OT Touring in New Zealand

[Marshman]

I am in my 70's and found the small campervan really quite comfortable. We stayed on proper sites so didn't need to use the supplied portapotti type thing. OK you need to move cushions around to make a bed ... bed that was really comfortable.
Jeremy

 

[Owlhouse]

Our costs to ship the van out was around £14k in 2018. We had paid 35k for it 4 years earlier and sold it for £55k in 2019 over there. That covered the shipping, import etc as well as our airfare return. We could have got more but sold at the end of the season (May) but we had an 8 month holiday in our own van which we knew was reliable. Now it’s a lot more expensive but you get a lot more for the van at the end so can even out. The risk is of course that you have to sell the van before you leave or get someone to do it for you. If you buy a van out there it’s probably seen better days and may be a ‘lemon’! Complicated yes but do your research and see what suits you best.

 

[Frogman]

I hope you don't mind me asking but what sort of budget do you need to do this? We fancied it very much, and our local excellent travel agent did an itinerary to include a couple of hotel nights to get over jet lag. The end result for flying there and hiring a camper for 4 weeks was £22,000 and we had to decline it.
I had also wondered about buying a 'cheap' MH here, shipping it out there, using it, selling it but I haven't done any costings.

I think you should forget about importing a second-hand cheap van. NZ is keen on emissions and biosecurity. Even a reasonably new van would have to be sanitized inside and out at the docks, at your expense. Then there's the cost of modification to gas, electrical services and waste water disposal, and inspection and registration. Shipping and obligatory insurance isn't cheap either! The biggest mistake would be to import a left-hand-drive vehicle: you can do it, but you can't sell it on until converted to RHD!
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