Moin Moin from beautiful Dublin! Today I want to tell you about the challenges I faced while trying to book a campervan for New Zealand.

The Backstory

Now that I know I have 20 days to travel from Auckland to Christchurch, I started looking for suitable transportation. I quickly decided on a campervan, but specifically one with a green "self-containment" sticker. Only vehicles with a sewage tank and toilet get this sticker, and you need it to stay at most free camping sites.

My plan was to pick up the van two days after arriving in Auckland, giving me time to recover from jet lag. Then I'd return it in Christchurch on the morning before my flight to Sydney.

When Plans Meet Reality

That was the plan, anyway. Turning it into an actual booking proved a bit more challenging than expected. My travel companion Sam had given me a link to a company called Wendekreisen, where she'd booked her motorhome. After browsing their site for a while, I decided I wanted to book with them too. I chose their "Budget 2 Berth" model and submitted an inquiry with my dates.

The next day, they replied saying everything was fine except for one small detail - they could only offer me the van for a Christchurch to Auckland journey. That wouldn't work for me at all because of my flight schedule.

I explained this to their customer service and asked if they had any other vehicles available. While waiting for their response, I stumbled across www.rentacampervan.co.nz - a website that compares prices from various New Zealand motorhome rental companies. They offered the exact same vehicles, plus a 10% discount on the rental price. They also had 24/7 online chat support, which would prove very helpful later.

The next day, Wendekreisen got back to me offering a different van. It was even NZ$6 cheaper per day and could accommodate an extra person. The catch? I could only rent it for 15 days, from Sunday, October 14th to Sunday, October 28th, 2012.

I did the math: that meant three nights in Auckland before picking up the van, and another three nights in Christchurch after returning it. That would work - I could explore those areas on foot, by bus, or with Sam.

But then I noticed another issue. The van's description didn't mention anything about a "self-containment" sticker. I was about to email them about this when I remembered the other website offered the same van and had live chat support. "Maybe they can help me faster," I thought. Indeed, their customer service was excellent. They explained that while this particular van didn't have the sticker yet, it would get one on October 1st - well before my pickup date of October 14th.

Making the Booking

Now that the sticker issue was resolved, I proceeded with the booking. Given the lower price and shorter rental period, I decided to splurge on their comprehensive insurance package. This turned out to be a great decision - it included a GPS, multimedia center, and toilet at no extra cost.

On the final booking page, I double-checked everything - pickup location, drop-off location, my personal details, and banking information - before submitting. I promptly received a booking confirmation email, but when I glanced over it, I got a shock: both the pickup and return locations were listed as Auckland! Fortunately, I still had the customer service chat window open. I explained the problem, and they immediately asked me to reply to the confirmation email describing the issue. Within minutes, they messaged me saying they'd received my email and would change the booking. I just needed to wait until the next business day for the updated confirmation.

All's Well That Ends (Almost) Well

Three days later, on Monday morning, I finally received the updated booking confirmation with the correct return location. There was a small typo in my first name, but that's not a big deal - it's not like it's an airline ticket. Everything works out if you just have a little patience.

So here are the final details for my campervan booking:
Vehicle: Budget 2+1 Berth
Pickup: October 14, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand
Return: October 28, 2012 in Christchurch, New Zealand

P.S.

I wanted to show you photos of the van, but I'm still waiting to hear back from the website owner about whether that would be okay. If you'd like to see what the van looks like, you can check it out directly on their website.

Until next time,
Your Basti