What to Pack for a New Zealand Campervan Road Trip?
A campervan trip is unlike any other kind of vacation out there. You have ultimate freedom, get to experience the outdoors and take your accommodation around with you. With that in mind, there are a few essentials to add to your campervan road trip packing list that you might have not thought about. We list a few right here in this article. Better yet, all these things to pack for a New Zealand campervan trip are specific to New Zealand!
Some of the essentials to pack for a New Zealand campervan trip can be prepared and packed back at home, while others you can pick up while you are in New Zealand. We’ll tell you a few cheap stores to pick up the essentials and give you a few links to examples. For more tips on your campervan road trip, see Travel by Campervan in New Zealand: The Ultimate Guide.
For a complete list of things to pack for a trip around New Zealand, check out our complete New Zealand Packing List.
1. Playing Cards
A campervan road trip is the perfect bonding experience, as is playing games, so both come hand in hand. Pack these waterproof playing cards for a quick boredom buster on your flight to New Zealand and on an evening in the campground. Why waterproof? Well, a campervan trip is all about the great outdoors so you and your cards are going to a lot of places!
© Pexels2. Travel Blanket
As an extra blanket in winter or for something to wrap around yourself when you’re sat around the campfire, an extra blanket is always a good thing to have no matter what season you are travelling by camper! Either pick up a cheap blanket from New Zealand department stores like The Warehouse or K-Mart or get yourself a compact travel blanket like this one.
© Pixabay3. Cash and Coins!
New Zealand is a country of card transactions – even for the smallest things! However, a campervan road trip is just about the only scenario where you’ll need some small change and cash on you. Many of the cheaper campsites, like the Department of Conservation campsites, only have honesty boxes where you’ll want to have the right amount of change to pay for the night.
© Pexels4. AUX Cable
There’s no point making the epic road trip playlist only to realise you can’t play it in your campervan! Many of the rental campervans in New Zealand come with an AUX cable slot so you can hook up your phone or whatever you play your music on so all you need is the cable to go with it! If you still don’t know what we’re talking about, here’s an AUX cable we like!
© Pixabay5. Lotions and Potions
Depending on the season, you’re going to want to bring some sort of skin cream to protect your precious body from the elements. We’re talking about high factor sunscreen for those spring, summer and autumn months, moisturiser for hydrating your skin in winter, and insect repellent. Off! is an insect repellent brand commonly used in New Zealand. See more about packing a first aid kit for New Zealand here.
© Pexels6. GPS App
Instead of renting a GPS for an extra daily rate from your campervan rental company, make sure you have a GPS app downloaded on your phone. It can be the free Google Maps or any one of the big GPS brands that only costs a couple of dollars to download. Save areas of the map that you are travelling to before you hit the road so that you can access them offline and not use up all your precious mobile data.
© Pexels7. Power Generator
Say your campervan doesn’t have an inbuilt generator or you want to get off the grid for a few days. How do you get power? That’s where a power generator comes in, where there are many excellent portable models available, like Bluetti. Their compact EB150 and super powerful AC200P models have a whopping 1,000-2,000W power capacity and capability to power multiple appliances, as well as charge multiple devices. Read more about camping generators in our guide.
© Bluetti8. Swimwear and Towel
Or as they say in New Zealand, togs! It’s not just a swim at the beach that you’ll want to bring swimwear for your New Zealand road trip. There are plenty of opportunities to get in the water in New Zealand, from waterfall pools to natural geothermal hot pools, for surfing, white water rafting, caving and much more! On top of that, it’s best to bring your own towel as not all campervan rental supply one. Pick up a compact and fast-drying travel towel like this Wolfyok Travel Towel.
© Pexels9. Marshmallows
Ok, so you don’t have to bring these all the way from home, but pick up a bag of marshmallows (and other road trip snacks, of course) for those campgrounds with open fire areas. That way, you’ll be prepared for some classic marshmallow roasting around the fire. You’ll be the most popular crew at the campsite.
© pexels10. Bodyboard
Yep, this is another thing you don’t need to bring from home, but you’ll be thankful you picked one up at the start of your New Zealand road trip! Bodyboards are not just for riding the waves in New Zealand – oh no! There are sand dunes to board down AND the world’s longest natural waterslide situated in Gisborne.
© NZPocketGuide.com11. Merino Wool Layers
Even in summer, you’d be a fool for not bringing some extra warm layers for your campervan road trip in New Zealand. New Zealanders swear by merino wool as it’s both breathable and warm. You can find merino wool layers readily available in plenty of stores across New Zealand or pick up some Icebreaker merino layers for women and Icebreaker for men before your trip.
© Amazon12. Torch
Or flashlight or whatever you call it where you are from! For finding the campsite bathrooms in the night, locating your midnight snacks in the camper, or going on glowworm walks at night, a torch is essential for a campervan road trip! We recommend this small yet powerful Anker Flashlight.
© Pxhere
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