Russell-Orongo Bay Holiday Park
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Russell-Orongo Bay Holiday Park
Stay in nature, see Kiwi in the wild, family-friendly holiday park. Our holiday park is one of the few places in New Zealand to see kiwi in the wild.
Escape to our award-winning, eco-friendly holiday park nestled in native New Zealand bush, where up to 55 bird species—including wild kiwi and weka—roam freely. Just minutes from Russell and Oneroa Bay, it’s a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature.
Choose from affordable, family-friendly accommodation including self-contained cottages, bungalows, cabins, and scenic campsites. Ideal for couples, families, and groups—with a spacious lodge that sleeps up to 60 guests.
Wake to birdsong, relax by the firepit under starry skies, and experience the rare thrill of spotting wild kiwi in their natural habitat. With an increase in guest sightings, you may even see one near the firepit or along the bushline close to your accommodation.
Enjoy onsite facilities including a saltwater swimming pool, playground, BBQs, wood-fired pizza oven, and more.
Our central Bay of Islands location is the perfect base to explore nearby beaches, walking trails, heritage sites, and adventures on land or sea.
Every stay helps make a difference—a portion of your booking supports habitat restoration and predator control within our protected park.
Make memories as nature intended.
Details
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RussellCommercial organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Russell |
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Camping Grounds
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Google Maps
Reviews
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Nothing to complain.
Markus -
Very nice place.
marion -
Very nice.
Alies van der plank -
I recently stayed in this place.
Dale Mercier -
Fantastic family holiday park!
Trevor Sharman
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Place has changed a lot since last reviews.
Incredible bird life from Tūī to Kiwi and nice boardwalks nearby. Clean facilities. $2 coin for 5 minute shower, $4 for washing machine and $4 dryer. Super friendly hosts. Get immersed in the wildlife here and ask about volunteering for Project Island Song! Absolutely worth it
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Not worth the money - best avoided!
We stayed here to treat ourselves to a little bit of (relative!) luxury as we travel in our camper - hot shower, wifi and to do some washing was our aim. And I’m sad to say it was far from it! Arrived to hear from reception that pool wasn’t working (no mention of this when we booked the night before!) and that washing machines only took $2 coins, of which there were none on the site so it meant a trip back into Russell to find change. Maybe this was our oversight but surely campsite tokens would solve this. Facilities are very basic and you only get a small amount of wifi before you have to pay, a real shame. And then to top it all off, when I went to have a shower I put my $2 coin in to find that there was no hot water and I’d just paid for a cold shower. Overall not what we’d hoped, and maybe $48 a night might seem like good value but when you add on all the extra costs, this was a big spend for us to leave disappointed. The only silver lining was that were able to hear kiwis in the night.
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Warm reception but poorly maintained campsite.
BBQ's not suitable for use, shower drains blocked, just an overall poor experience after camping at a DOC site.
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Lovely stay.
We had the great fortune of meeting James (the owner) who was on site staying directly across from us, and he and his family made us feel very welcome. The fire pit was awesome - we scavenged for wood in the forrest and enjoyed a few beers by the fire. And then fell asleep to the beautiful sound of kiwis. Will definitely come back again.
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Having stayed in Paihia many times we decided to try Russell for an overnight stop on Queens birthday weekend.
Although a friendly and helpful welcome was received the rest of the site was a huge let down at $61! The facilites are tired and poorly maintained with the womens showers alternating between low pressure cold and high pressure scalding hot meaning a quick dash in and out of the water while the shower curtain wrapped itself around your legs. The grass sites became very muddy during rain with no nearby pathways connecting to the facility blocks. Overall compared to Paihia Top 10 at $40 a night, this was very disappointing.
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It was so welcoming and such am awesome place for kids and families.
Staff were on point except it says coffee and that was suppose to be available but wasn't, that is my only complaint.
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I would highly recommend this campsite and cannot wait to return!
Had the best time here and was actually sad to leave. The owners James and Tori are the loveliest couple you will ever meet with a beautiful family! Great swimming pool to relax in and the facilities are spot on! Great kitchen full of utensils and even has a pizza oven and fish smokery. The showers were good strength and hot. Thanks for the great stay!
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The staff were very friendly and helpful.
Clean showers and bathrooms and the kitchens had everything we needed. We were lucky to be there during the kiwi mating season so they were very active. You could go out around midnight and take a stroll in their territory.
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Our Playcentre was in need of a family friendly getaway.
We all booked accommodation to best suit our individual needs and enjoyed meeting at the communal spots throughout our 3 day visit. We did campfires complete with Maori songs, stories, and of course marshmellow roasting, we built a whare, went for a kiwi walk, playground, swimming and the kids explored bush making huts of their own. We had such a lot of fun, this is now to become an annual tradition! See you next year Orongo Bay!!
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Nice campsite, close to Russell.
Facilities are somewhat older, but the showers are nice and hot. Lovely owners who helpt us a great deal when we need to go to the hospital!
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Stayed at Orongo a few weekends back, the new owners are lovely and friendly, and the cabin I stayed in was warm and cmfortable.
The setting is lovely and is perfect for families. A few minutes from town and they are also eco friendly, recycling and composting facilities available! Will be back
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Beautiful campsite, including pool, BBQ area and good, very clean facilities.
Staff are welcoming and friendly! Also they will tell you about good spots for possible kiwi and Weka encounters. Very close driving distance to Russell. So no problem if you are booked on an early boat trip from Russell. All in all great holiday park- we would definitely stay here once again.
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Classic campground, quiet when we were there.
Older facilities but free hot showers. Friendly office staff too. Very close to Russell, 5min drive. Can hear kiwis on a clear night if you’re nearer the back of the campground.
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Place has changed a lot since last reviews.
Incredible bird life from Tūī to Kiwi and nice boardwalks nearby. Clean facilities. $2 coin for 5 minute shower, $4 for washing machine and $4 dryer. Super friendly hosts. Get immersed in the wildlife here and ask about volunteering for Project Island Song! Absolutely worth it
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Warm reception but poorly maintained campsite.
BBQ's not suitable for use, shower drains blocked, just an overall poor experience after camping at a DOC site.
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Not worth the money - best avoided!
We stayed here to treat ourselves to a little bit of (relative!) luxury as we travel in our camper - hot shower, wifi and to do some washing was our aim. And I’m sad to say it was far from it! Arrived to hear from reception that pool wasn’t working (no mention of this when we booked the night before!) and that washing machines only took $2 coins, of which there were none on the site so it meant a trip back into Russell to find change. Maybe this was our oversight but surely campsite tokens would solve this. Facilities are very basic and you only get a small amount of wifi before you have to pay, a real shame. And then to top it all off, when I went to have a shower I put my $2 coin in to find that there was no hot water and I’d just paid for a cold shower. Overall not what we’d hoped, and maybe $48 a night might seem like good value but when you add on all the extra costs, this was a big spend for us to leave disappointed. The only silver lining was that were able to hear kiwis in the night.
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Having stayed in Paihia many times we decided to try Russell for an overnight stop on Queens birthday weekend.
Although a friendly and helpful welcome was received the rest of the site was a huge let down at $61! The facilites are tired and poorly maintained with the womens showers alternating between low pressure cold and high pressure scalding hot meaning a quick dash in and out of the water while the shower curtain wrapped itself around your legs. The grass sites became very muddy during rain with no nearby pathways connecting to the facility blocks. Overall compared to Paihia Top 10 at $40 a night, this was very disappointing.
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Lovely stay.
We had the great fortune of meeting James (the owner) who was on site staying directly across from us, and he and his family made us feel very welcome. The fire pit was awesome - we scavenged for wood in the forrest and enjoyed a few beers by the fire. And then fell asleep to the beautiful sound of kiwis. Will definitely come back again.
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It was so welcoming and such am awesome place for kids and families.
Staff were on point except it says coffee and that was suppose to be available but wasn't, that is my only complaint.
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52 for one person - and not even a cold shower is included.
Definitely the worst camping I did so far. And not worth the money at all.
Hi Jennifer, we do have single person special pricing available so we apologise if you were charged for 2 people - booking online automatically does this. If you had raised it during your stay we would have been more than happy to refund you to a single person rate. We are sorry you didn't enjoy your stay. We have nice hot showers but we do limit water take by charging for shower times at peak periods as we are on tank water that is naturally sourced from a waterfall and we are subject to council water take limits so we want to make sure there is enough hot water to go around. Off peak times we offer free hot showers wherever possible. We wish you all the best.
Tori Burns
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I would highly recommend this campsite and cannot wait to return!
Had the best time here and was actually sad to leave. The owners James and Tori are the loveliest couple you will ever meet with a beautiful family! Great swimming pool to relax in and the facilities are spot on! Great kitchen full of utensils and even has a pizza oven and fish smokery. The showers were good strength and hot. Thanks for the great stay!
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The staff were very friendly and helpful.
Clean showers and bathrooms and the kitchens had everything we needed. We were lucky to be there during the kiwi mating season so they were very active. You could go out around midnight and take a stroll in their territory.
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Nice campsite, close to Russell.
Facilities are somewhat older, but the showers are nice and hot. Lovely owners who helpt us a great deal when we need to go to the hospital!
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It would be a nice place, but way to expensive.
If i have to pay 55$ for a site with power and then an extra 2$ for shower and extra for wifi that's to much.
Wouldn't come again.
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Our Playcentre was in need of a family friendly getaway.
We all booked accommodation to best suit our individual needs and enjoyed meeting at the communal spots throughout our 3 day visit. We did campfires complete with Maori songs, stories, and of course marshmellow roasting, we built a whare, went for a kiwi walk, playground, swimming and the kids explored bush making huts of their own. We had such a lot of fun, this is now to become an annual tradition! See you next year Orongo Bay!!
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Stayed at Orongo a few weekends back, the new owners are lovely and friendly, and the cabin I stayed in was warm and cmfortable.
The setting is lovely and is perfect for families. A few minutes from town and they are also eco friendly, recycling and composting facilities available! Will be back
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Beautiful campsite, including pool, BBQ area and good, very clean facilities.
Staff are welcoming and friendly! Also they will tell you about good spots for possible kiwi and Weka encounters. Very close driving distance to Russell. So no problem if you are booked on an early boat trip from Russell. All in all great holiday park- we would definitely stay here once again.
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Classic campground, quiet when we were there.
Older facilities but free hot showers. Friendly office staff too. Very close to Russell, 5min drive. Can hear kiwis on a clear night if you’re nearer the back of the campground.
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Nice camping but a bit expensive for the winter season ($40,- powered campsite, two adults).
Part of the toilets and showers were closed due to the season. No free wifi. Kitchen is very basic.
Thanks for your review Leonie, we hope you enjoyed your time in Russell and the Bay of Islands. We are competitively priced and pride ourselves on being the best value Holiday Park in Russell. During winter months we close one of our amenity blocks in order to reduce water usage and waste and manage energy efficiency which minimises our impact on the environment. Whilst we don't offer free WiFi it is available from as little as $2 per day. The kitchen has fridge-freezers, oven, microwave, toasters and kettles. Kitchenware is available to hire for a small charge. We appreciate your feedback and taking the time to review. Kind Regards, The Team, Russell-Orongo Bay Holiday Park
Tori Burns
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My family and I stayed here for a few days and it was a welcome change to the more manufactured parks such as top 10.
Great space and wonderful amenities in a lovely location. What's more you got the feeling that the owners actually cared about the place and their guests - pure NZ!
Thank you for your review. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at our unique and special Park. We offer spacious sites, a wood fired pizza oven and camp fire, native bush walks and the opportunity to interact with rare bird life, including kiwi and North Island weka, in their natural environment, so we agree that we are not your average Holiday Park! We hope to see you again soon Mike! Kind Regards, The Team, Russell-Orongo Bay Holiday Park
Tori Burns
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The name 'holiday park' at first put us off but after reading the reviews decided to try it as freedom camping in the area is not easy.
Well what an amazing site, quiet and relaxed, well OK apart from bird noise. Great site, nice pitches when we stayed it was just after the bank holiday and the place was empty. Great location ideal for sea kayaking, Russell has a bar with live music.
Thank you for the great feedback Andy. We're glad that you enjoyed the quiet and restorative setting and hope you left us feeling rested and revived. Over 55 species of birds make the Park their home and we agree the Park can come alive with their calls! It's great to see that you made the most of your time here, we are a great base for exploring all that is on offer in the Bay of Islands. Kind Regards, The Team at Russell- Orongo Bay Holiday Park
Tori Burns