When I first heard about a possible trip with my friends in a motorhome around New Zealand in the summer I thought that this type of activity is mainly for families and people of the older generation and not for a group of lads looking for summer madness. We were a group of 4 which included myself and my friends, David, Hayden and Glenn. We had planned this trip for over a year and always wanted to see the both island of New Zealand and we finally agreed on hiring a motorhome as this could save us a small fortune as staying hotels and hostels can quickly add up.
Route
The first thing that we had to do is plan the route that we were taking, the distances and the time it would take. As we were also on a tight backpacker budget we had to work out an estimated cost in fuel and lodgings etc.
Our first port of call was Auckland where we landed from our long distant flight and stayed for 2 nights whilst we recovered enough to start our travelling journey around New Zealand. The plan which was suggested on other travel blogs and forums was to a place called Taupo and after that pass through all major cities including Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown.
Whilst New Zealand is a relatively small country split up into 2 islands there is so many things to do, see and explore in this fascinating country that we had to move quickly around to enjoy everything. As you can see from the distances between cities below the distances are not like Australia so we found the driving quite easy with 3 of the 4 with full licences.
New Zealand Distances
| From | To | Distance KM | Distance Miles | Time |
| Auckland | Wellington | 658 | 409 | 8 hours 10 mins |
| Taupo | 278 | 173 | 3 hours 30 mins | |
| Kaitaia | 320 | 199 | 4 hours | |
| Christchurch | Nelson | 424 | 263 | 5 hours 20 mins |
| Dunedin | 362 | 255 | 4 hours 30 mins | |
| Queenstown | 468 | 302 | 6 hours | |
| Invercargill | 579 | 360 | 7 hours 10 mins |
The best thing about traveling in a motor home is the fact that we could simply drive to a set area and park the camper van without problems and relax and cook our food.
Memorable Places
Whilst we loved New Zealand and everything that it had to offer, here are my favourite 3 places of our trip. Before I write this I must mention where we completed out Motorhome hire because without their customer service and fantastic motor home they provided we wouldn’t have had the trip we had. They also specialise in UK and Australia motorhomes so we will definitely look into using them again in the future.
1. The Milford Track
Unbelievably before I arrived in NZ I had never heard of this walking track which is often described as the “greatest walking tracks in the world”. The views are simply breath taking and for once I was stunned by the sheer beauty of a place. Whilst we didn’t stay in the motorhome during this 4 day hike we did fully enjoy the hike and therefore this is one of the most memorable places we experienced.
2. Marlborough Sounds
This place truly is stunning and one in which everyone in our group loved. Marlborough Sounds is a sheer and fantastic collection of ancient sunken river valleys filled with the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Our trip here was also special as the people we met here are still our friends today, Alice and John from Kent.
3. The Tranz Alpine Train
Probably the best train journey I have ever been on. This has been voted one of the top rail journeys in the world which leaves from Christchurch and goes to the West coast of the island. The change in scenery from one fantastic view to another which the terrain changing constantly is why this made my list.
I would definitely recommend that anyone in New Zealand wishing to travel at low cost and see places that you wouldn’t normally see that they do this by a MotorHome. The fact that the people drive on the same side of the road as the UK means that this experience can be had without any problems with driving on the right.
