josshaw
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North Island ▷ Wairarapa ▷ Martinborough ▷
North Tora Camping Area
Reasonable camping area close to both sea and river inlet, but not as quiet as we'd expected.
Approx 10 camping sites on flat ground, with bins but no local toilets or drinking water (nearest local toilets are at South Tora camping area, which is tents only). Beach is black sand to gravel, and river tends to be better to swimming and paddling.
Pretty clean and tidy, with a ranger checking in every day or so. Road to the camping area is mainly metalled, only gravelled towards the end. Surprising amount of traffic during the day, though quiet at night. Lots of surfers, fishing, motor boats passing through. Can get quiet windy in the camp area as the valley seems to funnel wind through from the coast.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Otaki ▷
Te Horo Beach Reserve
Well laid out, secluded individual camp sites at the north end of Te Horo.
Easy access to the beach, and all sites have beach view. Quiet spot with lots of driftwood. No shops obvious locally. Great if you want to get away from it all.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Otaki ▷
North River Bank
More secluded than the Tasman Road free camp, but also more exposed.
The camping area is right down a rought track, just off the beach in sandy/muddy scrubland amongst lots of driftwood. No facilities, but plenty of space. Quite a long way from the nearest shop.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Otaki ▷
Tasman Road Beach Carpark
Very nice spot - car park right onto the beach with good views yet with amenities close by.
The car park is quite busy during the daytime, but gets quiet at night. There are footpath direct to the beach, with views of the sea from most camping spots. The local shop is just up Tasman Road, a short walk away, and there is a free bbq and toilet block right next to the car park.
The toilets are locked at 9pm (winter) and seem to be open again at 7am, so a self-contained van is needed.
The beach is pleasant, dark sand with pebbles and shells at various points and driftwood close to the dunes. Quite good waves for bodyboarding etc. and when the tide is out the beach is big enough for kite-flying. We watched seagulls dropping shellfish onto the stones to crack them open, and encountered a seal pup on the beach on our stay.
The only reason this didn't get 10 points was because we experienced kids banging on the campervan door and running away for some of the evening, presumably for a bet, but still unnerving the first time it happened.
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North Island ▷ Hawkes Bay ▷ Te Awanga ▷
Clifton Road Reserve
This is a lovely spot if you like to go to sleep to the sound of the waves.
Between Napier and Hastings, this camping spot is just off the road and right next to the beach. There's lots of space and it's a quiet camping spot with local shops within walking distance and a very nice cafe for breakfast if you follow the road north towards Clifton campsite (though one of the nearby vineyards does a cheap cooked breakfast too). Lovely spot to stay, but you do need to be self-contained.