Lifestyle

Photographer highlights New Zealand's beauty on 3-month camper trip

BY JESSICA PLAUTZ6 hours ago

Johan Lolos left his native Belgium 16 months ago, and he's not done traveling the world yet.

In October, he embarked on a three-month camper van tour of New Zealand with three friends, which cost him about $1,200.

"I left Belgium with a round-the-world trip idea," Lolos, who spent a year in Australia before heading to New Zealand, told Mashable. "I did this three-month road trip [in New Zealand] and I just fell in love with the country. I thought, there's no way I'd leave now."

Lolos plans to stay in New Zealand until September of this year. He said he wants to see and photograph winter in the town of Wanaka.

Kayakers in Abel Tasman National Park

With 67,000 followers on Instagram, Lolos is not exactly a typical traveler. His following has given him the opportunity to work with tourism boards and destinations, which provided some activities and services for free.

Even with the freebies, Lolos said he and his friends purposely planned the trip on a strict budget. The four shared both fuel and food costs.

In his three months on the road, Lolos spent about €1,000 ($1,200) total.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Mackenzie Country, Canterbury

Camper vans are a popular method for getting around New Zealand, and a big part of how Lolos and his friends kept expenses down.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Arthur's Pass

Two of Lolos' friends stayed in the camper van, while two camped in a tent.

Above is Arthur's Pass, a township in the Southern Alps on New Zealand's South Island.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Mackenzie County

Camping kept Lolos among the landscapes he wanted to document.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Arthur's Pass

Each day, the group would get up an hour or so after sunrise.

"Most of the time were were hiking," Lolos said. "We camped not too far from the start of the walk."

"Then we'd have a half-day walk or day walk. Usually, we had our lunch at the top of the walk at the summit. We'd come back at 3 or 4 p.m., have a couple beers, and then we'd hit the road again. Off to the next destination."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
The Catlins

Lolos said the group chose to save money on food, which can be expensive in New Zealand (especially things like cheese and meat), and instead put money toward experiences.

"It was really low budget food. Pasta, pasta, pasta and bread."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
The Catlins

But a traveler's experience "depends on the kind of road trip you're doing," Lolos said. "For us, we decided to do a low-budget road trip."

New Zealand's relatively open camping policies made it easy, he added. "There are so many places you can camp for free."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Lake Pukaki

Lolos found opportunities for gorgeous landscape photos at nearly every turn. Pictured, above is Mount Cook in Canterbury.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Otago Peninsula

Lolos said one of the highlights of his trip happened when he was least expecting it.

"We were on the [tour] boat, the weather was really sh*t and I was not motivated to really do this trip," he said. "And these three killer whales just popped up out of the water, came near the boat. That was definitely one of the highlights of my life. We were so close to them."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Lake Rotoiti

Many of Lolos' photos feature the many bodies of water in New Zealand.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Tongariro National Park

"If you're road tripping, there's this great app WikiCamps. You filter the campsite you want to find; let's say you want to find a free camp with toilets," Lolos said.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Kea in Canterbury

Kea are the world's only alpine parrot.

Although the bird's population has dwindled, according to park officials, Lolos said he saw quite a few on his trip.

The one, above, in Arthur's Pass, was even nice enough to pose for a photo.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Tongariro Alpine Crossing

One of the hikes on which Lolos and his friends embarked was the setting for part of The Lord of the Rings (an obviously important film series for New Zealand's tourism industry).

"You're literally walking for eight hours in this crazy dramatic landscape like in Mordor, and when we did that in spring, there was still a lot of snow everywhere," he said.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Tongariro Alpine Crossing

"We tried to climb ... it was the most dangerous thing I've ever done in my life; the whole slope was ice. We didn't get to the top; it was getting harder and harder, and it was just ice, so we decided to go down. And the way down was even more dangerous," Lolos said.

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Coromandel by night

Lolos said his photographs are about more than documenting his own trip. "I'm trying to be inspiring for people that want to discover new places."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
A tree in Lake Wanaka

Lolos said Wanaka, where he is staying through September, reminds him of a small French ski town. With a population of about 7,000, it's "people just enjoying life."

Although he raves about the town's atmosphere and beauty, however, staying in one place has been an adjustment.

"It's crazy how much more expensive it is to live in a real place," he said. "Camper van road trips are way cheaper."

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS
Lake Wanaka

IMAGE: JOHAN LOLOS