Exploring New Zealand by camper van

The Los Angeles Times reports on writer Mary Engel's and her husband Nolan Hester's 19-day a camper van trip through New Zealand's South Island.

Since they'd explored much of the world by trusty VW pop-up wagons, they wound up with an orange rental for their trip.

My husband, Nolan, and I had pulled in next to a train station to make coffee in our rented Volkswagen Vanagon camper when a wiry, red-haired man ambled over and knocked on our sliding door. It was our first morning in New Zealand, and we assumed he was going to tell us we couldn't park there.

Hands in the pockets of his fleece jacket, he smiled apologetically at interrupting our breakfast, and leaned in.

"What year is it?" he asked, meaning our bright orange van (a 1982). We'd hired it the day before in Christchurch from Classic Campers, which we'd found on the Web as renting "stylish retro campervans."

It was then that we noticed an almost identical orange Vanagon across the parking lot.

Read the full story: Rolling and roaming in New Zealand