Profile
Philippa and Adam
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whitianga ▷
Seabreeze Holiday Park
This was good for a night.
It was $20 per person per night in March 2016 for an unpowered site, which included one free hot shower and 30 minutes of WiFi. The kitchen was fully equipped. It's nice having the brewery/pub on site. The beers we tried were excellent and the food looked tasty.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Tairua ▷
Tairua Campground
Decent enough site.
It's nice being walking distance into the centre of town, although it did feel a bit like we were camped in a garden. WiFi came free from the library that is adjacent to the campsite. In March 2016 it was $15 per person per night on an unpowered site, hot showers were an extra $2.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whangamata ▷
Opoutere Coastal Camping
Great location as it's only a few minutes walk through some woods to the beach.
Get up early and catch the sunrise across the Pacific. It's a very peaceful setting too. We used the BBQ; no grease fires to report! $15 per person per night for an unpowered site in March 2016.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Te Aroha ▷
Te Aroha Holiday Park & Backpackers
This site is set in nice grounds with impressive views of the hills behind the park.
The 7m high Flying Fox Zip Wire was an unexpected bonus, as was the unlimited free WiFi. The only downside was the number of flies buzzing around the kitchen.
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Tauranga ▷
TECT Park
This place is fantastic.
There's a lovely area for camping set amongst the trees with picnic benches & 100 m away there's drinking water & clean flush toilets. It's better than some DoC sites that cost $6 per night.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park
This place gets 6/10 because it has a free thermal pools & a cold swimming pool for people to use.
It'd be improved by providing some better equipment in the kitchen (the couple of pans that were provided were disgusting because they were so rusty), making more of an effort to clean the communal areas & updating a few things. Despite having thermal pools the "hot" water in the kitchen & showers was tepid, at best. It cost $40 for two people on an unpowered site in March, which we felt was overpriced.
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Whakatane ▷
Thornton Beach Holiday Park
We had a poor night of sleep due to a group partying in a cabin until about 4am - the noise echoed around the whole site as far as the toilets.
The owners didn't do anything (and apparently from chatting to a regular site user this is not the first instance of rowdy behaviour being ignored by the owners). And $40 for two on an unpowered site in March is very expensive. Facilities are clean, location is great right next to the beach. It would have been an 8 out of 10 if not for the above issues.
We are very sorry to hear about your interrupted sleep. Unfortunately, occasionally after being asked by the owners "several times to keep the noise level down during the night and to return indoors" these are still ignored.
We do strive and try our best to keep it enjoyable for everyone staying at the camp.
Thanks
Thornton Beach Holiday park
Louise
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Te Kaha ▷
Maraehako Camping Ground
A basic campsite, but with good toilets and showers ($1 for 4 minutes).
It's a little overpriced at $15 per person per night as there aren't many facilities. But the thing that makes this site great is the location. It's right on the beach and the sunset was simply stunning. Campfires are allowed as well.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Opotiki ▷
Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp
We really liked this site.
There's loads of space, clean, good showers at no extra cost (although it's requested you only use them for 3 minutes) and picnic tables spread across the grounds. The location is also great right next to the beach and the Motu Dunes cycleway. It was $30 for two people in March for an unpowered site.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Hicks Bay ▷
Te Araroa Holiday Park
The water needs boiling to make it drinkable because it's untreated.
This is a pretty poor campsite for the following reasons:
The kitchen has absolutely NO equipment beyond the cooker, microwave & fridge. (Note: no freezer.). Everything was very grubby. The ground turned into a swamp after rain. The septic tank or drains stank. There are lots and lots of mosquitoes. There's a number of caravans around the site that have been left to rot away. The washing machine cost $4, which is double the price of any other site we've used. The only seating area was either a bench for 3 people or an outdoor table. Despite all these issues it cost $15 per person for an unpowered, which is too much. Unfortunately it's the only site in the area.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Tokomaru Bay ▷
Anaura Bay Family Motor Camp
The location right by the beach is amazing.
Owners were friendly (they gave us fresh fish they'd just caught!). Unlimited free WiFi. Price - high season price is $18 per person for an unpowered site. Showers & toilets all need an urgent update. Kitchen didn't have any equipment for people to use. Some of the bins in the kitchen were really stinky.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Gisborne ▷
Gisborne Showgrounds Park Motorcamp
This was a pretty average campsite.
Clean facilities, plenty of camping space & some free WiFi, but nothing special.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Wairoa ▷
Riverside Motor Camp
This campsite is amazing.
The kitchen & toilets are spotless, the lawn is bright green & lush even in February. There's also free WiFi. Clearly there's a lot of love and care put into this site.
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North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷ Gisborne ▷
Doneraille Park Freedom Camping
This is a really nice place to camp beside the river, where it's also possible to swim.
There are flush toilets (so we don't know why some of the information we read about this place mention needing to bring a chemical toilet in order to camp here) & water on tap, but it wasn't clear if it was safe to drink, so we didn't. We got the Gisborne Council permit for camping from the iSite in Wairoa, which cost $16 for two nights of camping. (Buying a permit for one night wasn't an option.)
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North Island ▷ Hawkes Bay ▷ Waipukurau ▷
Te Paerahi Beach
We stayed for a night in mid February and it was really quiet.
There's drinking water & two clean flush toilets. The views from the tops of the dunes of the waves crashing onto the beach were good. However we struggled to pitch our tent because it was really windy the night we stayed & there's very little shelter. And the fact the ground is sandy didn't help with making the tent secure in the face of the NZ wind.
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North Island ▷ Hawkes Bay ▷ Waipukurau ▷
River's Edge Holiday Park
Yes, everything is a bit dated here, but it all works.
There's free showers, a well equipped kitchen & free WiFi. The owners were very welcoming & relaxed. The only thing we didn't like were the fridges, which were pretty dirty. Otherwise all was good.
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North Island ▷ Wairarapa ▷ Masterton ▷
Mawley Holiday Park
A very well looked after site, with a very clean & well equipped kitchen.
A very well looked after site, with a very clean & well equipped kitchen. The showers were brilliant. It's clear the owners take great pride in maintaining the site. It's walking distance to town. Camp on the right hand side as you enter the site and you avoid the road noise.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Porirua ▷
Camp Elsdon
At $10 per person per night this is amazing value for money.
There's hot showers at no extra cost, although they're were only two male & two female showers & were in a portkabin. Kitchen was clean. From here you can walk to Porirua train station and then get the train into the centre of Wellington for sightseeing. The walk up the Colonial Knob from the campsite gives good views of the local area.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Spring Creek Holiday Park
Good place to stay outside of Blenheim that's a lot cheaper than the Top10.
The owners were friendly. There's a 4 Square supermarket about 0.5 km away, so still easy to buy food. Peaceful setting next to the creek. WiFi was $6 for a 24 hour pass, but no free WiFi on offer. It's a bit old, but everything still works.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Murchison ▷
Riverside Holiday Park
Fantastic campsite with great people running the place.
There's loads of space, 4 or 5 kitchens, clean showers, a deck overlooking the river and a swimming hole with a rope swing :-) It's about 1.5 km outside of town.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Hutt Valley ▷
Kaitoke Regional Park Camping Ground
Brilliant campsite that's kind of like a DoC site.
It's $6 per person per night, with clean flush toilets, sinks for washing up (but no hot water) & electric BBQs (which we didn't use so no idea how good they were). There is a river for bathing. Massive camping site and very quiet.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Mistletoe Bay Eco Village Campground
This is a good place to relax on Marlborough Sounds, or as an overnight if walking the Queen Charlotte track.
It's $16 per person per night for an unpowered camping site, hot showers are $2 (although it was baking hot and we just had cold showers). The kitchen had good gas rings and a large fridge-freezer, but limited plates, pans etc. It's about 1.5 km down a gravel road, so really peaceful. Sometimes the people running the place were away for a few hours at a time, meaning the shop would be closed on an ad hoc basis. More information about the water taxis would have helped. The stars at night were better than we saw at Lake Tekapo!
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ St Arnaud ▷
Buller Campground
This is a very good DOC site.
Unlike other DOC sites, here payment is made at the DOC information centre that's in St Arnaud, so don't bother coming to the camping ground until you've visited the information centre. It's $6 per person per night for an unpowered site, which gives you drinking water, clean flush toilets, clean cold showers and a shelter for cooking and washing up. Each tent pitch is set amongst trees so you end up with an individual pitch. Sandflies were fine, but possibly because it was very windy. The ground was rock hard and very dusty. We struggled a bit to pitch the tent, once it was up it quickly became filthy, but there's not a lot that anyone could do to solve that issue. It's 30 seconds walk to the lake and about 20 minutes walk into St Arnaud.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Harihari ▷
Lake Ianthe Matahi Campsite
Beautiful setting right next to the lake with good grassy spots to pitch a tent and picnic benches.
There's the lake for a refreshing swim. There's a tap giving untreated water and two horrible long drop toilets. There were some sandflies buzzing around but nothing too bad. $6 per person per night for camping.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Methven ▷
Rakaia Gorge Camping Ground
Fantastic site.
Only $8.50 per person per night for a clean site, good showers, benches, and the most fantastic views across the river.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Haast ▷
Haast River Motels and Holiday Park
The campsite is really nice, with the kitchen, amazingly clean showers & living room in an old aircraft hanger.
Free WiFi up to 100 MB per device. There were even some sheltered areas for our bikes. However it was very pricy at $22 per person per night for an unpowered site.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Timaru ▷
Pleasant Point Domain Motor Camp
This is a good domain site, with a small kitchen, free washing machine & cabins.
The showers are good and clean despite looking a bit grubby. Payment taken at the Pleasant Point Diary, which is about 1 km away.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Fairlie ▷
MacKenzie Motel
Good site.
Lovely clean kitchen. WiFi is no longer free.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Lake Tekapo ▷
Lakes Edge Holiday Park
We arrived here on bikes and just needed an unpowered site for our small tent.
We got given a strip of grass outside a cabin, which felt like an after thought. The kitchen was rammed full of people so we sat on the grass (the benches are given to those with a motorhome, who surely don't need them?) with our tiny stove. All this for $18 per person per night. It only gets a score of 6 because of the location, otherwise it'd be a 4 or 5.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Twizel Holiday Park
$18 per person per night, with free showers & 100 MB of WiFi.
It was a bit dusty, but that isn't the fault of the owners as it had been really dry. The kitchen was well equipped.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Mt / Mount Aspiring Holiday Park
This was way over priced at $20 per person per night for an unpowered site.
The showers were in need of some TLC, there was a mouse in one of the two kitchens, one laundry room wasn't working, in the second laundry room one of the dryers was broken, the kitchen had people trying to clean at 09h45 while people were making breakfast. It all felt a bit odd. However the terraces were nice and there was free WiFi.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Westport ▷
Berlins Cafe and Bar
We camped here for a night and were happy.
There is a bar and cafe on site. The campers get to use the kitchen and showers that are part of the motel, which were fine. However, with only two showers it could mean lots of waiting around (although we didn't any any issues as it wasn't very busy). It's possible to get down to the river from Berlin's for a splash about in the water.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Greymouth ▷
Rapahoe Beach Holiday Park
This campsite is set in a great location right next to the beach and it's possible to hear the waves crashing from the tent.
It's pretty cheap too, $28 for two people for an unpowered site, plus an extra $2 for WiFi. Showers were free, but located in the living room, which was just weird. The owners seemed a bit curmudgeonly, lots of the facilities (ovens, washing machines didn't work) & there were rules for everything, including how to put rubbish in the bin!
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Makarora ▷
Wonderland
Brilliant site, at $12.50 per person per night for an unpowered site set on grass nestled amongst the A frame cabins.
The kitchen/living room in Bottom Lodge was a great place to relax. And at night it was really peaceful. A wonderful place to stop between Wanaka & Haast.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Omarama ▷
Omarama TOP 10 Holiday Park
Really lovely site set next to a stream.
$17.50 per person per night for an unpowered site, with some free WiFi & they give us towels to use as we'd arrived by bicycle! How amazing is that?!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Pine Grove Motels
There's only a few spaces for tents, and only one shower and one toilet.
However the kitchen was really well equipped. For a night it worked really well to break the trip from Haast to Fox. We paid $15 per person per night for an unpowered site.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Charleston ▷
Charleston Motor Camp
Very friendly owners.
Good facilities in the kitchen. Very quiet location. 50 MB of free WiFi. $30 for two people for an unpowered site. All in all a good, non commercial, site.