Jason Ritenour
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Ashburton ▷
Rakaia River Holiday Park
Wonderfully heated kitchen/dining area with dishes available.
Grounds were nice with privacy hedges between some spots.
Staff was professionally helpful but not as friendly as most places we stayed. Overpriced for a piece of grass on which to pitch a tent ($38 for two adults one night). Toilets/showers unheated and not well enclosed was not pleasant in early spring.
Thank you for your comments- please note that we pride ourselves on our friendly welcome and service and are disappointed you didn't 'feel the love' Our site price in September was $31.00 and is now $33.00. Although our shower/toilet block is elderly and not heated- it is always sparkling clean.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Ashburton ▷
Ashburton Holiday Park
The grounds are beautiful.
Get in early enough to enjoy sitting by the pond and watching the ducks. The staff was very friendly, willing to chat and helpful. Even if they didn't know the answer, they were willing to help find out an answer. The permanent residents were also friendly and welcoming to temporary travelers.
The kitchen was well-stocked in dishes and clean. A small heater kept the worst of the early-spring chill out of the kitchen but no heater in the shower room made for chilly bathing.
Though expensive to pitch a tent ($30/ night for 2 adults), not the most expensive holiday park on the South Island.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park @ Hamden Beach
A small, out of the way holiday park with the Moeraki Boulders about 20 minutes walk down the beach.
Though not high-tech when we stayed, there is new management who are actively improving the facilities for the coming summer season. As it was, a single bathroom served both men and women and an enclosed shower room stayed warm while showering. The kitchen was clean and well-supplied with dishes, though unheated.
Overall, the most reasonable price-for-service we found for tenting ($22/ 1 night for 2 adults).
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Christchurch Tasman Holiday Parks
Overall, very good.
The staff were helpful and willing to answer questions about local shops, resources and restaurants. The kitchen and bathroom facilities were clean and well maintained. There is a free wireless access point at the pay phone a block down on Blenheim Road, which was very convenient for out of country travelers.
There are no dishes available in the kitchen and the shower/kitchen area was unheated. Not a problem in the summer, but very chilly in the early spring. Tenting was between $30-40 a night, which seemed overpriced for a flat piece of grass.
A place I would return to, especially at a lower price.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
City Cycle Hire
Excellent customer service!
I couldn't have asked them to do anything else to make our bike hire go better.
They picked us up at the holiday park and brought us and our gear to the rental place. They had the bikes already fitted for our heights and ready for a 1 week tour. When we returned to Christchurch, they picked us up at the bus stop at 8 pm and drove us to our holiday park before taking the bikes back to the shop.
The hire included spare tubes (which we needed), tire repair kit, spare brake pads, reflective vests, flashing light, water bottles, bungee cords and bike racks with the option of rear, front and handlebar panniers. Bikes were in good shape and well maintained. No maintenance issues on the road, other than a flat tire.
The price was better than many competitors and didn't feel too high for the quality of service and product offered.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Cadbury World
A good bargain on a tourist trap.
$18 for an hour long tour full of delicious chocolate smells and chocolatiering information. The free samples probably came to half the price of the entry ticket, more if you answer questions along the way. We went home with five uneaten chocolates apiece!
The tour is interesting, though impersonal. The information was not tailored to the group and didn't go beyond the "factory tour" standard information, ie what is the product, what are the pieces that go into it, why is ours better, etc.
Worth going, just to smell the chocolate and taste the samples.