NZ Part 3 : Familiarizing the Unfamiliar @ Camper Van (OMG!)

(OMG di post title tu sebab tak percaya we made it after all ~ travelling in a camper van!)

Mencari camper van tak susah sebenarnye sebab banyak company yang offer all types of camper vans in NZ. Tapi rumit. Banyak nak kena compare. Macam jugak mencari tiket kapalterbang. But then again, mungkin tiket flight lebih mudah. We waited a long time for MAS to have a sale and then bought tickets. Theirs is a direct flight from KUL into AKL. Jimat masa.

Camper van is another matter entirely. You want to see what make. How many berths. The cc. The length (this determines how much you will pay for the inter-island ferry. Lagi panjang, lagi mahal). How many km travelled. If it is self-contained (ie comes with toilet, shower). Does it have a heater. Can we return the camper to any city. Blah.. blah..

(camper van breakfast. One of the NZ photos I really, really love)

And of course the price is always the determining factor. We didnt want anything that is too much below par. Nanti jalan entah berapa jauh dah break down pulak. Atau absorber yang dah haus, we know roads tend to get bumpy.

(The camper should be self contained - and must have this sticker - if you want to do freedom parking. And fyi freedom parking does not mean you can freely park anywhere. It means you can park at designated grounds that do not have full facilities.)

Also we considered the insurance coverage. And on the road support if anything amiss happens. And penalties for anything at all. Pening lah berminggu sebelum buat decision. And the risk you are taking because payment is 100% due 30 days prior to booking start date!

In the end, we settled for this 3 year old, 5 berth Mercedes Sprinter (I told hubs, your gambar here is like a page out of the promotion brochure! Its is so bright and so clear and so cantik).

Alhamdulillah, bagus camper van tu. Setinggi2 bukit di panjat nye dan beribu km kami drive tak ada masalah apa. Enjin cukup baik. Nikmat Allah.

Namun.

Our bathroom was flooded the first night (dengan mandi bagai kan). Penat kami pikir kenapa. Nak tel provider pun dah malam. We later figured that tak sama orang putih dan orang Melayu guna toilet (itu dah sedia maklum). Dan kita ambil wudhu'. Water consumption isnt the same. So after that we use the bathroom stringently; for emergency cases only. And strictly no shower in the tiny bathroom. Dan Alhamdulillah we had no further problems with it.

(this is late afternoon at Mount Cook. See how many vehicles there are. Campers, MPVs and cars. Those in cars camp dalam tent. Sejuk2 tu; orang putih kan..)

And yes, there is a stove for cooking in the camper van. And comfy sleeping area for 5. Or even 6 if you must. Semua orang minta tunjuk gambar inside of the camper. But I dont have that many.

The interior. The sink and stove have lids that you need to close when driving. The kitchen drawers all have locks too. The seats at the back converts into a king bed that comfortably sleeps three. During meals, boleh pasang meja di belakang dan juga another table di depan.

The other double bed is above the driver's seat. Unfortunately I dont have a photo of that. The passenger seat can also be converted into a single bed. And the (tiny) toilet is opposite the sink. It is in fact very efficiently equipped. And with lots of storage area.

And all the windows have blinds. Including the front windshield (in case you wonder nak salin baju camne.. hehe)

And this is how you get power on any powered sites.

And how you dispose of the grey water (water from your sink and shower). Look for that blue campervan and down arrow signage for dump locations. The first time was the hardest. Luckily there was a van in front of us so the boys said, kita usha dia buat macamana. The water leaked during disposal. The pakcik behind us said, you should get that fixed. Kami ngomel, macamana kita punya hose boleh leak. After the third day we found out that we were using the wrong end of the hose. Oops (sheepish)..

And that is how fresh water is added to the camper.

And how black water (from the toilet) is disposed. Thankfully, that is the boys' department. After many eeewws! the cleanup was done. Enough said.

We always park our camper towards the qiblat (or closest that we can). Jadinye camper kami selalu tak lurus ikut camping lot (namun masih dalam kotak yang disediakan - of course). Orang putih selalu pandang macam tertanya kenapa senget. Mornings on the South Island are always too cold nak solat di luar.

Macam best je drive; when in fact I drove for about half an hour only (on the State Highway around Lake Taupo) out of the hundreds of km traveled. I thought the camper was too high, too wide and too long. And given that the State Highway is only as good as our trunk road, I drove too slow. There were too many cars following behind me.

Nevertheless. You must travel on the camper van if you are ever in NZ. It is the best experience. Bila tanya anak2 bila balik, what's the best part of the vacation? They said travelling in the camper van. And I simply cant imagine doing the journey in a car or even an MPV. This has got to be the best vacation ever. Hands down.

Our North Island journey next.





~ xoxo