Danice Carlson
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North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷ Hawera ▷
Rotokare Scenic Reserve
We absolutely LOVED Rotokare and we are so glad we decided to camp here!
Not only was there plenty of room to freedom camp, the price was super reasonable (suggested donation of $10/person/night) and there were some lovely trails that were a birders dream. We added 7 new bird sightings on the night we were here including a Kiwi just steps from our van!! This was truly a do-not-miss for birders in Aotearoa.
The only thing I would say is to lower any expectations you have for the bathrooms. They are volunteer-cleaned and we found the accessible stall without TP and a working light. The facilities were some of the worst we experienced - even compared to the public freedome sites we used. But we still felt great about staying there and supporting such an incredible conservation effort.
*Also as a heads up, there is absolutely no service/data available from the reserve.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Piha Domain Motor Camp
We ended our 3 week trip here and it was an absolutely perfect vacation at the end of our adventure.
We were able to walk to so many cool spots from the grounds. Powered sites were spacious and we had no trouble pulling intona shady area.
Hot showers were included and actually hot (eventually), and the large kitchen was a great spot to clean all of our gear before returning our rental. Plus they had a fridge and freezer you could store groceries in, saving us from buying ice for the chilly bin on our last night. The staff at check in and check out were delightful and helpful with local recommendations, and the beach along with the gap, blowhole and kitekite waterfalls trek we're some of our favourite finds. This was absolutely worth the price and probably our top campground to stay at in NZ.