Meet Goose & Ellen, two long-term van-lifers who’ve made their passion profitable

If there’s one thing Goose & Ellen have learned over the past seven years, it’s that life should be lived on the move, whether that's on two feet or four wheels. Perpetual travellers, their van-life journey has taken them from Utah’s salt lakes to the Australian Outback and New Zealand’s breathtaking Fiordland.

We caught up with G&E in Kaikoura, where they’re now living – in a house of all things – to talk about their adventures, van life and how they’re building a passive income through Camplify. Here’s what they had to say.

What inspired you to give van life a crack?

E: We went to the States in 2016 and we’d never even heard of van life. It was our first overseas trip, and we were going to rent a car and stay in hostels, but then we came across the idea of renting a van and realised it was going to be a much cheaper option. We lived in the van for a full month and it was life-changing.

G: The best time we’d ever had.

E: We came home to a house full of stuff and nothing made sense anymore. Two months later, we bought a school bus and spent 18 months doing the conversion. We lived in it for about a year before deciding that Australia, where we were living, wasn’t for us. We wanted to move home to New Zealand, but we definitely weren’t done with the lifestyle, so we ended up buying a van as soon as we landed and spent three years living in it.

When did you start renting your van through Camplify?

G: In October 2021. We heard of Camplify when we first moved back to New Zealand, but we were getting married and had a lot of stuff on, so we didn’t do anything about it. Then it popped up again and we decided to buy a second van, specifically to rent it out on Camplify.

E: When you’re living a van lifestyle, you’re always looking for passive streams of income. Camplify was the perfect fit for us.

We were lucky because we documented the whole build, so we had an audience and people were contacting us as soon as they saw they could rent the van. We had five really great bookings that first summer.

How did the van build go?

G: We lived in our van, in a car park, while building out the second van. It took five weeks or so. Five weeks of arguments, really. It’s never smooth sailing, but it’s worth it.

E: Goose is a perfectionist.

G: I’d be watching Ellen the whole time instead of focusing on what I was supposed to be doing.

E: Nothing is ever good enough.

G: I had to learn that nothing is ever going to be perfect. We got itchy feet and wanted to get out on the road, but I had a huge list of things I wanted to do before we finished. The list still hasn’t been completed, but they were all little things that nobody else would ever notice or care about.

Has the van been popular?

G: I think we had a booking within a week.

E: We were lucky because we documented the whole build, so we had an audience and people were contacting us as soon as they saw they could rent the van. We had five really great bookings that first summer, then there was a transition period from March–June because we were moving into this house in Kaikoura. We had to turn down a lot of bookings, but from now [November] until the end of February, we’re pretty much fully booked.

G: It’s five months of solid bookings, basically. And we get about $3000 in our pocket a month after tax. It’s really a third income.

E: We bought the van cheap and it was paid off by the end of summer. Everything from that point has been profit.

How has that extra income impacted your life? What are you using the money for?

G : More vans.

E: We’ll put some of the money towards getting a second van to put on Camplify, but we’re also saving for land to build a tiny house on. It [the money] is really helping to get us to that goal.

G: It’s the next step: from van to house. We’d love to rent that out as well, and once you do the initial work, it becomes more passive income.

Do you have any advice for someone starting a van build of their own?

G : Just have a crack. There are so many tutorials. We aren’t professional builders or anything and neither of us really knew what we were doing. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You forget about it the minute you’re on the road.

E: Research everything and get stuck in. People wait for all their ducks to be in a row, but if a good van pops up, just jump on it and learn how to build it.

G: We didn’t know how to make remote work or different streams of income work, but we saved a little and bit the bullet and quit. There’s nothing like trial by fire and having to figure it out.

E: And once you’re in that world, you realise how easy it actually is.

G: Everyone is there to help. When it comes to the van-life community, nobody is snobby or above anyone else. They’re happy to help out.

You’re saying there’s no hierarchy in the van world?

G: Unless you’ve got a Mercedes Sprinter.

And how about your own adventures? Where would you be heading given the chance?

G: The Ashburton Lakes and Hakatere Conservation Park. It’s off-grid, there’s no reception, and you can park and basically step out into the water. They filmed Lord of the Rings there too, so it’s a pretty epic spot to hang out by the lake and go for a wee walk.

E: I’d be going deep into Fiordland. Stay in there for four days hopping between campgrounds and you’ll be sleeping right next to waterfalls. Go in, stay in, I reckon.

Have