Getting things ready…
Getting things ready…
Pīwakawaka · Just Good Enough
A double bed, a kitchen that slides out under the tailgate, solar on the roof and a toilet on board. Certified self-contained, so you can stay where the good mornings happen rather than wherever there is a power point.
From NZ$75/day · Bedding, cooking gear and an Auckland or Christchurch airport transfer are included.
Sleeps 2
A convertible double — the seating area becomes the bed.
Self-contained
Onboard toilet and its own water tanks, so the DOC sites are open to you.
Solar & batteries
Enough power off-grid that you are not hunting for a socket.
Petrol
No road user charges to settle at the end, unlike every diesel camper.
This is our budget campervan, and it is properly self-contained — which is the part that decides where you are allowed to wake up. The certificate proves it, and it opens the hundreds of Department of Conservation sites — the ones with no hotel for miles and a view instead of a car park.
The clever part is that the seating and the bed share the same space. That is what lets a van this size carry a full-width double, a kitchen and a toilet without being six metres long — and a van this size goes down the roads where the best campsites are, and parks in an ordinary space when you want a day in town. Two minutes in the evening buys you all of that. If you would rather have a bed that stays made up, the Tūī is built that way. And if you want an oven and a hot shower, that is the Kākāpō.
By day
Two benches and a table
Sit facing each other with the table up and the doors open. The kitchen slides out under the tailgate, so you cook looking at the view rather than at a wall.
By night
One double bed
The benches and the table drop into a full-width double, 190 by 150 centimetres. The bedding is already in the van — we make it up before you collect it.
Every rental comes fully packed — no surprises at pickup.
Minimum age
21 with full licence (12+ months)
Extra drivers
Free — same licence requirements
Non-English licence
IDP or certified translation required
Self-contained
Yes — freedom camping ready
Pickup location
Auckland or Christchurch, 9AM–4PM daily
Payment
20% deposit now, balance 21 days before pickup
Full pickup details — airport transfer, what to bring, and FAQs →
Two people on a budget who are happy to make the bed up each evening: the Pīwakawaka. Two people who want a bed that stays made up all trip: the Tūī. A family, anyone who needs four people around one table on a wet afternoon, or anyone who wants an oven and a hot shower: the Kākāpō. If you are still unsure, tell us how many of you there are and when you are coming, and we will say which one we would give you.
It converts, and that is the design rather than a compromise: the bench seats and the table drop into a full-width double, which is how a van this compact fits a proper bed, a kitchen and a toilet at once. It takes a couple of minutes, the bedding is already on board and made up before you collect it, and in return you get a camper that reaches the places a six-metre motorhome has to drive past. If you would rather have a bed that stays made up all trip, the Tūī is built that way.
An automatic. That matters more than people expect: driving on the left in an unfamiliar vehicle is enough to think about without a gearstick in your other hand. Our Kākāpō is an automatic too; the Tūī is the manual in the fleet.
Yes. It holds a current Certificate of Self-Containment with a fixed toilet and its own fresh and waste water tanks on board, which is what the rules actually require. That opens up the hundreds of Department of Conservation sites and the designated freedom camping areas — often free, sometimes up to about NZ$25 a night.
Not on this camper. The Pīwakawaka runs on petrol, and road user charges only apply to diesel vehicles in New Zealand. Our diesel campers carry a charge of NZ$0.084 per kilometre settled at the end of the hire; on this one there is nothing to settle.
The van is a 2021 Nissan NV350 Caravan and the interior was fitted out in 2026, so what you see in the photos is new. We look after it ourselves rather than sending it to a depot, and you get this exact vehicle rather than a category.
On Basic cover we pre-authorise NZ$5,000 on a credit card at pick-up. It is never charged, but it does tie up that much of your limit for the whole trip. Peace of Mind at NZ$45 a day removes the bond completely and takes your excess to zero.