Raso suspects the thief followed them from the New Lynn library, where they were planning the next steps for their trip, before targeting the vehicle, which was parked 10m away from the shop, just before 1pm.
CCTV footage from the North Western Toyota dealership next door showed the alleged thief break in and take the bags within three minutes, she said.
The incident has left the couple feeling unsafe and scared of leaving the van unattended, Raso said.
They purchased the van three days before the robbery and came to Auckland specifically to buy it, after picking kiwifruit in Ōpōtiki for a month and a half.
Luckily, they got insurance for it the day before the incident, Raso said.
Italian tourists Elisa Raso and Andrea Pelizzaro had their van broken into in New Lynn, days after buying it. Photo / Alyse Wright
The past week had been “a nightmare” as the couple were unable to leave the van unattended with a broken lock, had to make insurance claims, file a police report and stay in Auckland longer than intended to wait for repairs.
They also need to take the van to get an engine issue fixed, Raso said.
“We don’t feel that safe anymore”
Raso said other travellers had told her how relaxed and safe New Zealand was, but she had not seen that.
“A lot of other backpackers told us they feel so secure, they used to leave their cars open.”
Raso and Pelizzaro have been very cautious with safety, so the incident has left them feeling misled by the country’s reputation, she said.
“Now we don’t feel that safe anymore, and so we don’t really understand what the New Zealand is that other people are seeing because we haven’t seen that yet.”
Italian tourists Elisa Raso and Andrea Pelizzaro had their laptops, money and copies of documents stolen when their van was broken into last Sunday. Photo / Alyse Wright
They initially planned to stay until December to see out their working holiday visas, but will now “see how things develop”.
Ōpōtiki felt “really, really safe”, she said.
Police response
Station support officer at the New Lynn police station, Warren Strand, told the Herald police had acquired footage from the nearby Toyota dealership and taken fingerprints from the van.
Strand said he’s sent the CCTV stills to staff to see if they can identify the suspect and compare them to the fingerprints they lifted from the van.
He said the suspect seen in the footage appeared to break into a car in Lynn Mall a few days after the van incident.
People should keep an eye on online marketplaces to see if any of the stolen items have been listed, he said.
Strand was able to help get the van’s lock fixed and pass the invoice to insurance, which should be able to cover it, he said.