RV Kiwis is about our travels in our motorhome around New Zealand. We are George and Debbie.
Our RV journey began in 2019. George had intended to retire in the middle of that year and we had planned to travel extensively overseas. When Debbie’s Dad became ill we cancelled all our bookings so that we could spend time with him. George then took on another work contract and in mid-August of the same year Debbie broke her ankle so badly, she was laid up in bed for months. During recovery, Debbie picked up a Motorhome & Caravanner magazine whilst at a physio appointment and this initiated joint interest in motorhome travel. George had not extensively travelled in New Zealand and the South Island in particular, and was not averse to to the idea of motorhoming, despite no previous experience. Debbie had completed a European OE (overseas experience) in a combi-van, some 30 years earlier and the wonderful memories of this trip were ever recurring. Neither of us were concerned about living in the small space, as for around 12 years we had a ‘permanent’ caravan and awning in a camping ground in Mangawhai. This was an enjoyable experience for ourselves and our children.
After reading in the magazine that there was to be a Motorhome show on in Auckland in March 2020, we attended that eagerly and it galvanised our interest in purchasing a motorhome. Within two weeks of the motorhome show we went into the first Covid-19 lockdown and travel anywhere became a whole different challenge. It didn’t take long to realise that international travel may well be limited for some time, so we used the available time over the 4-week lockdown to research motorhomes in more detail. We had largely defined our criteria and as soon as we were able to we visited dealerships in Auckland and quickly decided which brand and model we wanted. By the end of May we had placed a deposit on a brand new 2020 model Roller Team T-Line 740 and took possession on the 5th June 2020.
Unfortunately, because of Covid-19, George’s contract had to be extended until the end of August. As a result our first few trips were close to home, but even these gave us a real feel for the sense of freedom and the joy of waking up somewhere different everyday. We had some stifled attempts at other excursions that were unfortunately brought to an abrupt halt by untimely further lockdowns.
Even though George had retired Debbie still had her online jewellery supplies business, but was fortunate initially in having good friends attend to and dispatch orders for her. This enabled us to make some longer trips toward the end of the year when George had fully retired. We knew this would never be a permanent solution, so at the appropriate time Debbie contacted those she thought would be interested in purchasing her business. In April 2021 this led to a successful sale and handover of the business to the new owners from Christchurch. Part of the sale agreement was delivery of stock to their premises, with a few weeks of training following that. Once that process was completed we would be able to travel around freely. Therefore our longest and most geographically extensive trip so far involved bringing the stock to Christchurch and completing the necessary training with the new owners. Since we were in the South Island it was only logical to begin our first full unencumbered trip, with our lives now transformed into full and free RVers (retired vacationers!).
Being on the road and retired we were certain we would have time to further our hobbies and interests that got neglected or completely unexplored in the frenzied days of child raising, home ownership and self employment. However a motorhome is not capable of housing or powering large pieces of equipment (unless we wanted to drag a trailer behind us, which we didn’t) so our hobbies had to be limited. For George it was pretty simple – the acoustic guitar and songwriting book would suffice. The drum set, electric guitars/amplifier, sound desk and powered speakers would have to stay home! There is great inspiration to be had for new songs on the road; from the history unfolded in the numerous museums, historical buildings and sites of interest; the geography, geology and natural features explored; the climatic extremes encountered; the art galleries and outlets displaying the sublime to the outrageous; and the people you meet and/or observe.
Debbie had to be very restrained too. A photographer of some ability though (refer to the ‘Art’ section) and travelling in this beautiful country, she would need some good equipment and brought along two cameras, a number of lenses and a tripod. Debbie has had too many craft related interests to list here, but limited herself to a miniature pottery wheel and some clay and a large container of ‘small tools’ that she needed for the training of the new business owners. As expected though she was to pick up new hobbies along the way (refer to the Blog!).
We also had our hybrid E-bikes, which are a basic model for both road and ‘easy’ off road trails. We are not mountain bikers or dedicated cyclists historically, but do really enjoy riding the amazing bike trails that have been constructed around this country. We weren’t sure though how much use they might get in a South Island winter. We had previously done some trails that bordered on grade 3 in places, but this was quite challenging for the bikes …. or was it the riders! Still they were essential equipment in our view.
So why the Website? To make ourselves famous of course, isn’t that why everyone goes public on this modern techno medium?! Debbie is the quintessential and not to be underestimated do-it -yourselfer and had created websites previously. She figured that this would be the ideal way to record our travels both for ourselves and for the family, but also to provide some useful information for fellow travellers or the public at large. Lets be clear on one thing – we are not trying to sell anything!
Our real mission though is to inspire others, particularly those older and/or retired. We have met many people questioning whether travelling in a motorhome or caravan is for them. Although we love the experience we accept not everyone will, and not everyone can travel in this way. However there are many who have not considered this type of lifestyle and are afraid to move from their ‘comfort zone’ to something a little more adventurous and unstructured. There are lonely people existing on routine who don’t realise the interaction and comradery this exists between us travellers. You don’t have to look at the same view out of your window every day. We meet those who live permanently in their mobile homes and do so on meagre means, enjoying the luxury of seeing beautiful NZ rather then dreaming about it.
We meet many people and listen avidly to their engaging life stories. We share problems and solutions, knowledge and interests through personal interaction. Quite simply we only have one shot at life. While we are living, breathing and able we must continue to extend ourselves, to learn new skills or improve existing ones. Aging is inevitable but we should never feel too old to try laugh, to sing, to lie in long grass under a clear blue sky, to dance badly and to smell the outdoors.
The opinions expressed are ours and in no way represent some general consensus. Ultimately we, and hopefully our family down through the generations can look back on this and understand where we were at this point in our lives.