gareth williams
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony
expensive experience and bad experience!
surrounded by rude people in the grand stands standing and climbing over people, taking pictures with flash when requested not to do so. felt sorry for the penguins they should not have to deal with loud people in their habitats. saw more penguins down in the car-park and on return journey to the campsite! waiting at the hide at the yellow eye colony is a much better experience.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Wilderness Motorhomes
3rd time renting a camper.
First with wilderness, exceptional service and camper could not fault them in any way. Great to communicate and book with. Expertly showed us the vehicle and its workings before we left base, nothing was too much trouble or too much to ask for. Base jumper 2, lovely to drive, economical and everything we needed to live and sleep a true home from home. Power and water allowed us to freedom camp for 3 days without hook up and supply. Warm and comfortable van ideal for 2 to explore with exceptional back up from the team at Christchurch base. We wanted to say so much more but space doesn't allow. We have had bad experiences in the past but won't use anyone else now we have been with wilderness. They made our experience very easy and enjoyable. Keep up the hard work guys and we will see you again soon. :-) gareth and lara
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Greymouth ▷
Lake Brunner Country Motel
probably one of the nicest camps we stayed on.
facilities were clean and good and the campsite was very quiet. we had a very good nights sleep here so much so we nearly missed the check out time
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Pohara Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park
the only thing letting this site down is the price.
its a big site and i expect it gets busy in summer, but the facilities are excellent and well looked after. right onto the beach as well. take a walk further round the coast line at night to look for penguins
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Karamea ▷
Kōhaihai Campsite
great little campsite, good value and great views.
good walking nearby as well get in early to get a good spot
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Omarama ▷
Hot Tubs Omarama
we stopped here after being caught in the rain and wind the night before, what a great experience.
came in the daytime it was so quiet and peaceful and relaxing. wish we could have come back for a night visit under a starry sky
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Westport ▷
Carters Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park
great location and nice clean camp facilities good.
long hot showers in clean cubicles. we had heavy rain here be careful if your on grass site as the drainage wasn't that good and there was lots of standing water
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Wharariki Beach Holiday Park
do not make the mistake of thinking this is a beachfront camp, as its a good 15 min walk to the beach still.
the camp itself looks to be a work in progress, its expensive to stay and the you have to pay for showers as well. the peacocks are rather noisy to! i imagine in a few years it will be a good site but it still lacks tlc and imagination
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs ▷
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa
slightly disappointing experience here, the springs are like more of a playground, and even the adult only pools are not monitored enough so its not really that peaceful or relaxing.
the showers and changing rooms aren't brilliant either. if you book an appointment in the spa you can enter the springs through them and use their lockers, changing rooms and showers but obviously that costs more. save your money and visit the polynesian spa on the north island
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Whale Watch Kaikoura
this was our second visit with whale watch, we went on a trip in march 2009 but failed to see anything.
we managed to see one whale on this visit and it was worth the wait. The crew are very informative and helpful as well as the booking staff. The sea was quite rough on our visit but it didn't effect the trip in any way. well done guy's keep up the good work
Kia Ora Gareth and Lara, thanks for taking the time to share about your times with us, as you know first hand when working with marine life you can never really predict what is going to happen. Thanks for trying again and being rewarded with the fantastic time you had with us. All the best.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Abel Tasman Marahau Beach Camp
comfortable and clean.
the facilities were ok but seemed to be waiting for showers etc as there weren't many. one of the more expensive sites on the south island, don't expect a view, but handy for the walking.
cafe was closed as out of season but visit the fat tui at the end of the track - best burgers on the south island
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Kaikoura Kayaks
we did a morning kayak with seals experience at the end of september.
quick instruction on what to do and we were out and about in the waves. we saw a great deal and it was interesting to look at the coast from a different perspective. whilst we saw seals none came close but it didn't ruin our experience. we even got to do a little surfing in the kayak. good time had by all :-)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Robin Hood Bay Campsite
lovely campsite on the edge of a bay.
the beach is stoney but walkable. the site has a toilet only so you need to be self sufficient. lovely views though
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Marfells Beach Campsite
what a lovely camping spot.
great views, quiet and direct access to beach what more could you ask for. the second block of toilets are newer but both sets of facilities ok
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Abel Tasman Marahau Water Taxis
whilst the walk in the park was lovely this service was let down by the fact the pick up was 25 mins late in getting to us.
An excuse was given by the driver that the other boat should have told him we were there waiting. other than that this service provides a day walking in the park if the full walk is not practicable.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs ▷
Pines Holiday Park
we received a warm welcome here and the owners were very helpful.
it was quite noisy near the road but it didn't really bother us too much. the facilities were ok but you do have to pay for showers. if your going into the springs though just have one there.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Amberly ▷
Amberley Beach Camping Ground
good value for money, right near the beach, rubbish and toilets provided and a great fish and chip shop at the end of the road
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Dragon Wagons
van looked cool from a distance but up close was tired and damaged.
Spent the first 3 days visiting garages to get various problems fixed. Could not use the cd player of an evening as you had to have to engine on to use it. Very disappointed with our whole dragon wagon experience it definatley was no a drive the fantasy hire we wanted would not recommend
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Rarawa Beach Campsite
great very basic campsite beautiful beach it is well worth the long drive down the gravel track to find.
Only has long drop toilet and cold showers though. Great place for star gazing as there is no lighting pollution. would recommend
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Far North Outback Adventures
This is a great tour.
Phil knows his stuff and is a great tour guide. This was far better than going on a bus for the day. The trip through the forest was great saw lots of wild horses to. The carrot cake was awesome to. Would recommend this company to anyone