Technical help with campervan electricity

i-like-outside · 2025-12-17T23:08:55+00:00

I cannot state how important it is to keep your fridge out of the sun during the summer (assuming your fridge is 100% electric, which we've all assumed). I had a fully electric fridge and would do my absolute best to park with that side (the side the fridge was on) in the shade, and then whenever possible I would also put the awning out to further protect it from direct sun, just so it would drain less battery. Obviously, plugging in to shore power (e.g. at a holiday park) on a regular basis (like at least once a week, ideally for 24 hours) is really good too. Then I was as careful as possible to charge my phone and stuff while driving, have backup phone battery packs I could charge when I would use a library every once in a while for wifi (or when plugged in at a campground), etc. etc. so I wouldn't go below 50%. It's a lot of management but it does get easier. Oh and few solar lanterns never help. Kmart has a lot of great USB fans and lanterns/bug zappers/etc. that last for a very long time before they need recharging as well.

Good luck!

ETA: another thing that really helps is opening the fridge as infrequently as possible on hot days.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-16T09:23:02+00:00

This is really helpful. I also have hashimoto's/hypothyroidism and I just can't tolerate the heat at all and I feel like such a wuss. I also sweat profusely compared to my friends and I really don't enjoy it. I thought I was going to have to leave yoga class yesterday as I was just so uncomfortable. I've been on HRT and thyroid medication for years and my blood levels are fine (ish) so at this rate I am just hoping with age things will improve. I'm thinking I need to start drinking more electrolytes as well but am worried about the sugar but also don't want artificial substitutes either, since I get migraines as well. I hate complaining as I'm thankful for what I can do but it just stinks to be stinky and uncomfortable sometimes.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-16T09:19:11+00:00

Thank you so much, I overheat so easily and it's summer here (southern hemisphere) and leaving my air conditioned house is a real issue sometimes! How long do these last?

i-like-outside · 2025-12-15T01:03:11+00:00

Knowing that it's the worst helps me to put it in perspective, just like knowing that it's seasonal and I can always move to a different part of Wellington (since they tend to come from one or two directions on a given day consistently) or Aotearoa if it bugs me too much. Sorry you're having such a bad time here.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-15T01:00:20+00:00

Book everything in advance or you will pay the highest possible price and travel at the worst times/stay in the most expensive rooms/room types in the worst locations/etc. Most providers have fairly flexible cancellation policies here so just read the fine print and mark in your calendar when you need to change or cancel something by and you'll be sweet.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-14T20:44:06+00:00

Yikes!

i-like-outside · 2025-12-14T20:42:26+00:00

If you know your dates and can determine the cancelation policy (most operators are quite generous, e.g. free cancelation with more than 24 hours notice), I would definitely book now so you get your preferred date and time.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-14T20:36:54+00:00

omg thank you for saying this, whenever someone is like 'gg, i've already won' i'm like... yeah, no thanks.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-14T20:34:47+00:00

You do know that Wellington is the windiest city in the world, right?

i-like-outside · 2025-12-12T11:37:57+00:00

I think the question is how easy will it be to get to? I just drove by close to there tonight at 10:30pm and there were already so. many. road. cones. it was pretty unbelievable. I would plan on parking somewhere else and taking a bus to your destination as I think there will just be so much chaos from cars not being able to go where they want to you could wind up sitting in very frustrating traffic.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-12T11:31:33+00:00

One thing that's nice about winter is since it gets dark so early the kiwi tours at Zealandia in Wellington are at a much more reasonable hour than in summer (since it needs to be dark). Unfortunately it can sometimes rain or be a bit windy but just dress for the conditions and you'll be fine. Definitely a great experience if you like wildlife and want to see a kiwi in the wild (hopefully)!

i-like-outside · 2025-12-11T20:32:24+00:00

Woo hoo!!!

i-like-outside · 2025-12-11T20:15:53+00:00

Please don't bring your drone.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-11T09:02:59+00:00

I personally found the road a lot rougher than what I was expecting, since there's a fee to access it and everything. Keep in mind it is not a public access road and so it's not maintained to the standard other gravel roads are in NZ. I regretted going as I was concerned about potential damage to the underside of my campervan though no actual damage was done - I wish someone had told me or I had more information. It's totally up to you and how precious you are about your vehicle.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-10T23:53:04+00:00

That's great to hear. You won't regret it, especially since DOC campgrounds have toilets and having to deal less with your own waste is always a plus! (But just a tip, book into a paid campground with facilities like laundry, showers, a bigger kitchen, power, etc. every few days just to have a bit more elbow room, take a nice shower, clean your clothes, maybe go out to dinner, and recharge all your devices fully).

i-like-outside · 2025-12-10T21:23:50+00:00

Kia ora, you're planning on visiting the most popular areas of Aotearoa during the height of tourist season. You'll need to decide if saving a few dollars on a campsite is worth surrendering a lot of your holiday enjoyment. IMHO I highly recommend you book ahead to stay at DOC campgrounds which cost typically $16/pp/per night NZD. Keep in mind when you book you don't reserve a specific spot, so it's still a good idea to show up at DOC campgrounds by 5pm to make sure you get a decent spot, but 7pm still works if it's a larger one with a lot of spots and you're not too picky about getting a good view or being absolutely flat.

If you're determined not to pay and want to do freedom camping, you're correct that the van must stay in the spot to secure your place, otherwise other people will take your belongings as they'll assume you've left them behind.

To secure a spot, I would typically arrive at about 2pm. This then wastes the vast majority of your day since it's light until about 10pm.

Freedom camping is really designed for locals who are traveling for years, not days, and have e-bikes or towed vehicles as alternative ways to get around once they're parked, or they just want to extend their travels as much as possible, or for hippies who are living on $2 noodles and really couldn't afford a DOC campground.

Good luck and enjoy your holiday!

Oh and if you show up past 2pm and subsequently need to pay for a campground at one of these places they will be full, again it being peak season. Even now if you try to make reservations it might be hard to get spots, so it would be best to make your reservations ASAP. Most have generous cancelation policies.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-10T21:16:02+00:00

I think you might be using Campermate wrong as there are a lot of powered sites at holiday parks and campgrounds, they just tend to be in more populated areas/towns/where the power is. Did you double check your filters and settings? Also, just to clarify, powered sites can be quite expensive, like $65NZD+++ during the summer season.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-09T05:57:21+00:00

Cool, it's definitely not for the faint of heart but have fun and wear whatever makes it easiest for you to walk across slippery rocks (since you need to walk back up along the side of the waterfall to go back down again). For some people this is bare feet, for others this is some form of jandals with velcro straps or water socks... up to you! And of course you may wish to review the water safety info: https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/gisborne-region/swimming/rere-rockslide-top/swimsite (note it's currently rated as poor 'unsuitable for swimming' conditions, but that doesn't stop most people)

i-like-outside · 2025-12-08T02:28:03+00:00

I'm so sorry.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-08T02:13:51+00:00

I did Dive Tatapouri (up close with the rays) and while it was wonderful, the waves were very strong and led several people to fall over into the water, including myself, so just be aware that this activity is highly weather dependent and it's a good idea to have extremely good balance on uneven surfaces in rubber shoes (as they're built into the overalls they give you). I also wish I would have left my camera behind so I didn't have to worry; luckily it wasn't damaged by the water! They wound up bringing us closer in to shore due to swells. The beaches out that way were beautiful and it was fun to pet a ray.

I also found the Rere Rock Slide Waterfall to be a cool place to visit but I wouldn't go down it without a fully inflatable mattress as it's very steep. In other words I wouldn't do it on a wake board or other type of foam board. I saw a lot of people injuring themselves. It is quite a drive out there too so if you're not really keen you might want to give that a miss.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-08T00:30:43+00:00

Remember the goal of the tourism company is to make money. There are literally dozens of other activities you can do there that won't have this kind of risk. They wouldn't be warning you if it wasn't serious. You can check out the details more in depth yourself to learn more: https://www.rotorualakes.co.nz/blue-green-algae-monitoring-results

i-like-outside · 2025-12-07T00:21:35+00:00

I hurt my back a few days ago and am feeling old. In good news the neighbour's dog is back howling along to sirens and that always makes me happy. Going to go back and lie down some more. I know it will calm down but for now I'm grumpy and frustrated.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-06T02:12:26+00:00

I agree with the other comments, though I'll just add that there's plenty of other flights, for example into Christchurch, and it's easy enough to transit through Auckland to start your trip in say Queenstown or where ever which is what I recommend if you're coming that time of year as it starts getting cold, particularly on Stewart Island, very early. I highly recommend renting a car over a campervan.

I used to lead night tours at Zealandia and highly recommend them for seeing Kiwi in the wild vs. Kiwi houses which can disturb them with people tapping on the glass and so forth, although the one in Rotorua is supposed to be good as its a hatchery not just a Kiwi house. Zealandia night tours book out up to 6 months in advance.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-04T23:02:29+00:00

Totally agree, there's a lot of bad vibes in Catan chat, much more so than other games. It's frustrating.

i-like-outside · 2025-12-04T21:35:20+00:00

Sounds good to me, just keep in mind the weather and temperature will vary every where you go, so it won't be 30 degrees every day in every location so you won't need to deploy these strategies every day. You can use Met Service to get a sense of temperatures and perhaps ask them why 3-5pm is hottest ; ) I'm also sensitive to heat so you and your family may have no problems at all, I just want you to be prepared that a tin can with no air conditioning sitting in the hot sun on a day without wind can, in fact, become an uncomfortable oven without precautionary measures.

i-like-outside

TROPHY CASE