Finding free and cheap accommodation.
- Department of Conservation (DOC) campsites - Cost varies between free and $8 per night - or more. I prefer to use DOC campsites as they're right in nature, and my money goes to a good cause. Unfortunately some parts of NZ don't have any DOC campsites. The website includes important information such as the ranger/warden's phone number, whether you need to prebook, gate opening times (though you can usually climb over it), whether there is a toilet, water, etc. Be aware that campsites usually take cash, so it pays to have the right denominations ($1, $2, $5).
- Warmshowers - cheap yearly membership fee, then free to stay with cycle-friendly locals offering a bed for a night or more, and sometimes a shower and dinner/breakfast. I've used this successfully a couple of times, but in general it requires too much forward planning and staying put to work for me. Also, historically there were lots of dud listingx, from people who wanted to be hosted but not to actually host themselves.
- The Housesitting Company, TrustedHousesitters etc - the annual membership can be pretty expensive, but it's useful for longer stays, or longer trips through well populated places. I do a lot of paid and private housesitting, and have used housesits as recovery bases at the other end of North-South Island tours.
- Couchsurfing - this is supposedly an effective way to travel for cheap. I tried to use Couchsurfing in Tokyo, but I didn't get any bites. I think you have to work on your profile to be seen as a cool/attractive guest.
- Facebook - Some people swear by Facebook as a way to exploit their extended social network for free accommodation options as they approach their next destination. Personally I prefer to stay relatively anonymous when I travel.
- Greater Wellington Regional Council campsites - Example of a website listing all campsites maintained by a regional council, rather than by DOC (though standards and pricing are comparable).
- MapOut - this is my main navigation app. Like many other map apps, it has a search function that allows me to search for e.g. 'campsite'. After locating a campsite, I generally Google it to see if it's open to the public, suitable for tents, whether I need to pre-book etc.
- Rankers Camping NZ - useful for finding local campsites and reading reviews of them, though it's mostly targetted at the VanLife crowd.
- Google Maps - if you're in a jam, Google Maps' satellite view can help you find green or uninhabited spaces, where you might be able to hide yourself away for the night
- Great Rides - there are cheap or free campsites on the most popular tourist rides. For example, there are 3 free campsites on the Rimutaka Rail Trail.
Not my first choice, as they can be busy and expensive, and infected with the sounds of civilisation that I try to get away from on tour. However you might get a discount, quieter night, or better pitch in the off-season.
Freedom Camping is permitted in some places in New Zealand and is free of charge. However a public backlash is building, partly due to the destruction of overly popular destinations, and partly because business owners feel entitled to tourists' money. As a result many councils interpret Freedom Camping in the vehicular sense, whereupon you must have a toilet on board your vehicle and the all-important certificate of self-containment in order to be worthy of a spot. Personally, as someone who has never driven and never will, I find this criteria deeply discriminatory.
- Freedom Camping - includes links to best practice and the camping act.
Probably a bit controversial, but as Freedom Camping excludes cycling tent campers for the most part, it is an option if you're off the beaten track and/or willing to go undercover. For me, it's a second to last resort, before I approach a farmer or local for help. In New Zealand, I've pitched up off the side of the road, round the back of public domains, on grassed car parks, in ungated paddocks and in earthquake damaged huts. In countries where land is seen as a shared resource, I've camped in all sorts of places.
The key with stealth camping is to go in late and get out early, thereby avoiding exercise junkies, dog walkers and prying eyes. After doing this a few times, you might realise that there's a cost to this method after all. I also make a habit of tidying up the land to a better state than it was in before I got there. This means packing a rubbish bag so that I can carry out what others didn't.
AKA Visitor Information Centers. The people who run these generally know where the local accommodation is, and can direct you towards something within your budget.
- Farmers - Much of New Zealand's green space is in fact fenced off private farmland. Thankfully some farmers are quite open minded about helping out a stranger in need. I've only tried this once, but I was pleasantly surprised when a farmer and his wife agreed to let my travelling partner and I camp in his front field overnight.
- Cafe owners - A couple once gave me their farm worker cabin to stay in overnight.
- People in pubs - A farm owner in a pub once offered to put me up for the night, let me do my washing and cooked me dinner and breakfast
- Random people you meet on the street - If you have a flexible timetable, then a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet.
- Some employers maintain company baches, which staff can use at low cost. If you work for a large company, it might be worth enquiring whether they have one of these that you can use.