{"id":2216,"date":"2017-09-13T15:02:38","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T03:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2018-01-01T20:17:29","modified_gmt":"2018-01-01T20:17:29","slug":"caravan-new-zealand-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/travellingk.com\/caravan-new-zealand-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Caravanning Off-Grid in New Zealand Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Explore the slightly warmer Coromandel over the New Zealand winter seemed like a good idea. But then it rained, and rained and rained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I arrived at the NZMCA\u00a0Coromandel Town campground, after a drive navigating the roadworks from sections washed away in previous storms. The campground was down a long driveway and opened onto a field. NZMCA is a New Zealand organisation with perks like very basic but cheap campgrounds<\/a>. I left the gravel entrance and picked a spot on the other side for privacy if anyone turned up.<\/p>\n

I knew the weather was going to turn in the next couple of days, so planned to sit it out before moving on. What I didn\u2019t realise was the bad weather planned to hang around for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3 days of rain<\/span><\/h4>\n

It ended up being over 3 days of solid rain. I was running power off my one solar panel<\/a>\u00a0and a damaged battery. It was a long 3 days. What I’ve learnt from my experience in the wet New Zealand winter:<\/p>\n

Need a new battery<\/span><\/h5>\n

I think this stay would have been manageable if I had batteries that stored more power and could last longer in wet weather. It just wasn’t working for me and I needed regular visits into Coromandel Town for a place to recharge my laptop.<\/p>\n

Generator<\/span><\/h5>\n

I’ve slowly started to think getting a generator might be worthwhile. Something small that I could lift on my own. The down side is the noise. A bus appeared for 1 night and they apparently had a quiet generator, but I could still hear it on the other side of the campground. What are your thoughts on generators?<\/p>\n

Running out of gas<\/h5>\n

I ran out of gas one morning, when I needed that first hot drink. Luckily there was a gas station close by to swap bottles and I had a warm cup of tea in hand soon enough.<\/p>\n

I haven’t been cautious with my gas usage and have been using it for my heater, hot water and cooking. I’ve only used 2 bottles in 1 year, but now I’m staying off-grid, I’m curious to see how long it will last. There is room for another gas bottle and I’m considering adding it to avoid future surprises.<\/p>\n

I was given a tip on how to tell my gas level… pour hot water on the bottle and you’ll be-able to feel which part is cold – you may even be-able to see the condensation. The colder area is the gas level.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t