Volker Stroenisch
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Kauri Coast TOP 10 Holiday Park
The site is well maintained and has excellent facilities - but is also quite expensive ($48NZD for 2 people at a powered site).
The Trounson Forest is 4 km away for a nice walk between mighty Kauris, and there should be kiwi birds as well at night.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Muriwai Beach Campground
A nice spot, pretty close to Auckland, so if you arrive or leave it is a good place to go.
Also not expensive, with $30NZD for 2 people and a campervan on a powered site (and at this price 50 cents for a shower does not matter). A good kitchen and reasonable facilities, but not the latest ones. Only a very short walk to the beach and to the local gannet colony. A café and surfboard hire are also just around the corner.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Ahipara Top 10 Holiday Park
A very good holiday park.
Everything excellently clean and tidy and all facilities you wish to have, including a nice barbecue area, hot showers and free WiFi.
Be aware that it is not directly at the beach, it takes a short walk there, but no problem.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Opua ▷
Whangaruru Beachfront Camp
Good place with a lot of space for your campervan.
View directly into the bay. Facilities clean and tidy, free WiFi, free showers. But: we paid $47NZD for 2 adults on a powered site, which is quite expensive. Maybe the reason why there were in total only 3 campers...
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Piha Domain Motor Camp
The place itself is OK and the beach is awesome.
There are nice walks close by as well. Yes, showers worked with keycards (which I do not think unusual with experience from Europe), but no problem except that sometimes they were a bit cold.
But what was annoying is that all water taps on the campsite were closed down. I was told that there is a tap in the back of the kitchen, but you need a very long hose if you want to refill your campervan as you can not access this directly. So we couldn't fill water in the tank at all. Even considering the water problems in the area I would expect fresh for a camper - this leads to the lower rating for me.
Reception depends on who you meet there, from warm welcome and nice advice about the environment and possible walks to a cooler professional politeness.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Te Puia Guided Tour
Not so much to see.
Quite a small area. Positives were the carving and weaving school. Very overpriced.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Rotorua Family Holiday Park
If you want to stay around Rotorua e.g.
to participate in some of the various activities it is a reasonable place to stay. Formally nothing can be said against the site: all facilities were clean and tidy and everything needed is available. We paid (in the off-peak season) only 30 NZD for a powered site and 2 people, with showers and free WiFi included.
However, most of the sites are occupied by permanent residents who have partly built houses around their caravans three times as big as the caravan itself. If you want to see nature or a nice view it is the wrong site for you.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whangamata ▷
Onemana Beach Reserves
Not much to add to previous reviews, however the space for campervans seems to be more limited now; apparently the pole marking the area for self-contained vehicles has been moved so that there is only
space for 4 vans now. Beautiful white beach in a small bay close to the parking site invites for a swim. Cold shower, water and flush-toilets available - and this all for free. The only thing a bit strange is that you stand between the housing area and the beach, feels a bit like disturbing the paradise of the residents.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Opotiki ▷
Island View Family Holiday Park
Wow, what a site!
Grassy area directly at the beach with a view to the sea directly from the back window of the campervan. Kitchen, hot showers (plus cold showers at the single sites, so you can wash the salt water away), hammocks, a great BBQ-area, a pool, playground for the kids, free WiFi, and even free kayaks for rental to play with at the beach. The facilities look clean and tidy, there is even soap in the showers. Can be highly recommended!
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Gisborne ▷
Tatapouri Bay
A place with several positive aspects and some areas for improvement.
Location itself is great, a grassy area with some trees spread around and some hills in the back. Direct beach access. Good working free Wi-Fi. Warm welcome. The facilities are a bit mixed. Kitchen and BBQ are OK, but just one toilet for all gents on the site? When we were there it wasn't busy, but I could imagine that at peak times there are people queuing up stamping from one foot to the other. Hot showers available, but in fact pretty hot and you can't regulate them. A bit overpriced at 44 NZD for two people in a campervan given the quality of the facilities, but still probably the best alternative around Gisborne.
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Taupo ▷
Five Mile Bay Recreation Reserve
Can be highly recommended: nicely located at the beach of Lake Taupo, inviting for a swim.
A view directly to Tongariro opposite the lake. Only disadvantage: apparently many people know this place, it can become a bit crowded. Only for self-contained vehicles!
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Taumarunui ▷
Taumarunui Holiday Park
The reception was as welcoming as it could be.
We could choose our place freely. Nice BBQ-place, well equipped kitchen, hot and free showers. And the best: customers can pick herbs like thyme, parsley, rosemary or basil, fetch tomatoes it get some lettuce - for free. What grows can be consumed. So we had a nice barbecue with salad and fresh herbs... these little things make the atmosphere.
It's a bit close to a main road, so some people may find this a bit disturbing, but for me the advantages compensated easily for this.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Wellington ▷
Owhiro Bay Overnight Campervan Parking
Yes, it is windy here.
But this gives also spectacular views when the gusts blow flying water over the ocean and the mountains of the South Island show at sunset at the horizon. There are clean toilets, well maintained with soap and paper. Be aware that not the whole carpark is available for freedom camping but only a small part for maybe 15-20 vehicles.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Taupata Gravel Yard
Don't think this is a real beach - at low tide the water is far out and even at high tide the water is that shallow that you can forget about a swim.
Otherwise it was a quiet place despite many campervans.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Wharariki Beach Walk
Not much to add to previous reviews: a most beautiful beach with picturesque rocks, and dunes.
Also the walk there goes through a nice landscape.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Wharariki Beach Holiday Park
The plus the of this campsite is the lovely environment and the access to one of the most beautiful beaches in NZ - but make no mistake, it is a 20 minute walk to this beach and nowhere close.
It is absolutely overpriced, we paid 44 NZD for 2 people / powered site and you have to pay 2 NZD for a 4 min shower (with little water) extra. This makes it one of the most expensive sites we stayed on and the value for money is not adequate. There are long drop toilets only, there is not even a garbage bin on the site. The bays for the campervans are very small. Kitchen is OK but only half of the equipment was working. One of the positive things is a BBQ-place. The staff at the reception were not unfriendly but it was no warm welcome either. We got the feeling the interest lies more in the money than on the customer satisfaction. Next time I will choose a different site.
Thank you for your review. Your charge for 2 people on a powered site should have been $41. If your site was "too small" a walk back to the office to check if a bigger site was available would be in order. Guarantee of a site to fit is by pre-paid booking, which is policy for powered site. The female showers although it says 4 mins are actually 6 mins and the men are 5 mins, they do not have "pressure" like household showers as they are from water tanks. We do not anywhere advertise we are beach side all our advertising states it is a 20 min walk to the beach. The park runs on DOC policy of pack in and pack out for rubbish to keep costs down.
Glenda
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Methven ▷
Lake Camp
We arrived on a hot Sunday, not knowing that this place is a waterski area.
So many boats were on the lake and it was quite noisy. Due to the hot and dry weather conditions it was also extremely dusty whenever a car passed by. However, when the crowd had left it became perfectly nice and with a great view. The last 9 km on the road are very bumpy - not a nice drive on this gravel road.
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Kaikoura Kayaks
Really a great experience!
We rented a kayak (for two) for a full day. We did not go with a guided tour, which offered us more freedom where to go and where to stay for a while. First: they provide good material and especially a very comprehensive safety equipment including radio, first aid kit, flares, good sprayskirts etc. They introduced us (while we were not taking the guided tour) into the surroundings. Second: we saw everything they mentioned: hunting seals (seals are everywhere around), a stingray, blue penguins and especially awesome: about 10 dusky dolphins around us! They were left and right, in front and under the boat, riding the waves together with us, splashed us wet. Not once, they were coming back again and again. Unbelievable!
This tour can only be recommended - and the company offers a good value.
Thank you:)
Matt Foy
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Lake Pukaki Overnight Campervan Parking
Great views to the lake, to Mt.
Cook, Mt. Sefton and the others around. The colour of the lake is awesome and it was even quite warm for a swim. However, the score is valid only for self-contained vehicles (even if we saw no sign). There are many people sleeping in the car or tent and I wouldn't want to know how they handle their human needs... But I can not say that it looked dirty.
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Lobster Inn
You need to be aware that this is not a site with a view: you basically park behind the motel with no direct beach access.
Facilities were in good order and well maintained. A pool is available, laundry, kitchen, BBQ as well. Showers are free, but the price for 2 people in the campervan is 45 NZD for a powered site. It is about 1.5 km walk to the town centre, along a not too nice industrial road.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park & Motels
Excellent site with new, clean first-class facilities.
Free WiFi. Nice view across the lake and to the Kepler Mountains. Short walk to the city centre. Nothing to complain about, everything you need and wish for.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Waikawa ▷
Curio Bay Camping Ground
Would rank it higher for the location, but I can give no recommendation for the site facilities at all.
We preferred to use the toilet in the campervan rather than using the one here. Showers cost extra, kitchen is small. Most sites are within flax bays; OK, this gives privacy but also no view at all. Some additional features like BBQ...not available.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Palmerston ▷
Moeraki Village Holiday Park
Nice view over the ocean and bay.
Good facilities, significantly better than average. Felt welcome by friendly staff. Nice walks to Moeraki Boulders or around the village, short distance to Katiki Point (Lighthouse) where we were suddenly standing amongst fur seals which were not shy or afraid at all.