Blog 102 Motorhome Travel Stories - We Love New Zealand (NZ)

Keef Hellinger
Nov 13, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Feb 20

By Keef and Annie Hellinger, Jul 15 2016 02:36PM originally

Best Travel Blogs Updated KeefH Web Designs, February 20th, 2026, 8.55 AM

Motorhome Travel Stories: A New Zealand Retrospective

There’s something irresistible about returning to a place that has already captured your heart, and few destinations inspire repeat adventures quite like New Zealand. Our motorhome travel stories across both the North and South Islands have become a cherished thread in our lives—woven through three major trips spanning 2007/8, 2013, and 2017. Each journey brought its own rhythm, its own discoveries, and its own reminder that New Zealand is a country best experienced slowly, with the freedom to stop wherever the landscape demands your attention.

Our earliest adventure was a 55‑day odyssey under canvas, mixing campsites with the occasional motel and car travel. Back then, tenting felt like part of the magic—waking to birdsong, cooking outdoors, and feeling the cool night air settle around us. But as the years passed, we embraced the comfort and convenience of a hired Britz motorhome, and that shift opened up a whole new chapter in our motorhome travel stories. With everything we needed on board, we could chase the horizon without worrying about where we’d sleep next.

New Zealand rewards that kind of spontaneity. One day you’re winding through the lush forests of the North Island; the next, you’re parked beside a turquoise bay on the South Island, watching the sun melt into the sea. Places like Abel Tasman National Park, with its iconic Split Apple Rock, became more than stops on a map—they became memories we returned to again and again. Each revisit revealed something new: a different walking track, a new café, a campsite we hadn’t noticed before.

What makes these motorhome travel stories so enduring isn’t just the scenery, though New Zealand has that in abundance. It’s the sense of connection—to the land, to the people we met along the way, and to each other. Travelling by motorhome gave us the luxury of time: time to linger, time to explore, time to revisit old favourites and discover new ones.

Looking back now, these journeys feel like chapters in a larger story—one shaped by curiosity, friendship, family, and the joy of being on the road. And if there’s one thing our New Zealand adventures have taught us, it’s that the best motorhome travel stories are the ones you keep adding to, year after year.

We have now been to North Island three times and South Island twice on our 2007/8, 2013 and 2017 trips. We camped under canvas in 2007/8 for 55 days plus used motels / car but are probably a little too old now for tenting so in 2013 & 2017 used a Britz hired motorhome.

If you would like to see more click below

2007/8

2013

2017