Andrew Kermode
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Mangaweka ▷
Awastone
Awesome place and superbly friendly and helpful hosts.
We popped in for the night and ended up staying an extra night and would definitely book again on future trips. We stayed right by the river and the facilities are clean and up to date. Highly recommend hiring the hot tub for an hour at the end of a long day driving or just for a bit of self indulgent pleasure during your stay. The cafe on site has great food and is well priced. It's been a pleasure staying here.
Thank you for your lovely review. Great to hear you enjoyed your stay..
Tricia Eames
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Fox Glacier TOP 10 Holiday Park
If I could give this place an 11 I would.
This holiday park wasn't originally on the list of places we were going to stay but we are so glad we stopped here. The lady on reception was friendly and helpful and the facilities were some of the best we experience in our 16 day trek around the South Island. The showers were definitely the best of any of the holiday camps we stayed at. I couldn't fault this place and even the price was good.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Hampshire Holiday Park Queenstown
This park is commercial camping at it's worst.
The location is brilliant and the facilities are very very good with everything being clean and well maintained but it's just a shame that if you are in a campervan then it feels like a suburban shopping centre car park. I would stay here again but only because of the location.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Tuatapere ▷
Monkey Island, Orepuki
If you are freedom camping then mark this spot on the map.
We only stayed the one night and had the place to ourselves. It was great to be able to step out of the campervan, walk acrossed a small grassed area and then onto the beach. The kids enjoyed exploring the island and climbed to the lookout which was previously used by the locals tribes to spot whales. There were 2 clean toilets located close by and what appeared to be a spring water supply.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Milford Sound Day Cruises
We booked an early departure nature cruise and had a wonderful trip.
Initially the trip looked like being cancelled as the roads were closed due to overnight snow but the company decided to still go ahead despite only having 7 paying passengers. This made it a much more personalised cruise compared to trips that carry bus loads of passengers. We were able to mingle with the other passengers and the friendly staff onboard. The trip is really well priced considering the high quality of the vessel and commentary provided plus the free hot soup was a bonus on a cold winters day. We saw lots of seals and had a pod of dolphins riding the bow wave as we came back into port. All in all, it was a great way to end our stay in Milford Sound.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
Goldsborough Campsite
This spot is a little gem hidden away in the bush and close to Hokitika.
It's a DOC site and only cost us $18 for a family of 4 to stay the night. The family enjoyed exploring the area and there are interesting walks located close to the site. The flush toilets look brand new and there are sinks as well but bring a torch to find your way in the dark. The glow worm dell in Hokitika (free) is only a 10 minute drive away and worth a visit. It's like being surrounded by little stars.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Mount Cook ▷
White Horse Hill Campground
We stayed here for a night in the middle of July and although it was extremely cold, it was awesome to stay in a place surrounded by such beauty.
Only the main shelter and toilets were open for the winter but that's pretty standard for a lot of the sites we stayed at during our 16 day campervan adventure. The family did the full Hooker Valley walk but make sure you give yourself ample time to enjoy the scenery and in winter it gets dark pretty early. The cost is $10 per person but given the quality of the facilities and the beauty of the surroundings, it's worth every cent.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Lake Pukaki Overnight Campervan Parking
This has got to be the best freedom camping site in the South Island and on the night we stayed there, in the middle of July, we had the place to ourselves.
There are no facilities but that doesn't matter because we had million dollar views in the morning as the sun rose and lit up the mountains in the background. If this spot was in Australia, they would have developed a resort here and would be charging hundreds of dollars for the privilege to stay here but at the moment it's all FREE. This place offers freedom camping at it's absolute best and I can't believe we were lucky enough to stay here.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
The Hokitika Glowworm Dell
This is a cool little spot only a couple of minutes from the parking bay on the main road.
Take a torch to light the way but turn it off as you get closer and let your eyes adjust to the darkness as thousands of little stars light up all around you. Definitely worth a visit once the sun goes down...... and it's free.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Wendekreisen Travel
We have just finished a 16 day wander of the South Island in a Koru 6 berth campervan.
The campervan was perfect for our family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers. I was scared we would suffer from cabin fever but the van offered more than enough storage and space for everyone to feel comfortable. We travelled in July because of the cheaper cost to hire the van and were blessed with beautiful weather everyday. Although the nights were very cold in some of the places we stayed, the central heating kept us nice and warm. The van wasn't brand new but we knew that when we booked but it was mechanically well looked after and was very easy to drive. We had a minor issue with the rear bumper losing a bolt but this was quickly fixed for free by one of their service agents in Wanaka. The company paid for our taxi to the Christchurch depot and kindly dropped me off at our accommodation after I returned the van. I would definitely recommend this company and am excited to see they have some newer automatic 6 berth vans coming later in the year.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Greymouth ▷
Jacksons Retreat Campervan Holiday Park
This place is brilliant.
I used Rankers to plan my trip and Jackson's Retreat was on my list of places we just had to stay based on the previous reviews and we weren't disappointed. The facilities here are beautiful and so well maintained. You can tell they take pride in the retreat and I would recommend everyone to stay here. We only stayed the one night before having to fly home but I could have easily used this as my base to explore the region if we had more time.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Woodend Beach Holiday Park
The lady on reception was really friendly and helpful with local places to eat but the facilities here are old and dated which is a shame because the park is in a great location.
I would have rated this place slightly higher but unfortunately the office was closed when we were checking out just before 10am, therefore we lost our refundable gate key deposit of $20. I'm sure this wouldn't normally be the case but it was a disappointing end to our stay.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Shotover Jet
This was an expensive experience for a family with two teenagers because the eldest son (15) had to pay adult prices but it was still worth the money to say you have done it.
The staff were very good and the jetboat driver was extremely skilled as we went flying and spinning through the canyon. If you are going to go jetboating then go with Shotover as they are the only company that operates in the canyon. My only complaint was that queries that I sent to their website went unanswered.
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South Island ▷ Central Otago ▷ Ranfurly ▷
St Bathans Campsite
This is a great spot for self contained vans to stay the night.
There is a toilet and running water but not much else except peace and quiet in the middle of nowhere. There is a box for donations to help maintain the site. The domain is located just a couple of kilometers from the Vulcan Tavern and Blue Lake walk.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Milford Sound Lodge – Rainforest Campervan Park
This is a great place to stay if you are making the trip to Milford Sound.
Don't just drive in and out the same day. It was the most expensive campervan site we stayed at during our 16 day campervan tour but that's what you get for staying in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. It rained the day we drove to Milford Sound but that just added to the adventure as all the temporary waterfalls come alive and cascade down the mountains. The staff were extremely helpful in booking our cruise for the following day and adjusted our accommodation cost when they realised they had originally charged my 13 year old daughter adult prices. In their defence, she looks much older. I was impressed that he picked up this error and automatically refunded the difference. The facilities were very good however the chairs in the lounge could do with a good clean or replacing. The kids enjoyed tinkering the ivory on the piano in the lounge and we would definitely stay here again in the future.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Hillview Camping Stay
This is a brilliant place to stay as you explore the bottom of the South Island.
It's like staying at your mate's farm but without having to do all the chores. The price is currently $10 per person and a small fee for hot untimed showers, use of the washing machine etc. Kevin (the owner) offered us discounted rates for the kids and the showers on the night we stayed but we gladly paid over and above the going rate because we were so impressed with the welcome we received. The facilities are simple and clean but what makes this place is its isolation and the friendly atmosphere. FREE WIFI was also a bonus. The owners are continually improving the facilities and we look forward to staying here again when we come back to the South Island. We didn't have time to try the big cooked breakfast but the homemade pizzas are definitely worth the money.
Thanks for the feed back and it was great having you and the family glad you enjoyed the pizzas
many thanks hope to see you all again.
kevin Boam