Wilderness Motorhomes vs Apollo

Both ranges are seven models deep, both cover Auckland and Christchurch, and both companies list every model as self-contained — Wilderness in its FAQ, Apollo through thl’s booking system. The question that usually decides a New Zealand booking is therefore settled before you begin. Neither is cleared for the roads this market restricts either — Apollo’s seven are two-wheel drive and contractually held to sealed surfaces, and Wilderness bars beaches, water crossings and anything signed unsuitable for a large vehicle.

What separates them is consistency. Wilderness runs seven Fiat Ducato motorhomes with a fixed cassette toilet and central heating on every one, and the smallest model is built to the same standard as the largest. Apollo’s range splits in two: the Hitop and Endeavour are compact vans with a built-in hideaway toilet, driver’s-cab heat and no shower or hot water, while the five Euro models add all three. That uniformity costs you at the counter. Standard cover on any Wilderness model carries a NZ$7,500 excess, where Apollo’s two non-bathroom vans default to NZ$5,000 per claim and only its five bathroom models reach the same NZ$7,500.

The practical difference is Queenstown. Apollo runs a third depot there, so a South Island trip can start or finish where the flights do, at a NZ$270 location fee and a five-day minimum on one-way hire; Wilderness handles Auckland and Christchurch only. Read Apollo’s road list before counting that as settled, though. The 2026–27 terms prohibit Crown Range Road and Cardrona Valley Road despite the sealed surface, so the direct route between Queenstown and Wanaka is closed to you and you go the long way round. Wilderness publishes no road blacklist at all, which shifts that same judgement onto the driver.