Tauranga

In Tauranga, we got a few upgrades.

Freedom camping, sleeping in your vehicle, is allowed by New Zealand law. Many freedom camping sites, however, require a van to be certified self-contained. This means being able to be self-sufficient, without dumping waste, for 3 days. The idea is to protect the environment, although all campsites have toilets anyway. For the non-self-contained, the only alternative is wild camping, paying $15pp for a holiday park or risk a $200 fine. That was enough incentive for us to certify.

And we were almost there anyway, sort-of. The requirements are:
* 24L fresh water storage (3 days x 2 persons x 4L). We already had two 10L containers plus water bottles.
* 24L waste water storage. We bought a cheap 25L plastic tank that stows underneath our bed.
* 10L capacity Porta-Loo (toilet) (3 days x 2 persons x +/-2L). It was the most expensive part, but professional and hygienic. It was definitely worth it for wild camping or unbearable outhouses.
* A seal-able rubbish (garbage) container. An all-purpose, plastic tub does the trick, just for smelly garbage. Recycling glass, cans and plastic makes the small garbage not fill as fast.

Of course, the most important upgrade was the Christmas lights! ;)

Some extra requirements were a bit trickier to meet and varied per certifying officer. We were creative, meeting the hard rules and dodging impractical “nice-to-have's”:
* The waste-water must be plumbed, with a “serviceable” smell trap and vent. We connected a funnel from the kitchen to the 25L tank using a hose and valve. One certifying officer wanted a loop in the hose to create a water lock, another didn't find this serviceable and required a specific component. We bought the component but took it out after certifying. The valve keeps out the smell sufficiently. The vent has stumped us though. An extra hole is inconvenient when emptying the tank. And, by definition, a vent would let out the smell into the van.
* A plumbed hand-basin with tap is required. We made a small basin out of a plastic bowl. A car oil siphon acts as a make-shift, manual pump/tap. Both sink and tap take up too much space, while we do our dishes (and occasional laundry) in a separate bucket anyway. Pouring fresh water from the container and pouring waste-water down the funnel is much more practical. A small sieve prevents solids from plugging the valve. So, we also removed these two after certifying.
* Fresh water tanks must be black/opaque to prevent algae growth. We bought black spray paint for our containers. But we haven't used it. We much prefer to see what's in our water. And no algae have grown in it yet.
* The toilet must be usable when the bed is made, with enough elbow and head room. It is not allowed in the front seat, because that is disrespectful. We showed we could use the toilet in the back while the bed is made, even if it's uncomfortable and we never use it this way. Instead, it sits in the box under our bed. If we need to use it, which is rarely, we do so before making the bed while it still sits in the box.

We ran around late-Friday afternoon between the two certifying officers and figured whose requirements we could more easily meet. With two hours before the weekend, one told us to buy the parts and come back Monday. We ran around like a reality TV show race, bought all our parts, pieced the system together, but didn't glue anything. With 5 minutes to spare, and impressed with our effort, he signed our page! We were officially self-certified. We would have to pick up our sticker, but from now on, we'd legally be allowed to camp (almost) anywhere for free.Read more