New Zealand Freedom Camping — Boondocking, Kiwi Style!

Join us for a YOUTUBE PREMIERE today at 5PM Eastern! We’re RVing Down Under! Well… we were… until coronavirus hit. But we were able to enjoy most of our 5-week RV trip with our friends Tom & Caitlin before the lockdown came. With New Zealand beginning the process of easing restrictions this week, it’s a perfect time to share our NZ Freedom Camping experience!

Boondocking. Dry camping. Off-the-cord. Camping off-the-grid. There are lots of terms for RVing without hook-ups. Now you can add yet another term to the lexicon: Freedom Camping. That’s what New Zealanders call it, and we did lots of it!

We spent our time in New Zealand in a motorhome rental from Wilderness Motorhomes. It was the Alpine 4 model (Tom & Cait had the Cruise 4). Our rigs were our home-away-from-home for 5 weeks of incredible sights and scenery. We loved it, and we’ll have a video tour coming up in the weeks to come (subscribe if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss it)!

But what REALLY made the experience of RVing in New Zealand great was just how easy and accessible Freedom Camping (Boondocking) is there. The Freedom Camping Act, passed in 2011, explicitly enumerates all the rights Kiwis (and tourists) have when it comes to camping on public lands… and the result is that there are TONS of great places to explore, often away from the beaten path (just our style).

But, just like in North America, freedom comes with responsibilities. And the Kiwis take those responsibilities seriously.

With New Zealand beginning the process of easing restrictions this week, it’s a perfect time to share our NZ Freedom Camping experience. Now that there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, you can dream/plan your New Zealand Wilderness Motorhome holiday here!

And if you want help figuring out where to go exploring while in New Zealand, Wilderness Motorhomes had copies of Scott Cook’s awesome guides to NZ available for us to borrow during our rental (and they were INVALUABLE resources for finding great hikes and off-the-beaten-path sights)… but why wait until you get there? Pick up a copy now so you can be prepared!

This summer, Tom & Cait will be publishing a series of videos from our time in New Zealand, in which we’ll surely be making some cameo appearances. Since Tom is famous for his incredible cinematography, it’ll be like having our home movies created by a Hollywood producer! (thanks, Tom & Cait! ????)

Subscribe to Mortons on the Move and Tom & Cait’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss an installment!

Finally… Season Two of The RVers premieres on The Discovery Channel on May 16, 2020, just two weeks from now! That’s right, we’ve moved to Saturdays at 8 AM Eastern & Pacific, 7 AM Central & 9 AM Mountain (check your local listings, as times may vary).

In addition to Discovery, the show also airs/streams on iTunes (US, Canada, U.K. & Australia), PBS (check your local listings), Amazon Video, Google Play, YouTubeTV, and the Wild Pursuit Network in Canada. In addition, we’ve been picked up by a new network called Fun Roads TV. Hmmm…. Fun and Roads… just like RVing… a natural place for The RVers to air!

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Deborah Kerr

Monday 4th of May 2020

Wow, good information! That place looks awesome - I can't wait to see Morton's on the Move videos too!! Thanks for sharing!! more, more, more...... :)

TheRVgeeks

Thanks Deborah! NZ is amazing, and we can't wait to see what Tom & Cait put together!

Pat

Sunday 3rd of May 2020

Amazing and interesting what a lot of good information and it looks spectacular

Thanks so much Pat & Rita! It was amazing, and we wish you could have experienced it with us. Next time!

JOHN SCHRETLEN

Good video, glad I watched to the end.

Thanks John. We're glad you did, too! ????

Tim Bauer

Saturday 2nd of May 2020

One comment regarding caution if you were to freedom camp in New Zealand. Be prepared to experience a trip of one's life time and quite possibly result in any future RV experience in another location as a let down compared to freedom camping in NZ. We spent 61 days last year in New Zealand, and even today both the wife and I miss it so very much. And much credit needs to go to Wilderness. Great organization.

Wish someone had warned us of that before we went! ????

Liz

I didn't realize that I was already Freedom Camping here in New Jersey!