How to pack for a summer road trip

If anyone knows what it takes to survive a family road trip without the kids bickering in the back seat or your marriage reaching breaking point, it’s Jono Wright.

The Wellington father-of-three, one half of NZ Fun Adventures Camping with wife Chloe, hits the road for a family camping trip at least once a month.

“Nothing worse than driving five hours somewhere, getting so excited to roll [the camping gear] out to find there's no poles in this tent. That's a great marriage ender.”

To avoid that disaster, Wright preps early — sometimes a week ahead — running through a mental checklist of what worked last time, what needs replacing, and what might need a clean.

Full-time van-based traveller Abigail Hannah has been exploring New Zealand since 2018, clocking up almost every corner of the South Island. Even with all that experience, The Aotearoa Adventures Podcast co-host admits she dreads packing.

“I hate it. I’m usually a last-minute packer,” she laughs.

Her golden rule is to be ready for New Zealand's typical four seasons in a day.

"A sun hat, sunscreen and like a cosy jacket, like a puffer jacket," she says.

Wright sorts everything into three lists: essentials, nice-to-haves and luxuries. Less is more, he says.

"They are often the most happiest campers - the ones without all the stuff… It's only in the taking all this extra stuff and burdening yourself that you realise you don't need it."

Still, camping with kids means juggling a whole new level of logistics.

"I think we overburden ourself with, I need to take 50 board games, 10 packs of cards, toys - nature's got these sticks, dirt, puddles, it’s got all this cool stuff, stones that you get to throw in water, you can go and actually find cool stuff to go and do [like] bush walks."

For Jen Parkes, a Mid-Canterbury travel writer and mum of three, packing has become second nature. She's been blogging about family adventures since 2018.

"I remember when the kids were really young — Amelia would have been under one — and we were doing trips like down to Fiordland," she says. "That's a seven-hour drive from here."

Now the kids are older, but their system still works: each child packs their own bag, and Parkes does a quick check on what's in it before they leave.

They also make lists of what they want — books, colouring pages, printable word searches, she says. So if they get stuck somewhere, there are a few go-to activities ready in the boot.

Choose colour coded packing cubes, she says, so everyone knows which bag is theirs and can find what they need fast.

Parkes takes all the main ingredients from home and turns lunch-making into a team job where one might have tomatoes in their lap, another lettuce – like "a conveyor train".

Stops on the road are usually just for treats or toilet breaks, she says.

In summer, chilly packs and insulated lunch bags are lifesavers. (Get tips on packing chilly bins here.)

"[Insulated lunch bags are] really good for keeping like all my salad stuff in with a lunch and that stays cool like all day around.

"I put in like four cans of Coke Zero … warm with two chilly packs, they will cool them enough to have a cold drink on the way. It's real handy."

Wright recommends storage containers for food and soft bags for all other items — easier to squash into tight spaces and less risk of sauce explosions.

If you fill duffle "squashable" bags with clothes or soft toys, you can kneel on them — "without the kids watching" — and halve the size, Wright says.

Always leave space for last minute shopping too. Plus, you'll thank yourself for it later when you're rushing out of your accommodation in the morning and no-one's helping, he says.

Parkes says it's cheaper to bring your own gear — bikes, surfboards, and all — on a rack, trailer or roof box instead of renting for all the kids.

"It is a bit of a pain having them [bike racks] on and off…. I would definitely recommend having something that lowers down because otherwise once you realise you've left something important and if you can't reach it then you're getting bikes on and off aren't super fun."

Keep all the togs and towels in one bag and use packing cubes that squeeze neatly into gaps.

Hannah agrees the whole thing can be a Tetris game, but consider what you need to access first when you get to your destination and put that on top.

Hannah says as long as you remember the essentials that you can't borrow or buy – like underwear or medication – anything else, you can grab at a rest stop.

Get packing early, Wright advises. Start making piles in a room or near the door.

If you need to pick up groceries, Parkes advises a click-and-collect to save time – that way it's not sitting in the sweltering heat of your car.