Before we begin, New Zealand comes with a warning – Sammy AKA creator of RatPack went for 2 months and ended up staying for 2 years! The place honestly has it all, from metropolitan cities, epic areas of natural beauty, a load of amazing beaches and of course, the wine! If adventure is your things, then NZ is THE place for you.
We’ll be sharing with your our favourite places in New Zealand… including:
- Franz Josef Glacier
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing
- The ultimate mountain views…
- AND of course, how to be cash savvy when it comes to your camper rental!
Ready to be TOTALLY inspired for your New Zealand roadie??
Click images to see more.
The home of the ultimate roadie
It’s no secret that New Zealand is one of, if not THE, most beaut place on earth – have you seen the photos?! It’s insane.
You’ve got the North Island – known for it’s insane coastline and geothermal hot spots. It is also where you’ll find Auckland, one of the major cities in NZ and Wellington, the countries capital.
Then there is the South Island – the larger of the two and home to incredible mountain ranges. It is also where the Southern Alps are located (yup, told you NZ has it all) – so think, skiing, glaciers and insane views. The city of Christchurch can also be found here as well as the country’s largest wine region, Marlborough.
As you can see, there is quiitttteee a lot to see and do, so we’re gonna make life easier for you and narrow down the top places not to be missed.
Getting around
Bus
An epic way to see this beaut country is via the bus service Kiwi Experience – it’s super easy and a GREAT way to meet BackPackers especially if you are travelling solo…
Camper
Buuuuut, if the Bus Pass aint YA thing & you want your own wheels then there is no better place for it than NZ…and we can do all the boring bits for you and find you the best campervan with our camper comparison quote service, so all you need to do is sit back and start planning that epic trip of yours (very jel right now)…
The Ultimate New Zealand Bucketlist
Hot Water Beach
Hot Water Beach gets its name from the fact that within the two hours either side of low tide you can find hot water bubbling through the golden sand – like a natural hot bath!!
It’s a proper bucket list experience! The beach is also a wicked surf spot.
Cathedral Cove
Accessible only by foot on a 2.5km walking track is where you’ll find this epic rock formation.
It is a 10min drive from the famous hot water beach.
To beat the crowds – head there at sunrise or early evening (the perfect time for a sick photo shoot).
Kaikoura Wale Watching
Whale watching is usually a pretty hit or miss activity but Kaikoura is New Zealand’s go to destination to see these incredible creatures.
Get this – there is a 95% chance of spotting giant sperm whales.
The season is from November through to March.
Rotorua
The geothermal world of Rotorua is pretttyyyy damn cool.
An area of so much natural beauty – you’ve got smelly geysers, volcanic parks, lakes and water falls.
The area is the perfect place to take a glimpse at the rich culture and tradition of New Zealand’s indigenous people.
Hobbiton
I’m sure you’ve heard of this one!! It makes a pretty unique day out.
Lord Of The Rings fan anyone? The Hobbit? If so, this is the place for you – a film nerds paradise. It’s also a pretty beautiful place to visit even if you’re not a fan of the films. Who doesn’t wanna walk around a fake village of miniature houses for the day?!
Queenstown
If you’re a bit of an adrenaline junkie, then Queenstown is where it is at!!
In the summer there’s bungee jumping, sky diving, white water rafting and jet boating (to name a few). Then when it turns to winter, the Southern Alps are your playground – yep, you can ski in NZ!!
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui is a pretty little beachy suburb in the North Island.
A chance to slowwww it down and chill out – think white sandy beaches and wicked surf spots.
Mount Cook
The highest mountain in NZ – Mount Cook. This bad boy is 3,724 metres and a pretty epic sight!
The mountain can be found in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park which is home to the highest mountains and the longest glaciers in the country.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
This is an EPIC spot to hike to see the blue pool in Tongariro National Park.. Without a doubt one of the most popular hikes in the whole of NZ and a RatPack fave…
The views of the surrounding scenery are just UNREAL and you’ll see volcanic peaks…
Milford Sound & Fiordland National Park
Milford sound is a fiord – meaning a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs formed by glaciers.
Fiordland National Park is an un-spoilt and naturally beautiful spot, you can’t miss it! Look forward to waterfalls, incredible surroundings and ink black water.
Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo is a small town in the South Island and let me tell you – this place is the definition of picturesque.
The spot is known for being a sick star gazing spot. It is also home to Tekapo Springs Hot Pools…did someone say spaaaaa day?
Aurora Australis
NZ just keeps giving!! So you know about the Northern Lights right? The dancing colours in the sky…well, New Zealand has the Southern Lights AKA Aurora Australis.
So, if you’re lucky you may spot the night display.
About the Author: Sammy
with RatPack Travel?
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From our RatPackers
Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
