So… we decided we’re buying a campervan in New Zealand. Now what?
There’s a lot to organize before packing our bags and booking flights! I’m so thankful for Apple Notes—this is where I keep track of all the life admin we need to sort before we leave.
We’re just 9 weeks out now, and honestly? It feels overwhelming. But breaking it down into timeframes has made it so much more manageable.
Whether you’re dreaming of your own NZ road trip or deep in the planning phase, here’s everything we’re ticking off before departure (and what we’ll sort once we land).
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3–6 Months Before Departure
1. Rent out our home (again).
This includes:
– meeting with the real estate to do a walk through and rental valuation,
– getting new marketing photos since we are with a different real estate this time,
– choosing a date we will be moving out and what date the house will be available,
– finding somewhere to live whilst the house is being rented out and we wait for the perfect camper van/ motorhome to pop up in NZ,
– choosing the perfect tenant that won’t destroy our home (like the last ones…)
When we first moved back to Newcastle after our lap of Australia and living in Airlie Beach Queensland for 9 months, our house was trashed and we spent a lot of time and money getting things back up to scratch.
We always said for this reason we wouldn’t rent the house out again but when the time came to prepare for NZ we decided that it would be a better decision financially to rent the house out again so we have some type of income rather than purely chipping away at our savings.
This option allows us to store all of our belongings in the double garage on the property instead of renting a shipping container or storage unit that would cost us upward of $100 per week- that’s more money in our pocket! The real estate told us that keeping the garage to ourselves won’t effect the rental income for the property- perfect for us!
2. Ordering Allie an Australian passport.
The rest of us have an up to date passport as we’ve been to Indonesia and the Pacific Islands on a P&O cruise in the last 3 years.
3. Research into what shops are in NZ to find essentials.
Such as bedding, kitchenware, towels ect. Like Australia they have Kmart and Bunnings which I think will be our main go -to.
4. Finding storage for our 8.8 metre caravan.
If anyone knows of someone/ somewhere with space in the Newcastle area please let me know! We have been quoted between $20-$88 per week so far but stuggling to find somewhere with space.
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1–3 Months Before Departure
5. Start planning the camper van/ motorhome purchase in NZ.
We’ve been researching using Facebook Marketplace and Trade Me (NZ’s version of Gumtree). Our budget for a camper van is between 40K-50K (if we were to hire it for 6 months it would cost around $58K!). We’re not looking for a luxury camper, rather something cosy and cute we can call home.
6. Order cold weather clothing
In Aukland (North Island) the average temperature in July is 10.9 degrees and In Queenstown (South Island) is 0 degrees which is much colder that what we are used to living in Newcastle. This means we all need to get thermals and cold weather gear.
I’ve been trying to save money where I can and keeping my eye on the sales and a lookout in the local op shops. During the sales at Anaconda last week, I’ve scored two snowsuits for the kids for $50 each and at Aldi this weekend they are having a winter gear sale so I know where I’ll be spending my Saturday!
7. Getting the kids excited.
Or more like Max excited since Allie is only 1, she’s just in for the ride. We’re making it fun—watching videos, showing him maps, the type of camper van we will be living in and chatting about NZ animals, food and adventures we are going to go on.
This is an easy one to check off the list!
8. Pack down the house, packing our bags and packing the caravan…
We’ll be moving out of our house a month before we leave and living in our 19.6ft caravan at the local caravan park whilst we finalise things at home and say goodbye to friends and family.
This means I’ll need to sort through our belongings to figure out what we will donate, sell and keep.
This involves:
– Buying boxes, mattress and lounge covers for storage (Bunnings sell the large boxes for $5.60 each, queen mattress covers $5.60 each and lounge covers $6.50 each).
– Giving away any food that might expire whilst we are away.
– I’m thinking of going to the markets one Sunday to sell some things instead of just using Facebook Marketplace.
– Using my FREE packing checklist to pack the caravan for more caravan adventures after NZ.
– Buying duffle style bags instead of suitcases for our checked in luggage so the bags are easy to store in the camper van rather than bulky suitcases.
9. Book a site at a local caravan park until our leave date.
This way the house can be rented out before we leave.
10. Research kids carseats.
This is a big one for us! The older campers we are looking at purchasing don’t have the tie down points that most car seats require. I will do an entire blog on this once we know exactly what to do as I feel like there is limited information on this topic.
Shaun’s job is to call Automotive Assosiation (AA). This is New Zealand’s version of Service NSW or formally the RTA. They should be able to point us in the right direction.
From the research we have done so far, seats need to be forward or rear facing and not along the side of the camper van, there are special car seats you can purchase that don’t require the tie down point, since Max is 4 he can have a booster seat…but stay tuned as we are still figuring it out!
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Final 2 Weeks Before Departure
11. Sell Shauns Ute.
Financially and logistically this is a better decision as we won’t need to worry about the pink slip, paying for insurance and registration whilst away. We will just keep our “family” car, the Toyota Fortuner. This means we will need to store it in our garage or with family in Newcastle (also something we need to figure out).
12. Change our mailing address.
Redirecting important mail to a trusted family member.
13. Organise kids immunisations before leaving.
Since Allie is turning 1 and Max is 4, they are both due for needles.
14. Sort insurance.
For our home, we’re switching our home insurance to landlord insurance and keeping content insurance to ensure our belongings in the garage stay protected. We use Terri Scheer for all of our landlord insurance.
Not only our home but the camper van in NZ! Through my own research so far, I believe that AMI Insurance is cheaper in comparison to AA.
15. Finalise NZ campervan research + inspections.
We’ve got a list of key checkpoints for when we start viewing vans in person. We have researched what type of checks and certifications we need on the camper, that includes:
– Certified Self- Containment (CSC) – The motorhome must have a fixed toilet, a fresh water tank with at least four litres capacity per person per day, and a grey water tank with the same volume.
– Warranty of Fitness (WOF) – this is like an Australian Pink Slip
– Registration
We will need to change the registration over at the AA office. The form we will be using is the MR13B which costs $9. Both the buyer (us) and the seller have to complete this form.
16. Flights + NZ accommodation.
Once the right camper van pops up and we are keen on purchasing it, finding flights to that destination and booking accomodation for the first two or so nights for the transition.
From my research at the time of year we are leaving, flights should cost around $300 per person (Allie flies free because she will be 1).
17. Cancel phone plans.
Since we won’t be using our Australian SIM cards for 6 months, we need to cancel our Telstra plans and purchase new SIM cards in NZ.
They sell SIM cards at all of the major airports in NZ. We will most likely go with Vodaphone due to its coverage and data plans. For $80 a month we can get an unlimited call, text and data plan.
18. Put Starlink on hold
Initially we thought we could bring our Starlink mini with us to NZ with us but you can only use it for up to two months so it will be no use to us. We will be packing it in the caravan though to use on our next trip!
19. Cancel gym memberships.
Shaun’s gym membership and my Peloton membership will save us an extra $105 a month.
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Once We Arrive in NZ
20. Pick up our campervan + change the registration over!
Hopefully this is smooth sailing! We’ve done a lot of pre-research to minimize surprises.
21. Settle in and stock up.
Kmart, Bunnings and local opshops will be the first on the radar to stock up on essentials and turn our camper van into our new home!
22. Book accommodation once we purchase the camper van.
We plan to find the nearest caravan park and stay for a week whilst we learn the ins and outs of our new home on wheels and make sure we have all the essentials we need for its first official road trip.
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Now that we’ve set our leave date for the end of July, the ball is officially rolling. We’re already actioning some of these to-dos and checking them as we go.
Let me tell you, the mental load is reallllll but it will be so worth it.
We’re chasing a dream and creating memories not only for our kids but as a family. The thing I love about NZ is that we can buy almost everything we need over there—so we’re not lugging half our life on the plane. (Just snacks, clothes and essentials!)
I’ll also do a separate packing blog once I finalize what’s coming with us and what we’ll grab after we land.
Hopefully I’ve covered everything, in the mean time stay tuned!
❤ Britt
Roam N Round 
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