Waka Campa vs Apollo

Both companies run Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown with a free airport shuttle, so neither limits where a one-way trip can end. Both also list every model as certified self-contained — four models at Waka Campa, and all seven Apollo categories in thl’s booking system. The warrant that counts is still the one displayed on the vehicle handed to you. Neither fleet is cleared for unsealed roads, and the two contracts bar much the same named routes: Skippers Road, Ninety Mile Beach, Ball Hut Road, part of Mount Aspiring Road and the roads north of Colville. Apollo adds the sealed Crown Range Road, and permits a well-maintained access road of under 12 kilometres to a campground or attraction.

Waka Campa rents one Toyota HiAce design in three age tiers, from a 2013–2015 chassis on the Explorer Saver to a 2025–2026 one on the Explorer Neo. Layout, equipment and certification are identical across the three, so the choice among them is vehicle age rather than shape; the newer Outrider is a separate three-berth design. Apollo spans seven categories from two to six berths and calls make, model, year and layout indicative rather than guaranteed. The equipment split matters more than the size one. The three Explorers carry a two-burner gas hob, a fridge-freezer, a 150-watt solar panel, camping furniture and bed linen, but their heater is electric and the company confirms it needs a 230-volt mains connection; the Outrider has a diesel heater, the only one in the fleet, and an indoor cold shower. Apollo lists diesel living-area heat, hot water and an inside shower on its five Euro models — the Hitop and Endeavour get cab-only heat and no shower at all.

Freedom camping is what both certifications buy, and a freedom-camping site is by definition away from a power outlet. On a summer North Island loop that costs you little. Through the South Island in shoulder season it decides the trip, because the Explorers’ heater does not run without mains and their only shower is an outdoor tap and a solar bag; the Outrider is the Waka Campa exception, for up to three people. Apollo puts the fix behind its higher default liability: the included Low Road cover applies per claim at NZ$5,000 on the Hitop and Endeavour, and NZ$7,500 on the five bathroom models. Compare the two as a total trip cost rather than a daily rate — a cold-weather booking that ends up on powered sites every night pays the campsite fees the self-containment was meant to avoid.