Ailsa McIntosh
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Manapouri ▷
Possum Lodge Motel and Holiday Park
Such a lovely guy running it, homey kitchen and lounge.
I really love the vintage feel and friendliness of this camp, but the facilities weren’t my favourite :(
Games room with ping pong! But the showers and toilets were meh. The women’s showers (there’s two) were separated by one single curtain that could only be stretched to cover one shower, so if you’re not okay being naked in front of strangers, it only really works for one person at a time. The water pressure was shite too. The toilets are in a separate building, there’s just two and they’re basically outside, they’re very cold and it’s a shared towel to dry your hands. But they were clean!
As long as you’re okay with a bit of a hippie dippy stay then you’ll be fine, just be aware they’re not fancy amenities. The place makes up for it all with charm though, and frasers beach (10 min walk) is so gorgeous on a sunny day!
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Hampshire Holiday Park Wanaka
No complaints!
Loads of toilets and showers, always clean, hot water and good pressure.
Lots of space on the sites. Water taps everywhere, laundry is expensive ($6 per wash), but you do it with your phone which is easy.
Kitchens are new and loads of sinks and always clean.
Easy walk into town, or down to the lake!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Invercargill ▷
Beach Road Holiday Park
Very cared for campsite, gorgeous grounds, lots of friendly regulars/permanent residents.
Amenities all clean, loads of showers and toilets, kitchen a lil cramped but has everything you need.
Be aware the office actually does shut at 5pm and the owners are nowhere to be found - unlike other campsites where you might be able to spot them milling around, and the offices are usually open later in summer. We came around 6-6:30pm hoping for a powered site, but we could only book a night unpowered online after finding the office closed. It was a bit unclear where to actually park ourselves up, but we found ourselves a nice bit of grass. Saw lots of unused powered spots though, so not sure why we couldn’t book one of them online!
Does the job for a quick stop, was quite busy and full of bikers while we were there. Not an issue for us, but there was a very loud group in the evening near the amenities block which I’m glad we were far enough away from! Lots of men barbecuing huge amounts of meat if that’s something you’re into.
Definitely a fav with locals and bikers, everyone I came across was friendly and polite.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Old Macdonalds Farm and Holiday Park
Really nice campground with the best access to Abel Tasman.
Nice pitches, lots of shady options, a bit randomly spaced but in a nice way, not all lined up neatly. Facilities were really good, clean, not too busy and free hot showers with good pressure :)
Stayed 3 nights, kayaked with Kahu Kayaks one day which was walkable from the camp.
$65 a night for two people on a powered site, which I thought was good for the area.
We let reception know that one of the toilet blocks was a bit stinky from our pitch over night, it’s bound to happen every now and then when you’re out in the bush! Although the response was slightly mardy and I didn’t receive an apology or polite customer service voice, they did offer to move us and put us in an equally nice spot further away.
The shop at reception has stuff you might need urgently, as well as ice creams and wine. There’s a coffee cart in the mornings, and you can swim in the swimming hole up in the bull paddock. You can walk to a few different food options, I recommend the Fat Tui.
Lots of Weka and Pukeko on site which I love.
Overall, can’t knock it, it’s a proper nice rural campsite vibe right on Abel Tasmans doorstep.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Tōtaranui Campground
Loved this place!
It’s DOC so expect basic, but it’s got clean flushing toilets, cold showers and sinks to wash up. Worth it to be a 20 second walk from your camp to the beach!
Such an amazing location, can go between your camp and the beach all day, or walk the coast path to other quiet beaches.
It’s a long windy and hilly gravel road to get there, but we made it back up it in our Hiace after two days of heavy rain, so it’s pretty decent!
Lots of Weka, Pukeko and Keruru :)
Minus half a star for the sand flies (not the worst case ever, but bug spray a must) and some of the pitches had standing water.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Motueka ▷
Tapawera Campground and Tiny House Park
We loved this place to stop for a couple of peaceful days while our van was in the garage.
Julie is such a lovely generous woman. We got chatting and said she’s spent the last 5 years getting rid of unwanted long term and returning people, from before she ran it, who made campers uncomfortable.
She cares about the area too, she’s opening a pizza shop in town in a place that sat empty for a long time. If you don’t mind shabby, it’s very quiet and easy going. Theres chickens and dogs that roam around which are very friendly, as well as goats and sheep that don’t stray too far from Julie’s house.
I have seen quite a few people a little lost as they can’t get in touch/find Julie when they arrive later on, she can be very laid back haha. Everything could be renovated, sure, but it all works and does the job for a cheap price so who cares. The kitchen is stocked up, the toilets are clean, and the shower rooms are huge.
Everything’s cheap, laundry’s free, can’t complain.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Fox Glacier Lodge
Cheaper than the top 10 for a reason.
The facilities are bad, my least favourite of my entire north and South Island trip so far.
Grubby cubicles, dark inside, broken tiles & hooks & locks, dirty floor & shower curtains, no soap, old ratty towels to dry your hands. There’s only 6 cubicles for the whole site, so it wouldn’t be hard to fix them, just laziness. They replied to my Google review saying it’s because ‘people steal stuff’ - someone stole half a hook off the shower door and ever so slightly broke the door lock so it inconvenienced people ? 😂
The kitchen is grubby too, all the signs are faded and the toaster/kettle/microwave were so disgusting - something they also claimed was due to people stealing new ones. I’ve never heard other campsites claiming this! I would just book the top 10 next time :/
I do feel bad writing this because the girl on reception was so lovely! You can pick your own spot which was nice I guess lol
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Arrowtown ▷
Hampshire Holiday Park Arrowtown
Really nice park, big sites so lots of space.
Nicer down the end away from the facilities block, the closer the more people walking over your site as there’s only one block.
The facilities are really good, but there’s not that many for the amount of people so they do get quite busy. The kitchen was always full of people. Still never had to wait for a sink to wash up though.
10 min walk into Arrotown, can also catch the number 4 bus outside the campsite into Queenstown - it takes 30 mins!
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Turangi ▷
Motuoapa Bay Holiday Park
Really lovely site, quiet and family run vibe.
We were there start of December.
They were building lots of new cabins, so hopefully they’ll update the toilets/showers at some point, they were quite dark and dated, but always very clean! The kitchen was nice, three sinks and plenty of cooking space.
Coin operated laundry.
So much birdlife to watch next to the lake.
Nice to be down this end of the lake rather than in Taupo. Easy to get to Turangi for the New World.
Go to Pukawa for a swim for a hidden gem but don’t go posting it online…..
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Spring Creek Holiday Park
Great spot for doing wine tours.
It’s right on the road so a mixed bag of spots. Ours on the creek side was quiet and private in a hedged in area, but there’s some spots right next to the road which I wouldn’t be keen on.
The kitchen, toilets and showers were very clean and well stocked. Free showers, press a button for 10 minutes of hot water.
The lady on reception was very friendly, pointed out where to swim in the creek, a 5 minute walk to a decking where you can jump off or climb down to the water.
It’s within 15km of renwick so we were picked up by a shuttle for a wine tour from here.
They were doing some cleaning of buildings and renovating the kids play park, the site is very well taken care of.
Very quiet and relaxed site, would recommend if you want to see the some Marlborough vineyards! Blenheim is so close by too for supermarkets and food and drink.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Juno Hall Backpackers and Camping
Really good site, as it’s a hostel it’s got good facilities, proper hot showers, big kitchen and loads of sofas and decking to chill on.
The salt water pool is nice when it’s hot, and it’s very quiet on site during the day. We came November so might be different in Dec forwards, there’s 5 showers for women, 5 for men, but they were never busy. All very clean!
Bit of a different vibe to other sites we’ve used, like we were just visitors to a communal home. Still welcoming and nice people none the less, but the lady on the reception was a bit rude about us putting on some laundry when she needed to at the same time (no way of us knowing this lol).
Lamb feeding everyday at 5:30 and horses and lots of birds around. Great base for the caves.
Powered sites next to the road that can be loud in the day but silent at night. Would stay again!
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Raglan ▷
Ruapuke Beach Motor Camp
Loved this tucked away little site.
Came November: arrived and couldn’t see a soul about! Found Ashley and he was very friendly and let us pick a spot. It was due to rain from the afternoon and all night so we wanted to do some cooking. The kitchen had everything we needed, space to sit and wash up. The toilets and showers are so basic that it’s class.
Loved the peace and quiet, the birds, the walk up over the hill to the sea. Proper little hidden rural basic campsite. Nothing fancy, but got everything you need. Wish we stayed longer but the weather was awful!
Be aware: the long winding gravel road down to site got muddy in the rain and we slid a few times in our hiace getting back up it. There’s no service either so be prepared to pay a few dollars for wifi or just enjoy the peace!!
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Piha Domain Motor Camp
Loveliest lady checked us in, beep in and out with a card, pick whatever spot you want.
Very chill vibe, maybe 1/3-1/2 full in November. Beep into the bathrooms too, basic but very clean. Have to press the shower button loads to get hot water but it’s in the name of saving water they say!
Lots of birds walking around sight, great to stay for a night or two to see the beach, the waterfall and a beautiful sunset!
Be aware: if you’re driving down to piha and don’t already know, it’s a long winding road downhill and once you’re there you won’t want to leave again for day trips until you’re leaving the area for good! Was fine in a hiace not sure about an rv