[monkey boy]

Heading South this summer and was wondering if anyone had any good tips on camper companies? We will be flying into Melbourne and heading to the Gramps in Aus and then Christchurch in NZ.

Originally we were going to hire a place at a campsite but all the lodges/houses etc are pretty pricy.

Any info be great. Cheers

[JackAus]

Nothing amazing but I've used this crowd before: http://camperhiremelbourne.com

Plenty of good bouldering away from the Gramps that you'll miss out on...

[Adam Lincoln]

How long you going for Dave? Have you thought about buying and then selling before you leave? Bit of a risk and hassle i suppose. Campers tend to hold value in OZ.

[tomtom]

Oz is not a cheap place to be (by UK standards)... You see a few people dirtbag camping from a large estate car (falcons etc.) That are pretty cheap iirc.

[Adam Lincoln]

Oz is not a cheap place to be (by UK standards)... You see a few people dirtbag camping from a large estate car (falcons etc.) That are pretty cheap iirc.

Tell me about it! I pad 7500 ozzie dollars for an old toyota hi ace camper. Sold it for the same a year later.....

[Plattsy]

In NZ I bought a Subaru Legacy with camping gear for $2000 in ChCh and sold it 6 weeks later at a traveller's vehicle market in Auckland for $1650. Comparing this against the cost of campervan hire for the same time frame ($8000) and buying ($8000-$10000) it seemed like a good idea at the time.
There were loads of campers for sale at the market in Auckland and only a few punters. Once this German/Serbian couple showed interest I was happy to take a lot less than I got just to make a quick sale.
It'll be their Winter so I guess camping isn't really an option though it may be more economical to buy a camper for say £8000 and sell it really cheap ($6000) for a quick sale than to rent outright. Just an option you may not have considered.
http://www.newzealand.com/uk/feature/buying-a-car-in-new-zealand

[monkey boy]

Cheers for the replies everyone. We have considered buying but just don't think we want the hassle for time we are in either country. At the moment a camper in Aus is looking anywhere from £1500-£2400 for 6 weeks and in NZ about £800 for a month. I know we could camp but I don't really like camping, especially not for that long.

[SA Chris]

I think we used Britz in NZ, out of midsummer they aren't too expensive. Their ones aren't brand new, but still in reasonable nick, we had a high top Mercedes Sprinter, which was a good size but in September the heater was woeful and not enough bedding, take a down sleeping bag if you have room.

NZ is really well set up for campervanning, you can park up anywhere without hassle, and there are parking places  with hookups at either campsites or hostels the middle of most towns and cities.

[Wood FT]

In NZ I bought a Subaru Legacy with camping gear for $2000 in ChCh and sold it 6 weeks later at a traveller's vehicle market in Auckland for $1650. Comparing this against the cost of campervan hire for the same time frame ($8000) and buying ($8000-$10000) it seemed like a good idea at the time.
There were loads of campers for sale at the market in Auckland and only a few punters. Once this German/Serbian couple showed interest I was happy to take a lot less than I got just to make a quick sale.
It'll be their Winter so I guess camping isn't really an option though it may be more economical to buy a camper for say £8000 and sell it really cheap ($6000) for a quick sale than to rent outright. Just an option you may not have considered.
http://www.newzealand.com/uk/feature/buying-a-car-in-new-zealand

Off topic for MB but for NZ summer I think this looks a good cheap idea, thanks. Do you think you could pick up a cheap camper in an Auckland Travelers market? I don't suppose many people will be flying home in January though...

[Plattsy]

In NZ I bought a Subaru Legacy with camping gear for $2000 in ChCh and sold it 6 weeks later at a traveller's vehicle market in Auckland for $1650. Comparing this against the cost of campervan hire for the same time frame ($8000) and buying ($8000-$10000) it seemed like a good idea at the time.
There were loads of campers for sale at the market in Auckland and only a few punters. Once this German/Serbian couple showed interest I was happy to take a lot less than I got just to make a quick sale.
It'll be their Winter so I guess camping isn't really an option though it may be more economical to buy a camper for say £8000 and sell it really cheap ($6000) for a quick sale than to rent outright. Just an option you may not have considered.
http://www.newzealand.com/uk/feature/buying-a-car-in-new-zealand

Off topic for MB but for NZ summer I think this looks a good cheap idea, thanks. Do you think you could pick up a cheap camper in an Auckland Travelers market? I don't suppose many people will be flying home in January though...

Depends what you mean by cheap. There must have been two dozen campervans there and most of their notices were in the $8000+ area. There was a mechanic on site who for $100 (I think) would check over any vehicle and let you know what they thought. Another option would be checking places online like gumtree.

The DOC has some great campsites ranging from free to not much money at all. Though like Chris says you can pretty much park up anywhere.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/camping/

[Wood FT]

Thanks Plattsy

[Will Hunt]

The app you want for campervanning in NZ is campermate. Invaluable. Scour the web for good wild spots to park up. We hired with wilderness campers who had an in house book of some very special spots. Lake Tennyson and Lake Tekapo spring to mind.

[monkey boy]

Britz look like a good option. Wilderness campers are proper campers which are bit too expensive.

[a dense loner]

You're right, save the proper money for a return trip to legoland

[tomtom]

You're right, save the proper money for a return trip to legoland

Legoland is ALWAYS a return trip...

[Will Hunt]

Britz look like a good option. Wilderness campers are proper campers which are bit too expensive.

Ah yes, it looks like Wilderness have changed their business model and gone more upmarket. When we went in November '14 they had proper panel vans which were great for thrashing down heavily washboarded dirt tracks and in and out of lakebeds!

Britz vans looked perfectly serviceable and they're everywhere - a really big operation. I don't think you could go far wrong with them.

One thing to consider is whether you want an onboard bog. Certain campers are certified self contained and if you don't have this badge then you may be restricted in where you can camp.

[SA Chris]

Not that you use the bog unless you have to. Those things are grim to empty.

[Will Hunt]

Don the gloves. Do not attempt anything without the gloves.


The first time was messy. Much slicker operation after that.

[SA Chris]

We stuck with number 1s only.