick, although the car seat was right at the back of the camper which was a fair way from the cab.

Yes you do a lot of driving, but you would do exactly the same in a car. If you want decent campsites, just get the "top 10" map and stop of at one of those where possible.

The main advantage of the camper was that you do not have to pack and unpack every morning - that was an absolute godsend as far as we were concerned. Also, our son gained some familiarity with his surroundings which helped with the dreaded bedtime routine!

I think you are most likely to get car sick if you are sat sideways on, so if you go for a camper, try to get one with enough forward facing seats. I think some of the six berth have 2 in the front, then a row just behind the cab and a "U" shape at the back. Good Luck