Getting ready for life on the road: Part Two

Previously, I posted about power, water and toileting. This post will be a bit more refined as I discuss the intricacies of staying connected, staying entertained and staying overnight.

INTERNET

Happily, plenty of other people have taken this leap before us, and so there’s already an excellent infrastructure in place for full-time van dwellers. Initially I assumed we would have to use phone data and campground Wi-Fi, but there’s a couple of providers which set you up with a modem in your van which connects to 3G and 4G networks to give you on-the-go internet. Pretty neat, huh?

The two key players in this space are Wireless Nation and Netspeed. From what I have read, they’re both pretty good and very comparable in terms of what they offer. As NZMCA members, we will probably opt for Wireless Nation, so there is an upfront cost of $299 for the modem, plus one month ($99/month for 130GB). After that, it’s just the monthly cost, and you can put it on hold any time you need. Easy.

ENTERTAINMENT

Thanks to the above, entertainment is no longer an issue. Seriously, guys - this is not exactly going to be a tough year for us in terms of comforts. We will be able to run our laptops, Dan is building a camper-ready computer so he can continue gaming on the road, and we have a tiny projector so we can watch movies.

Beyond these options, I am taking some of my long-ignored books from my bookshelf and reading my way through them. As there’s plenty of storage, I’m taking a selection of 16 books which I can swap out for others when we are back in Auckland. I’m also really looking forward to tapping into my creative side with sketching, calligraphy, creating an art journal, crochet, and quilting. Yup, the sewing machine is coming along too!

Quite aside from these pastimes, we will be exploring and adventuring! A whole year means zero time pressures, so we can turn down the back roads, or stop off at a random place. I’m pretty confident that if there are times that I am bored during this year then it’ll be due to a failure of imagination.

WHERE TO PARK

There is a wealth of information out there about freedom camping and campsites around NZ. This is not about that. I want to talk about what we are planning to do and where we will be parking during the year.

As we are not going to be working much during the year (as this is meant to be a year during which we recover and recuperate) we want to keep our costs to a minimum. This means limiting the number of nights we spend in campgrounds, as $40-60 a night soon adds up. In addition, we are bringing Kratos, our German Shepherd, with us so all places we stay need to be dog-friendly.

Happily, we are NZMCA members, so we have the immense advantage of being sent their Travel Directory every year (also available on the app and website). This contains information about every single place you can stay in a motorhome/caravan across NZ as a member. From campsites to DOC sites to POPs (park over property - where you get to park your van on another member’s property) and freedom camping options, there are plenty of places where we can stay. My personal favourite is the NZMCA parks, as all but one are dog-friendly and you’re with other members who are always up for a good yarn.

If we do stay in freedom locations, particularly urban ones, we always make sure we lock the doors from inside. Although I travel with a large, hairy dog and an even larger, hairier man, it pays to be safe. Also, if any place does start to get a bit weird, we can easily access the cab from the living area, so we can easily drive off if needed. This has never happened to us before, and I don’t anticipate it will, but knowing in advance what you might do in these situations is helpful.