This is the 'Aldi' budget version of the campervan world that mostly does what it says on the tin, so don't expect a Juicy or Apollo.

We booked quite last minute, a month before super peak season and all the main suppliers were booked out so this still gave us an option to travel in a self-contained vehicle (freedom camping was one of the best things of the trip). The van is old, which is what we expected. Happy 3 is one of the oldest and was a bit battered and bruised outside (make sure you do a thorough check before leaving) and in, but it did the job. The staff seem friendly, although a bit inexperienced (weren't aware of their own online promotions so make sure you check and ask for it when you book, they forgot to purchase our rego on arrival but this was fixed in half and hour, had to remind them to supply the camping table and chairs), but these were small things. The online booking process is clunky and not in real time (take a couple days to confirm) but it sounds like this is common practise in NZ. In terms of downside: a number of essential kitchen items were missing which wasn't a huge deal, but an inconvenience nevertheless as we only found out when arriving at the campsite (check before you leave so you can buy them early on if needed). They were happy for us to purchase them however and we were later reimbursed. Camp chair collapsed but we purchase another and were reimbursed. I was mostly worried about it breaking down but the mechanics were very sound and we had no issues. It did guzzle down petrol however, but so do most vans. It did leak in a couple of places when it rained (passenger seat and main van door) but I just put a towel on my lap/on the floor. The fresh water pipe was also completely broken and couldn't be used but most camping places had one (they were happy to reimburse). Price was competitive for peak season, last minute booking. By the end we grew quite fond of it and it gave us the opportunity to do a trip of a lifetime.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago