It’s been a month since we took the ferry from Dover to Calais to start our European adventure. Time flies when you’re having fun!
So, what do the numbers look like after a month on the road?
We set ourselves a budget of $150 NZD per day and after the first month we are $610 over budget. Considering the distances we’re covering in Norway, and taking into account the ferry from Denmark to Sweden ($170) and Bodo to Lofoten ($384), we are pretty chuffed with how we’re tracking. We had always anticipated this leg of our tour to be over budget, but it has been less than we thought so we know we’ve been realistic with our planning, and by mid-July we’ll be heading into the cheaper of the Scandinavian countries, Finland.
Here are some of our stats:
| Distance travelled – Calais France to Bodo Norway | 5,049 kms |
| Average distance per day | 180 kms |
| Total fuel cost (diesel) | $1,139 NZD |
| Average cost per litre | $2 NZD |
| Fuel efficiency | 12kms per litre |
| Number of campsites stayed in | 18 |
| Average cost per night* | $46 NZD |
*The most expensive camping ground was Hamburg at $60 per night and the cheapest was Stavanger and Haugen at $33 per night. We also stayed one night in a parking area with power only, no facilities, for $25.
Eating on the Road
It’s easy to fall into bad habits when you’re on holiday, and that’s ok if it’s for 3 or 4 weeks. But we’re on holiday for 12 to 18 months so we need to make sure we’re eating well. We eat out occasionally, mostly lunches, but have found our home cooking to be better and much more cost effective. We are planning our meals a week ahead and looking for local in-season produce to base our meals around. Fresh fish is well priced in Norway and we’ve taken advantage of this. The fruit that’s brought up from Spain, like nectarines and plums are cheap and good quality. Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and tomatoes are all well priced too and are great staples for stir-fries and pastas. Meat is a lot more expensive than New Zealand – we saw eye fillet for $99 per kilo! However, like anywhere there are always specials and we’ve found some good ones. The European sausages are amazing with loads of different types and all very well priced, and chicken is also on par with New Zealand.
The beauty of being in a campervan is we have our kitchen with us when we’re on the move, so lunches on the road are often leftovers reheated or fresh bread rolls with tuna or ham, and salad, and of course beetroot and Branston pickle for Mr Love.
Life in the Campervan
When we first saw our campervan we both had our reservations about the space available to live in. Where do we put all our clothes? Is the lounge area big enough to relax in? How will we not fall all over each other? The bed is a standard double, but when you’re used to a super king would we cope?
We’ve been surprised. We are totally at home. The bed is very comfortable and we’ve had some of the best sleeps we’ve ever had – maybe due to the lack of any stress!
In general, the campsites are well equipped with good showers, toilets and cooking facilities which we make use of rather than using those in our van. Not all campsites are created equal but the hosts have all been friendly and helpful. We’ve had a couple of issues with power connections that we’ve need assistance sorting, and then there was also the scary incidence of locking ourselves out (we now have a pact that neither of us leaves the van without keys). Each time we’ve had plenty of support from campground staff and fellow campers. It really is a community, even with the language barrier.
After another month on the road I’m sure we’ll have a lot more insights to share. Here’s to life on the road!