Mighty Travel Blog

Laurie Winter goes on a South Island campervan roadtrip, chasing the weather in a Mighty Camper for the best photography locations

Photographer Kieran Tunbridge captured the South Island of New Zealand in all its rugged, isolated beauty. Here are some of the best shots from his travels.

Aussie-based business-owner Pat Silk visited New Zealand's South Island to photograph his clothing range Found Clothing Co. They picked one of the best backdrops on the planet!

New Zealand was an inspiration for photographer Kieran Tunbridge, who visited the country from the Sunshine Coast earlier this year. Check out his adventure and the incredible photos here.

Creators of Found Clothing, Pat Silk and his girlfriend Erin explore New Zealand’s South Island in spring. Here’s a bit about what they saw each day!

You're never far from the coast in New Zealand, which means there are plenty of charming little bays and unbeatable surf beaches just waiting for you. Here are 10 of the best beaches in New Zealand.

Home of the bungy, New Zealand is an adventure-seeker's paradise. We've created the ultimate list of 10 campervan experiences you won't want to miss out on!

THE VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED.

– Thanks for voting + wish us luck!​​​​ ​

If you love seafood and especially Scallops – this is an event you should not miss!

Whitianga Scallop Festival is one of the most popular seafood events in New Zealand - with over 60 food and wine stands.

​This winter don’t sit inside moping about the weather. Quell those winter blues, grab your favourite hiking boots, skis, snow-board, or even a bikini and check out these epic views you can only enjoy in winter!

Have you got your Summer sorted? Enter the competition now and be in to WIN a 7 Day camper trip in brand new Summer Fleet!​

​Spending Christmas in New Zealand? From Auckland to Queenstown, there are plenty of things to do in both the North & South Island over the festive season.

​New Zealand has one of the most unique road networks in the world. Rather than four lane super-highways, New Zealand has lush green countryside on each side of the highway, sealed roads nested in the side of steep mountains and clear views of a pea-green ocean as you meander along the coast. Remember, you are on holiday so relax, enjoy the slower pace!

​Sure enough, if you’re planning on doing some travelling around Australia and New Zealand, you’re likely to choose NZ for the stunning scenery, the wild activities and maybe a spot of hobbit-spotting, and then Australia is your go-to for surfing.

​Join in the hunt with this #mightybigmystery – let’s spread this story far and wide.

​All of these activities are only a few hours out of Auckland so why not enjoy a winter getaway this year? Grab a friend (or two), book a camper and get exploring! 

​During April, take a photo of your mighty (toy) camper, post it on facebook, twitter or Instagram using #MightyCamper and be in to win $500!

The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup New ZEaland 2015 - game times range from family-friendly afternoon kick offs to atmospheric evening games, so in between cheering on your favourite team, you can kick back and relax in your campervan not too far from the stadium.

Mighty campers has put together a World Cup Cricket Camping Survival Guide. Below we have outlined all the basic information you need to safely plan, camp and watch this coming summer’s epic itinerary of cricket.

​The surf town of Raglan is located on the North Island's West Coast, two hours south of Auckland. Many of the locals are truly 'living the dream', in and around the water all day everyday. Here's a few tips on how to make the most of a day in their piece of paradise...

The Golden Backpack Awards are the original and most established awards dedicated to the independent travel sector, rewarding those companies who work hardest to make backpacking around Australia and New Zealand that extra bit special.

​The North Island's west coast boasts plenty of good surf spots, including Piha and Muriwai near Auckland – the starting point for this 1200km or so Mighty Campervan road trip, for which you should allow 7–10 days

​Experience summer on the road from Christchurch to Queenstown.

​One of NZ's iconic scenic drives, the Pacific Coast Highway traces the North Island's east coast from Auckland to Napier. This itinerary heads as far as Gisborne, then loops back to Auckland for a salt-tinged trip taking a week or so (around 1200km/16 hou

​If you find yourself trembling with excitement each winter as you think about making fresh tracks in pristine powder, then it’s time to book a trip to New Zealand’s Coronet Peak and The Remarkables ski fields.

​Snow-capped mountains, tumbling rivers, empty beaches – you'd be forgiven for thinking New Zealand is 100% Pure majestic beauty. And for the most part, it is. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll discover some dark and freaky stuff lying just under the surface. A Mighty Camper road trip from Auckland to Rotorua is a great way to discover it.

​Running nearly the whole length of the South Island, the Southern Alps are never more stunning when liberally dusted with a coating of snow. Keep their peaks in your sights on this road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown, which dishes up bucket-loads of amazing scenery as well as opportunities to ski New Zealand.

​​Ask any Kiwi to choose between stomping the ski fields at Queenstown or at Wanaka and they will pick the later every time. Why? Because the resort town, nestled on the shores of Lake Wanaka, offers some of the South Island’s best skiing without the crowds and the glitzy commercial price tag.

​As far as road trips go, Christchurch to Kaikoura is up there with New Zealand’s best. Not only insanely scenic, it packs in plenty of activities, from wine tasting to whale watching.

If you’re looking to shred some powder by day and then carve up the dance floor with your sweet, free-styling moves by night; then grab your best mates and a Mighty campervan for a wild winter night of high-octane fun at New Zealand’s most epic snow party – the Ohakune Mardi Gras.

Competition closes on the 5th of June 2014. ENTER NOW

It’s that time of year again when the wild and wacky emerge from the woodwork in their birdman costumes and snowboards and make their way to adventure capital of the world for New Zealand’s most anticipated festival – the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.

​Like Mighty Cars & Campers below, fill out the form and you will be in the running to WIN a 5 Day road trip in New Zealand! The prize includes complimentary 5 day hire of our awesome Jackpot Camper and a pass for 2 to Waitomo Glowworm Caves & Ruakuri Cave for you and a mate.

​Like Mighty Cars & Campers below, fill out the form and you will be in the running to WIN a 5 Day road trip in New Zealand! The prize includes complimentary 5 day hire of our awesome Jackpot Camper and a pass for 2 to Waitomo Glowworm Caves & Ruakuri Cave for you and a mate.

​Located east of Whangarei, the Tutukaka Coast is a must see area. Amazingly beautiful beaches, stunning sunsets and the town is a getaway to the world-renowned Poor Knights Islands marine reserve. 

​Recently the cool band Avalanche City took a Mighty Camper on tour around New Zealand! Dave talks to us about his experience with the awesome Mighty Double Up Camper and shares some great tips about where to go while in New Zealand!

​Our super cool Mighty Jackpot Camper has been selected as a finalist for the Design Institute awards - New Zealand’s top design awards!

​​Congratulations Mick Flanning on winning the QuikPro France 2013. As Quiksilver puts it "Pumping barrels, heavy shore breaks, insane crowds, sick parties... here's a few things going through everyone's mind when you mention the Quiksilver Pro France! " 

Our Mighty Jackpot campervan is heading off on her “gap year” to see Europe!

Travelling half the world our compact Jackpot campervan leaves Melbourne and will take in the sights of Sydney, Adelaide, Singapore, Colombo, Malta, Genoa arriving in Hamburg around the 20th May.

Our December winner of the Mighty Win Your Trip back was Miriam. Miriam and crew arrived in Auckland and flew to Christchurch, then crossed to Greymouth by train in TranzAlpine Kiwi rail. They continued their journey by bus to Queenstown where they picked up their Mighty campervan – a Mighty Deuce!

Miriam also did the Milford Track for four days and later they toured the country along the coast from South Island to Auckland.

Congrats to our November Mighty Win Your Trip Back winner – Tyler!

Tyler is visiting New Zealand from the USA and has won the cost of his trip back. Look how stoked he is!

This was Tyler’s 2nd hire with us in New Zealand in a Mighty campervan. This leg of his trip is in a Mighty Highball, perfect for two.

Once a month a Mighty customer with a confirmed booking made in the prior month will be randomly selected to be the winner of "Win Your Trip Back"

As the weather warms up, the snow bunnies in us are already looking forward the 2013 snow season – and sweet campervan deals!

The Mighty crew were stoked earlier this year when Will Jackways – NZ snowboarding legend took away a Mighty Double Up on a South Island road trip with his partner Abby Lockhart, also a competitive snowboarder.

Imagine, winning the cost of your camper back simply because you've travelled with Mighty Campers!

We love getting people out and about exploring our beautiful country and so far Jonathan (August), Julie & Jack (September) and Nicola (October) have all got their money back after experiencing the amazing New Zealand countryside or Aussie outback.

​If you've been travelling in Australia or New Zealand this year, then your votes can count in helping TNT crown the winners of this year's Golden Backpack Awards 2012. The Go ...

Mighty is stoked to be a part of the inaugural Burton High Fives.

This invite-only global snowboarding competition combines traditional halfpipe and slopestyle events with off-snow team challenges to create a fun summertime snowboarding event in New Zealand.

​I'm going to put it straight out there, Northland looks an awful lot like Scotland; beautiful mountains meet fine sandy beaches, small towns give way to hidden treasures and the roads are basically crap. However, there are some distinctly Kiwi characteristics - although the weather is still unpredictable, it tends to err the side of hot rather that Baltically cold.

​It's not possible, is it? Surely he's not going to try and compress the entire rest of the North Island into a week? And then one blog post?!

Hell yes I am. Look, there's so much to be said about the North Island that it actually makes it easier to generalise. What a blinding week this was. Charity cinema trips, cheese, roast dinners, sheep mustering, food festivals, comedy clubs - let's face it, you're looking at half a country here. More than half, population wise.

​Having lived in Auckland for nearly 8 months, its been pretty astonishing how little I did up until including it on my itinerary. I say itinerary, but what I of course mean is Twitter feed. It almost feels like cheating that I spent almost the entire week in real beds instead of in the van.

​It's quite hard to describe the Coromandel other than it looks like a subtropical version of Scotland. Fine by me, I love Scotland, apart from the weather. Perfect, some might say.

Things are very far apart in the Coromandel, although oddly not entirely timewise.

​On Tuesday we found this random dude tweeting about how he was going to adventure around New Zealand in a campervan and rely on the locals/ex travellers/bored people sitting on the sofa browsing...well...the internet, to tell him where to go and what to see.

​This New Year’s Eve see’s the first ever Earthtonz New Year’s Eve Music Festival in Queenstown!

Kicking off on the 30th December through to 1st January, Earthtonz will play host to 9 major international artists and 9 kiwi bands, culminating into over 30 hours of music and camping at the beautiful Gibbston Valley Winery just outside Queenstown.

​What a week, and what a climax to the tournament! The action on the pitch has been set against an incredible party atmosphere off it.

After dusting off the cobwebs from the previous weekend, we drove north to the Bay of Islands. Swapping the comfort of our campervan for a yacht for a few days' sailing, we explored the wonderful islands from another mobile home. We were treated to decent weather and two separate sightings of Killer Whales, majestic creatures who are apparently rare to see, especially so close up.

​This week the cloud and rain moved in, both literally and metaphorically. We drove north directly from Taupo to Auckland in time for the weekend’s big quarter-finals, which we had tickets to see. After witnessing the disappointing England loss first hand, we enjoyed being a neutral as New Zealand survived a scare to beat Argentina.

​What a week. With the backdrop of England narrowly beating Scotland and making it through to the knockout stages, we made our way up the west coast of South Island en route to the North Island for the final weeks of our trip.

​This week James and his friends from therugbyblog.co.uk took some time out from cheering on their team to enjoy some of the best that Queenstown has to offer. See the highlights here.

​The campervan is proving an excellent way to see the country and we’re becoming fast attached to our very comfortable home.

​After watching a slightly turgid England performance against Argentina at the new Otago Stadium, we drove from Dunedin to Queenstown to have some midweek adrenaline-fuelled fun, in the way that only this town can provide.

​It wasn't just the World Cup that kicked off this week, our Backpacker Campervan tour also got underway.

We'll be producing a weekly diary, with photos and videos thrown in, so follow us for the ride and keep an eye out for further updates!

Go to the online form here and vote “Backpacker” under the National section for both “Best car/camper rental company (Aus)” and “Best car/camper rental company (NZ).”

​We’ve come up with our fave 10 GREAT New Zealand Things to see & do…Some of them are Tongariro Crossing; Hot Water Beach; Waitomo ; Kaikoura! Find out the rest here!

​Winter starts here! There is plenty to get excited about as the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party, the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival gets into it from June 24th to July 3rd. The Festival celebrates the beginning of winter with a jam packed 10 day programme featuring some hilarious, possibly outrageous and definitely unique Queenstown events

​The thrill and excitement of V8 Supercar racing will rock New Zealand in 2011 when the new-look ITM 400 Hamilton comes to town.

V8 Supercars is bringing its hugely successful Rock ‘n’ Race format to Hamilton, offering fans an unforgettable day and night entertainment experience. When the on-track action cools off, leading international music acts ZZ Top and Good Charlotte will fire up after dark.

​Beer, Food, Music, Summer and Good Times with Great Mates. The Beer Festival celebrates its 5th birthday and returns to Auckland in 2011 with another great lineup

​The iconic Hokitika Wildfoods Festival is World famous for it's extreme culinary experience.

The Wildfoods Festival is a delicious experience that celebrates New Zealand's indigenous food and lets the festival goer get a 'wild' experience that they will never forget.

All this in the beauty of the Wild West Coast with its rugged coastline and bush - this has to be the festival to go to, to round off the Summer months.

​DOC campsites are unique in New Zealand. Their core focus on conservation and sustainability means that not only will you have access to their network of over 250 campsites located in some of New Zealand’s most unique locations, but you will also be ensuring that your impact on the environment is kept to a bare minimum. DOC campsite passes are available from our branches when you check out your campervan rental.

​Claire and Jamie recently went on a campervan hire road trip along the beautiful Kaikoura Coast a couple of hours north of Christchurch...

​The Mighty crew have taken the initiative and sponsored the ever popular AA 101 Must-Do’s For Kiwi’s revote. In this round, AA have broken down core kiwi experiences with the intention of creating a unique 101 list by category.

​This week our travellers ventured north of Christchurch to catch some waves at Gore Bay, and to enjoy the sunshine with some fried eggs for brekkie in their Backpacker Wanderer of course!

​Check out this vid! Thanks to the boys from Diaries Downunder, Pooch, Nick Hyne, Nick Brown, Ben Comber and Jordan Rehrer! Looks like you had a blast on your roadie in your backpacker campervans from Queenstown to Mt Hutt!

​It’s only a year out until next years World Cup down here in Aoteroa, New Zealand. You can start booking your flights and planning for one heck of a party down in our little corner of the globe!!!

We’ve complied a bit of cheat sheet for you to get your research on the way. There’s information on all the stadiums, nearby pubs, holiday parks, activities and some fun rugby stats.

We hope you enjoy!

​This week our intrepid snowboarders set off for Mt Cheeseman, courtesy of the Chill Multi mountain lift pass.  This mountain has a friendly relaxed culture that promotes a fun, family environment in an alpine setting.

Cheeseman is the second closest ski area to Christchurch, being just a 90 minute drive away. The ski area is a sunny east to south east basin with open rolling terrain.

​If you want an un-crowded, relaxed atmosphere that offers freedom and variety of skiing terrain in the South Island of New Zealand, this is the place!! 

​This winter we’re sending some intrepid snowboarders out in our various backpacker vehicles to check out the Chill Mountains.  Every fortnight we’ll be uploading a different video showing their adventures up the different ski fields.

​It’s voting season again for the annual Golden Backpack Awards 2010! This year is more exciting than ever with two new awards announced under the National category!!!

Best car/camper rental company (Aus) Best car/camper rental company (NZ)

​Every year art lovers flock to the TSB Bank Arena for the annual Art Show in Wellington.  It's not only a place to appreciate and soak up some serious kiwiana culture, but you can also buy some of these original pieces.

The exhibition showcases artwork of all techniques, genres and styles from hundreds of NZ artists, and has been going since 2004. 

​This popular event was initially thought up by a couple of keen locals over a few beers and is now coming into its fourth year. It is a typically crazy kiwi event, whereby people attach mad flying machines to their bodies and hurl themselves off the Russell wharf.

​Kia ora to all you rugby fans out there! At backpacker, we’re starting a regular blog feature on the upcoming tournament.

There’s gonna be information about each team, profiles on the regions they’ll be playing in, festival event guides and an awesome cheat sheet telling you the best pub spots close to each stadium, where to get your merchandise and lets not forget the all important campgrounds

Bluff is often considered New Zealand’s oldest permanently settled European town, although hotly contested with Kerikeri in Northland.

The port town was established due to the lucrative flax trade in 1823/24. The area itself was not formerly settled by Maori. Bluff is generally referred to as New Zealand’s southern most town. The Stirling Point Signpost attracts travellers from all over the globe for photos of the sign that shows the distance from Bluff to a variety of major centres and the South Pole.

​One of the most breathtaking countries in the world, the intrepid traveller will find the north and south islands of New Zealand offer unparalleled natural beauty, high adventure, and exceptional quality food and wine.

With stunning, rugged mountains and excellent ski fields, ancient forests, huge waterfalls, glaciers, magical pristine beaches and an abundance of unique wildlife New Zealand has an unmatchable magic

Queenstown Winter Festival is 10 days of celebrating the local culture with international and local music, comedy and mayhem.  And let’s not forget the parties, craft markets, fireworks, mardi gras and heaps of mountain action.

Snow festivities include night skiing, mountain bike riding in the snow and the Speights Dog Derby, when local farmers race their pooches haphazardly down a hill. That is sure to be a sight

​ANZAC Day in New Zealand’s official day of remembrance. It has been a recognised holiday since 1916. It commemorates the failed landing in to Gallipoli, in modern Turkey, by the ANZAC’s (Australia New Zealand Army Corp) that caused the death of 2,700 New Zealanders that commenced on 25 April 2010.

The holiday play’s an important part in the creation of a New Zealand national identity. It marks the initial movement away from traditional colonial thinking by European settlers, to a solidified, shared regional bond between New Zealanders and our Australian neighbours

​The Coromandel is believed to have been first settled by Maori around 900A.D. (approximately). Throughout the region there are numerous examples of historical palisaded pa’s (hand terraced hills used historically as fortresses to defend against attacks from foreign tribes). The area was sited by Captain Cook in 1769, and settled by Europeans from the 1830s. Its main industries involved Kauri milling and gold mining, the latter still practiced to date.

This May, the Peninsular is celebrating its diversity during the annual Homegrown Coromandel festival. The festival features a variety of arts, music, and food events throughout the month.

​The alpine township of Wanaka, sits on the shores of our 4th largest lake of the same name. The town name comes from the Maori word “Oanaka” which means “The Place of Anaka” who was an ancestral chief in the area. When discovered by Europeans in the mid 19th century, it was originally named it Pembroke. It was renamed to Wanaka in 1940.

​Dunedin, New Zealand is famous for its inherently Scottish flavour. The name itself means “Edinburgh of the South,” there’s a giant sculpture of Robbie Burns in the Octagon (the uniquely shaped town square), and the local Super 14 Rugby team are called “The Highlander’s.”

So… It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, like Edinburgh, Dunedin too has a pretty top notch Fringe Festival.

​Kia ora and welcome to our inaugural BLOG on our whiz bang new website.

If you’ve never visited our site before, or you’ve come back for another squiz, check out our cutting edge route planner. We’ve designed this with you in mind, so you can sus’ out a recommended driving route, while also getting information about nearby camping sites, dump stations, scenic highlights and activities/attractions all pin pointed on a google map. Pretty cool huh?

New Zealand is an astronomer's playground. To celebrate all things that sparkle in the night we've compiled 10 of our favourite photos showcasing New Zealand skies, all of which you can experience on a mighty South Island road trip.