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A couple years ago, while we were still paying off student debt and attempting to build consistent income on the road, I came to Heath with a dream: To RV in a foreign country.
Really I’d been telling Heath for years that it was my goal to live abroad for a season (i.e. a minimum of three months) and since we already knew we can live in a tiny house on wheels, RVing in a foreign country seemed like the best way to start traveling abroad.
And thus began our planning for New Zealand.
We were pretty nervous about committing to fly halfway around the world together, but our friends Jedd and Michelle told us they were going to be in NZ in April, so we booked plane tickets to spend the spring (or fall actually) here in New Zealand.
In a few days, we pick up our motorhome rental from Wilderness New Zealand and we can’t wait to start exploring more of the country! (If you browse their motorhomes, we’ll be renting the Freedom 2, a nimble 6-meter campervan.)
During our travels, we plan on producing daily vlogs about our experiences RVing campervanning down under. It will be an experiment—especially finding wifi to upload videos!—but we are so excited to start sharing the beauty and adventure of New Zealand with you.
In this first episode of New Zealand vlogs a few fun things happen (okay mostly we show off how terrible we are at international travel):
- We pack our bags and say goodbye to family
- The cold I caught before flying out takes a turn for the worse
- We almost lose our bags in Australia
- Not on video because we couldn’t film it: being briefly questioned by multiple customs agents after minor issues with our paperwork
- The moment we realize we forgot to book flights out of New Zealand
- Repacking all our suitcases when we learn the baggage limits in Australia are different than America
- Plus, we share a few of the cultural differences we picked up on during our 12-hour layover in Sydney
Resources Mentioned in this Video:
Kara and Nate are our go-to experts in international travel (and in Youtube!). I downloaded their free packing list* here to create our packing list for New Zealand. *Please note that having a packing list for your husband will not result in him following said list and he will have to repack his overweight bag in the airport terminal.
How to Buy a Campervan in New Zealand: Your Complete Step-by-Step Travel Guide by Lindsey Nubern
My friend Lindsey gave me a copy of her book a few weeks before we left and it has been so helpful! While we didn’t buy a campervan, we learned a lot about getting internet access here, what freedom camping is like, and the best campgrounds on the South Island. We could not have made it over here without her advice!
We’re excited to show you more of the adventures we go on as we continue exploring New Zealand! Be sure to subscribe to our Youtube channel to never miss a video.
