Camplify Uncovered | Zac White on chasing adventure across New Zealand

Zac White is a photographer, videographer and all-round legend from Western Australia. In October, he spent a couple of weeks campervanning through New Zealand’s North and South islands, checking out the surf, snow and trails for which the Land of the Long White Cloud is so famous. We caught up with him at the end of his trip to hear about his adventures.

First up: how was your New Zealand adventure?

It was absolutely insane. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a country I can compare New Zealand to. We were absolutely blown away by the non-stop views. We drove a lot, but it felt like we were stopping every 15 minutes to pull over and take photos. And it’s certainly a place of adventure; within a few days, we managed to fit some surfing, snowboarding and hiking in, and really explore what New Zealand has to offer.

You managed to travel through both the North Island and South Island. Which beaches did you hit up along the way?

The North Island’s beaches were amazing. We stopped at Piha on our first day and I think it was actually my favourite beach of the entire trip. The black sand is surrounded by mountain peaks and we were left in awe wherever we looked.

We then zipped across to the Coromandel and decided to opt out of the touristy Cathedral Cove – even though it’s amazing – to visit Hahei Beach instead. We went right to the end of the beach and had an amazing spot to ourselves, then took a hike to the point, which had incredible views.

“It was absolutely insane. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a country I can compare New Zealand to. We were absolutely blown away by the non-stop views.”

On the South Island, the beaches still didn’t disappoint. The West Coast Drive is just one of the most insane drives I’ve been on, but you have to be careful to keep your eyes on the road rather than the epic views. After cruising along the coast, we sent it up the famous Wharariki Beach, which is always recognised as the Windows 10 screensaver. It’s a tourist hotspot, but definitely worth it, and you may even get to hang out with some seals.

Where did you end up camping? Caravan parks or free camp spots?

There were a ridiculous amount of free beach spots to camp at, but we didn’t stay at many because we needed power to charge our gear. When we did, we just used the CamperMate app, which was so good for showing us all the free camps.

What was your van set up like?

We weren’t doing a huge amount of driving on the North Island, so a Mercedes Sprinter was perfect for zipping around in. It was big enough to stand up in and also had a shower, which was a big win.

The South Island was our bigger trip, so we wanted something a little more spacious. We opted for a van that could sleep four, which meant we could keep our bed set up the whole time instead of packing it down every morning.

How was the surfing? Did you manage to catch some waves?

We unfortunately didn’t score the best winds for surfing, but from what I’ve seen in photos and videos, New Zealand is just insane for surfing. The best surf towns, for me, were Raglan and Kaikoura, and I would love to get back there when conditions are right. Kaikoura is also known for serving up tasty fresh crayfish on the daily, which doesn’t hurt.

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