When Bastiaan Van Druten moved to New Zealand from the Netherlands about seven years ago, a van was his first major purchase. He spent a week in his driveway, converting a HiAce into a livable home on wheels. Jamming in double mattresses, wardrobes, cabinetry, and concealed gas cookers into a few square metres, the design combined ingenuity with a willingness to sacrifice creature comforts.
For months, he and his partner travelled the country, visiting its small towns, waking up to surf and eat breakfast. “We noticed that New Zealand had a big van tourist scene,” he says. The country’s isolated coastlines and natural landscapes became suddenly accessible, and affordable. “The van really opens all of that up.”
