The double bed is one of the biggest you’ll find in a 2-berth campervan and yet the Nugget is small enough to park in a regular car park. When you find your place to rest at night, you can treat yourself to a feast of local seafood, fresh produce, and chilled wine in the fully kitted out kitchen. Then lie back and relive the day while watching the sunset.
Packed with Extras
It’s the full on board bathroom that’s the biggest step up from the Dart to Nugget campervan. If you want the convenience of a built in toilet and shower 24/7, then this is the camper for you. You’ve got generous water storage (more than twice what you’ll find in similar campervans) which means you don’t have to refill every day. Plus you’ve got more space for relaxing and storage. Unlike most 2-berth campervans, you have option of making the rear double bed into two singles if you prefer to sleep alone. The Nugget has plenty of under seat storage as well as cupboards and overhead lockers so you can bring more than just your clothes on your road trip. The innovative Lagun table in the rear lounge area swivels to optimise your living space.
With hot water on tap plus a full range of equipment and utensils, the Nugget kitchen caters for people who enjoy cooking. The kitchen is fully kitted out with microwave oven and gas hobs as well as big fridge/freezer (about 30% bigger than comparable campers in other fleets) so you don’t need to go to the supermarket every day. After day packed full of exciting experiences, you’ll be glad of the TV/DVD setup conveniently mounted so you can comfortably view it while you lie back and relax in the lounge.
Nugget or Base Jumper 2?
Both the Nugget 2 and Base Jumper 2 are 2-berth camper vans with an inbuilt bathroom - that's what they have in common. But there are also a couple of key differences, in particular, living space and suitability for wild camping. The Base Jumper has 40% more living space and more head room than the Nugget. Not only does it feel more spacious, it IS more spacious. The Base Jumper 2 was specifically designed for wild camping. Wild camping is staying over at a site with few or no amenities – no power and often no water. In campervans designed for wild camping, all the appliances can be operated without being hooked up to mains power, the equipment that operates from the house battery (lights, heating, DVD player) can run for longer because the house batteries are bigger (50% bigger in the Base Jumper 2) and you can charge your accessories (e.g. phone, laptop, camera) without being hooked up to mains power.
Enjoy the Drive
The Dart campervan is ideal for camping at campsites with amenities most of the time. You can stay at any of the full-on camper’s resorts or campsites with basic amenities such as the Department of Conservation (DOC) park campsites. You can even have the occasional night freedom camping where freedom camping is permitted. The on board portable toilet means you can "go" if you need to and are not near a campground or public toilet and the outside shower allows you to have a quick rinse off if needed. It comes with an electric heater which works when plugged into 240v power and optional sleeping bags if you’re travelling in winter.
On the open road, the Nugget’s peppy 2.4L has enough get-up-and-go to power up the many hills you’ll discover without effort. It’s so comfortable to drive you’ll be vying for the privilege. And if you get caught in the rain, you’ll be thanking us for designing the walk through access from the driver’s cab to the rear living area so you won’t get wet.
When it comes to campervans for two people, the Nugget 2 is a firm favourite. And Stace from England agreed in her online review of the Nugget 2:
Fantastic service, excellent vehicle! We hired the Nugget 2 for our trip to New Zealand for the World Cup 2011. Knowing that it was going to be a busy time in NZ, my expectations were not that high, but surprisingly they were exceeded in every way. Our vehicle was very well equiped with eveything seemingly brand new or nearly new. The bed was exceptionally comfortable for one of the smaller cheaper vans and all appliances worked perfectly. The intro to the van was not overly mundane, but covered everything we needed to know regarding waste, water, gas and charging the vehicle. We did not need to call Wilderness at all during our trip. The vehicle itself drove particularly well as long as you expect it to be more like a transit van style ride than a car. It coped pefrectly well with any type of road surface or incline and we both thoroughly enjoyed driving it.
We used Wilderness Motorhomes after hearing some friends complementing them. I too would definitely recommend them to both friends and family.
Reviewed on Rankers, 11 October 2011