Profile
Ronald Daigneault
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Matamata ▷
Firth Tower Overnight Camping
Honour system site with great toilet and water access.
Picnic tables under the trees in the courtyard. Very quiet in mid November. Passing traffic but not a problem for us. The tower and grounds are worth a visit. Def go hike at the Wairere Falls a short drive away. Also Hobbiton was great and almost makes me want to watch the films in their entirety!
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park
Staff were friendly.
Paid wifi came in handy. Site was pretty open to neighbours. Thermal pools were pretty industrial and exposed but free and used by us. The older kitchen was freezing cold and no supplies whatsoever. I believe you could hire cooking stuff if needed. The bathrooms as well were just cement floors but the showers were hot and no lines.
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North Island ▷ Wairarapa ▷ Ngawi ▷
Cape Palliser
Drove from Martinborough later in the evening to watch the setting sun over the straight.
Two areas to park and we chose the one on the West side. Only two other campers there and a short walk to the clean and well stocked portaloos. Great for sunsets. A fair walk from the lighthouse but doable. Stop to see the seals en route. Highly recommend this site!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Franz Josef ▷
Otto/MacDonalds Campsite
Great views of The mountains from the lake in the AM.
We arrived in fog but the next AM were blessed with wonderful views. Decent bathrooms. DOC volunteers came and took our fee on arrival. Nice enough area, especially at the section near the water.
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South Island ▷ Central Otago ▷ Cromwell ▷
Lowburn Harbour
Great local.
Water views. Swimming suitable. Pretty busy but we found our own spot beside a floating dock which was great to have breakfast on. The toilet is just an odd stainless steel basin with plastics rims. Bring your own toilet paper! Running water thankfully. A load of kids came in for a dip and midnight and made lots of noise and took a swim. Otherwise no problems.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Milford Sound Lodge – Rainforest Campervan Park
Friendly staff.
Short walk to the tour boats. Great facilities for showering and kitchen and laundry. The river area was fun to explore. Spent two nights. The drive up to Milford Sound was half the fun. Make sure to do some of the short hikes, especially the Key Summit.
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Taupo ▷
Five Mile Bay Recreation Reserve
Gorgeous lake views.
We arrived late in the evening and had no trouble getting a spot near the water. Bathrooms OK. Just bring your own toilet paper!
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Roselands Waitomo Caves
Parking lot of a restaurant.
Some spots flatter than others. Decent crowd. Friendly staff. Buffet was great. Oh those fried potatoes!!!!!! Nice area to walk around with decent views and close to the cows. Toilet in Waitomo open 24/7 if u are up early to start exploring before the restaurant is open. Cheers.
Hi Ronald,
Thanks for taking the time out to review us, we're glad you enjoyed your stay.
Leonie
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Tuatapere ▷
Monkey Island, Orepuki
Busy place but we found a spot for the night.
Set up our table and chairs in a small raised bluff beside where our camper was parked so stunning views of sunset. Very clean and well attended toilet. Dolphins swam by in the Southern Ocean in the morning. Quite a nice spot.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Westport ▷
Kawatiri Beach Reserve – Westport
In all fairness we arrived after 10pm and left by 7am.
Didn’t make it to the beach but could hear the Tasman Sea very well all night. No problems getting a site even though it looked busy. No bathroom but in the town there is one were we freshened up in the AM. A bit difficult to find as the location map doesn’t show roads nearby but just follow the city signs to the beach.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Old Macdonalds Farm and Holiday Park
Clean and friendly site with ample and well stocked kitchen and bathrooms in the Bull Paddock area.
Great washer and driers. Stayed there pre and post the 4 nights on the Abel Tasman track. Parked in the free parking lot whilst we were away without any issue. Stores our food in the paddock fridge while away and it was as we left it in our return. A few hundred metres from the start of the Abel Tasman as well. Highly recommend a visit to Fat Tui’s for a burger after the track walk as well. Mmmmmm.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Tongariro / National Park Village ▷
Whakapapa Holiday Park
Convenient Park for adventuring around Tongariro and doing the alpine crossing.
We stayed two nights, pre and post the crossing. We made a booking from the Isite in Turangi and arrived late but there was a mailbox with our site number and wifi code waiting for use. Decent kitchen and bathroom. Long lines for the washer and dryer and after hearing others complain that the drivers took at least two cycles to dry we opted to wait to do laundry. Lovely stream nearby which soothed our sleep!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Balclutha ▷
Kaka Point Camping Ground
Meh! Hot showers, good laundry, decent kitchen and wifi.
Just what we needed. Otherwise nothing special.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Arrowtown ▷
Lake Hayes
Great overnight local with swimmable lake and mountain views.
Close to Arrowtown and a world away from the hustle of Queenstown. Great bathrooms, in fact the nicest freedom campsite bathrooms in our entire month in NZ. Watch for the “park between these signs” signs as the entire area is not for overnight camping.
Some visitors to our site that evening.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Diamond Lake (Wanaka)
Arrived late at night.
Woke up to wonderful views of the mountains nearby. Clean and stocked toilet. No running water but all good. Diamond Lake hike beside attracted many day trippers in the early AM but they were friendly to chat with. Very busy but loads of room. If you have the time, drive up Mototapu Station road and walk around the gorge. Such a lovely area and a fun fact, the eco hotel beyond the gate used to be the home of Shania Twain and her ex husband Matt Lange. That neck of the woods is stunning.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Te Anau Mossburn Highway
Only room for a handful of campers.
There was one larger camper van when we arrived in the late evening and about midnight another camper pulled in for the night. You can hear the cars on the road but very few drive by at night. There is a loo about 15 KM west of this site on the road toward Te Anau. We prepped breakky there after freshening up.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Invercargill ▷
Boat Harbour Road, Fortrose township
Most favourite local for freedom camping in the month of travelling around NZ.
The views and sunset were fabulous and walking the top of the cliffs provided stunning vistas. No toilet but no problem. Only three other campers up there that night. Such a treat.