Pacific Horizon
We booked several months in advance with Pacific Horizon, an awesome family run kiwi-owned company - they were so easy to deal with, nothing was a problem. They are the only company that are based in Wellington, (pickups also available in Auckland and Christchurch), so coming from the Top of the South to do a North Island trip, it made sense to go over on the ferry, pick up the camper in Wellington and go from there. Pacific Horizon are also able to organise discounted bookings on the Bluebridge ferry and for a small fee can pick you up from the terminal and take you to their depot in Porirua.
What really sealed the deal for us was the configuration of the passenger seats, so that the kids car seats were directly behind us in the front - anyone traveling with young kids knows the importance of being able to pass them back a lolly or two when things start to get a bit intense! Though our kids thankfully don't seem to suffer from car sickness, I think having them nearer the front with a view out the front windscreen would really help on that front. The kids seats were fitted with car seat tether points and cross-shoulder seat belts, making installing them a breeze. They couldn’t see as much out the side windows as in a car, but had a great view out the large front windscreen.
The Pacific Horizon motorhomes are really well thought-out, and a huge point of difference was the large windows at the back, which gave it a really spacious feel and allowed us to make the most of the views where we parked.
Driving a large motorhome
It didn't take long to get the hang of the driving, and even through its a long vehicle (7.5m) and a bit wider than usual, it didn't feel that big sitting in the driver’s seat, and surprisingly, cornered nicely and with hardly any body roll. I even had a drive and surprised myself by getting used to it and building up my confidence pretty quickly - if I can do it, anyone can!
As far as driving goes, there are just a few things to keep in mind:
The speed limit for these vehicles is 90km per hour, so make sure you pull over when possible to let faster vehicles past - they'll appreciate it.
Take the corners wide to avoid cutting them - drive as if you're towing a boat trailer!
Go carefully on windy days, as they can catch a bit of wind due to their bulk.
Watch those wing mirrors, especially when parking - they are just waiting to connect with an unfortunately placed signpost! (No, we didn't collect one, but it was mighty close on the first afternoon!)
Brake early, as motorhomes are heavier vehicles to pull up than your standard car!
A lot of towns have campervan day parking, so before you set off its a good idea to figure out where you might park once you get there. Apps such as Wikicamps and Campermate are great for finding this info, (more about them later.) When we couldn't find any, we sometimes parked along 2 parks, or parked a little further out of town.
And lastly, make sure you wave to all the other campervans you pass - its a thing!
The onboard systems
When having the initial briefing, it seemed like a lot to take in (I was glad there were 2 of us listening, so between us we got the gist of it!). Once you get a few basic concepts down, it is very easy to use - almost everything is controlled and monitored from a touch screen mounted on the wall. From here you can easily see how much House battery you have left (the battery that runs everything when the motor is off), how much fresh water and grey (waste) water you have on board. All the lights and appliances such and water pump etc are controlled from this screen as well.
The 3-way fridge was the only thing that we slipped up with for a start. It switches automatically between the motoring battery when you're going along, the gas and the house battery (or mains if you're hooked up) as needed. So if you stop for a long period and forget to turn the gas on, its going to drain your house battery, which is exactly what we did on the first night! Having got to grips with this small issue, we were away laughing. Assistance is only a phone call or text away, and their backup is great.
Storage
Before we left, I spent ages poring over the website photos to try and figure out how much cupboard space is onboard - so lets save you the trouble and talk storage! There are actually plenty of empty cupboards available for your clothes, gear and food, don't panic!
Firstly, in the kitchen area there is a slide out pantry cupboard below the bench that fits a surprising amount of dry goods in. You can also fit some extra food in the deep drawers under the sink that only have the large utensils in them. The fridge is not huge, but fits a surprising amount in it, as well as a tiny freezer box (120mm x 400mm x 160mm deep). So all in all, we managed to easily have enough food and meals on-board for 3 of 4 days, no problem.
Clothes storage is easy with a bit of planning. Next time I would bring a lot of packing cells so that we could store our clothes in the overhead cupboards easier. I had thought we would be able to store a lot of our gear under the seats at the very back, but it turns out that only one side is storage space (under the other seats are taken up by the outside storage space and gas bottle compartment), and to be fair, its not that convenient to be in and out of that storage all the time, so we ended up storing things in there that we weren’t using frequently, like our big bags etc. Extra bags can be stored up above the cab when you’re going along.
Water: We chose to buy a few big bottles of water just for drinking, as we weren't sure how the tank water was for drinking, and we just filled these up with filtered water at the campgrounds when we could. It’s also handy to have a spare bottle of water to flush the toilet at night without having to use the water pump.
Sleeping arrangements
As ours was a 6-berth motorhome it allowed us a bit of extra room to spread out, but one of the main reasons was to give us some options as to the sleeping arrangements, as there was no telling how it would go trying to get both the boys to sleep at the same time in the same space! We had them both sleeping up above the cab, and us sleeping on the upper bed at the back, which allowed us to leave the dining/lounge area below set up, and just push our bed up into the ceiling during the daytime (great system!). There were 3 double beds to choose from, or the back double bed could be used as two singles.
The first night the boys played around a bit when it came to bedtime – it was all a bit exciting being the first day of the trip, and having your brother sleeping beside you was a bit of novelty. Finally they fell asleep (thankfully they were tired!). On following nights we put the younger one to bed first, and read the older one a couple of extra books before tucking him in too - it worked surprisingly well. The mornings were a bit tough for the first few days (530am starts) until they got into the routine and we got closer to our normal wake up time. A bit of disruption was only to be expected, but given a bit of time, they eventually got tired enough that they did sleep – hopefully yours will to!
Some extras you might find useful with kids: A grow clock/sleep trainer clock if they usually have one, so they know what time is ok to get up, glow sticks to use as night lights/for a bit of fun, and if you have a Kindle, this might be a good thing to bring for yourself if your kids won’t sleep with lights on nearby – but you can pull a dividing curtain to mostly block the light out in their sleeping area.
What to pack, and what to leave behind
I have to admit, I am a bit of girl scout when it comes to packing – I have something for every eventually! There were a few things that I found I needn’t have taken though.
Pacific Horizon supply duvets, sheets, pillows and shower towel, but you will need to bring your own face/hand towels. They also supply two tea towels, a cloth/scrubber and a bottle of dish washing liquid, a bucket (great for carrying washing or wet gear), a clothes line and coat hangers (handy for airing towels inside). As far the bedding goes, there is only 1 light duvet per bed unless you request more, but we found we really didn’t need more, even in winter, as the diesel heater was really good and can be left on all night. They are pretty well set up with plenty of bowls and pots, a cheese grater, peeler etc., so you really don’t need to bring much extra. I took a picnic blanket, and toyed with the idea of hiring a couple of picnic chairs, but we didn’t miss these at all in the end and didn’t use the picnic blanket, as we tended to have our picnics in the motorhome, as you can open up all the windows to maximise the indoor-outdoor flow!
Bring a 12V USB charger to plug in to your cigarette lighter and always be charging your phones and electronics while driving. There are also standard power points and USB chargers in the back, but these will use power unless you’re using a powered site for the night. An air freshener for the bathroom is good addition, and perhaps a can of fly spray if it’s summer (although the windows are all screened, just for any that sneak in the door). Travel coffee cups were a plus too.
Cooking and meals
The gas stove has 3 burners, a hotplate (electric) and a grill (heat coming from top only), so you’ve got plenty of cooking options. There’s even a range hood to help take the cooking smells away, but just be wary of cooking anything too strong-smelling such as curry or fish, as the smell will go all through your motorhome and gear.
We stuck to nice easy meals that didn’t need too much preparation or cooking time. Here’s a few examples:
Burgers (grilled or pan fried patties)
Tegal Chicken Take Out Tenders grilled until well-cooked, then used in wraps with salads or just a chicken salad.
Spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread
Rotisserie chicken from the supermarket with supermarket coleslaw
Soup and fresh bread
Cheese on toast/ mini pizzas made with baked beans and English muffins
Pre-cooked ribs from the supermarket
Supermarket pizzas
And our favourite breakfast…Edmonds pancakes (shake in the bottle)!
Use click and collect shopping to save time on your first day (we used Countdown) – this saves you wasting time wandering listlessly around an unfamiliar supermarket, when you’d rather be on the road exploring! You can even make up your shopping order earlier in the week before you leave home. Even if you don’t click and collect, you can still write your shopping list up earlier in the week to save time.
Free camping vs. motor camps
We had intended to free camp a lot of the time, but once we were there, we realised just how hard some of these areas are doing it at the moment without the tourists around. For example, almost every beach we pulled up to, we were pretty much the only people on the beach, bar a few locals – these Northland beaches would usually be teeming with people, even in the quieter months, so you can imagine what it’s doing to the local economy. So, with this in mind, we tried to support local businesses wherever we could, buy our groceries from the local 4 Squares, and stay in paid motor camps rather than free camping. Perhaps something worth considering if the budget allows.
Having young kids, we needed to do washing fairly regularly anyway, so the motor camps were handy for that. Ask at the reception when you arrive what coins or cards you need to use the laundry – most are $2 coins, but some use preloaded laundry cards available from the office.
Often powered sites were only a few dollars more than the unpowered sites. We had some bitterly cold weather some nights, and it turned out to be really handy being on powered sites, as we could use our diesel heater all night at a decent temperature, without having to worry about draining our house battery.
With a family of four, we needed to empty our blackwater (toilet) every 2-3 days. 2 days was ideal, but 3 days at a pinch, although it started to get a bit wiffy and full. We emptied our greywater (waste water), and filled the freshwater tank at the same time and never ran out – although we didn’t use the shower all the time. As I have long hair, I used the motor camp showers to wash my hair just to save our water tanks, but the on board shower was great otherwise.
When you’re freedom camping, you just have to remember to turn on the gas for your fridge and stove, try and conserve power by only using the lights you need, charging only while driving, and not turning the heater up too high, or it will work too hard and drain the battery. Being conservative, you should be able to last a couple of days off grid, especially if you’re driving between nights as it charges as you go along – just keep an eye on your battery to make sure it’s not going below the 12V you need.
Motorhome vs. caravan vs. motels.
I’m sure this is a subject everyone has their take on, but we loved the motorhome for the ease of being able to just park up, walk down the back and throw food on the table for lunch (without having to go outside), and having a bathroom available right there at all times. The only small downside compared to a caravan was parking the long vehicle, but this wasn’t too much of an issue at all. Not having to unpack and pack your vehicle every day like you would when staying in a motel, was a huge plus, not to mention all the times we were able to park right on the beach for the night!
Camping Apps
There are lots of Apps around to help find the info you need for campgrounds, free-camping spots, motorhome parking, dump stations, parking, attractions etc. I recommend downloading them before you leave home so you don’t need to use your data on the road, and they are also great planning tools. I spent a lot of time before we left looking at possible camping spots so that I didn’t have to spend as much time each night planning for the next day. This would be especially handy if you had a set itinerary and knew where you would end up each night. The different Apps cross-over somewhat, but each one has their strong points, that’s why we used all of these!
Campermate: This is a good all-round app. It has most of the info you need for self-contained camping – everything from motor camps to Council free camps and dump stations. The only thing it didn’t seem to cover as much were the private camp spots on people’s properties and DOC sites. It can be used offline too, with downloadable maps.
Campable – this one has privately owned private camp spots, which are often great value and in some interesting locations.
Wiki Camps – This one is a paid app - there’s a free trial, then a small fee, but worth it, as it has the best listings of freedom camps.
Rankers – the best for DOC campsites, and some camps show up on here that are not on the other Apps.
Google Maps – We used this the whole way. After a while I figured out how to work out specific routes with several stops – game changer! OK, so you probably already know this, but if you don’t, just search your first destination, then click on “Directions”. In the menu on the top right corner you’ll find ‘Add stop”. Enter the place you want to go next. This is great for finding out total drive time, and also for forcing Maps to do the route you have in mind.
Gasby – this App tells you the best petrol and diesel prices nearby. If you’re clocking up the miles finding cheaper gas can really help!
If you have any questions, please send me a message. I also have a short (very amateur) video of the inside of the van if that helps.
I hope this inside info has helped answer a few questions for you and helps you pack with confidence. Happy travels!
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