Camping Paradise
Caroll Alvarado
| 28-09-2023
· Vehicle Team
The official website of the New Zealand Ministry of the Environment describes New Zealand as "the ultimate destination for campers".
New Zealand has a wide variety of campgrounds and beautiful scenery, offering plenty of choice and convenience for caravanners.
There are both state-run and private campgrounds in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Ministry of Environment directly manages over 200 campgrounds throughout New Zealand and classifies them as service, basic, and wilderness.
Service campgrounds are equipped with showers, toilets, water fountains, barbecues, fireplaces, and cooking utensils, and charge around NZ$20 per night for adults and half price for youths.
Basic campgrounds do not provide drinking water and are half the price of service campgrounds. Wilderness campsites only provide restrooms and simple camping facilities.
Some of the private holiday parks offer more complete facilities, but of course, the fees are higher depending on the location and time of year.
Holiday parks provide showers, electricity, and kitchen facilities for RVs and campers, and some holiday parks also have entertainment facilities such as internet, TV, and restrooms.
Well-managed, scenic holiday parks often need to be booked weeks or even months in advance.
RV travel in New Zealand is more affordable than traditional travel methods.
Reports show that New Zealand residents spend an average of NZ$552 per person per caravan trip.
Compared to New Zealand's expensive airfare and pricey hotel accommodation, RVing saves travelers more than half of the cost.
There are many different types of RVs in New Zealand.
Well-equipped medium and large caravans are usually owned by caravan rental companies and are rented out through online channels or stores.
Many New Zealanders also buy or convert small caravans. These small caravans are called "campervans" and are either converted from a van or a separate trailer that travels on a trailer hitch to a family car.
According to a report released by the relevant New Zealand authorities in April 2020, at least 245,000 people will be caravanning and camping in New Zealand in 2019, of which about 63% (154,000) will be international visitors, leaving 37% of the talent to be local New Zealand residents.
As a result of the epidemic, New Zealand has lost about 2/3 of its total RV visitors to international visitors since 2020.
However, another set of data also highlights the considerable strain that RV travel is putting on New Zealand's environment.
Some 76% of New Zealand residents believe that caravanning and camping hurt the environment.
Some 55% of New Zealand residents believe that more restrictions should be placed on caravanning and camping facilities.
According to New Zealand media, open showers, littering, open defecation and misuse of drainage facilities are the most disgusting bad camping behaviors for New Zealand residents.
In July 2022, a free camping association in New Zealand suggested tightening laws related to defecation in the wilderness, sparking a heated debate about RV camping standards in New Zealand.