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CARMERS
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Amber Kiwi Holiday Park and Motels
Nice staff up front.
The holiday park had several muddy sites in September but we tried to make one work. The bathroom was generally pretty clean. Overall it seemed rather average but its location was ideal.
Thanks Carmers for your comments.
amberpark
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Wanaka Tasman Holiday Parks
Beautiful setting up above the lake.
I got up early in the morning and watched the sun peak over the mountains and at night all the stars were visible. Bathrooms were clean and it was close enough to activity, although not close enough for me to want to walk. Nice place to stay - would stay again.
Thanks Carmer family
Tasman Holiday Parks Wanaka
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Queenstown Holiday Park Creeksyde
The campsite was decent.
I did like that the campground is attempting to go green (they had battery recycling!). The weird part is how they have the bathrooms and kitchen kind of sprinkled throughout the camp (which may be more convenient) but might be a little bit of a wait if it is occupied. I felt like it was a little bit expensive for what it was although the proximity to be able to walk and not have to pay for parking in Queenstown was very nice. I would consider staying here again.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Rotorua Tasman Holiday Parks
I loved this campervan park.
It was very clean, the staff was friendly and helpful. Close location to many things but generally seemed very quiet. We loved the thermal pools in September because it was a little cold out but felt great in the pools. The bathrooms were clean with hair dryers available and they were quite warm. The sites were not muddy and had a picnic table. Overall the camping area was well lit but not too bright. It seemed to be very popular - would be good with a family too. I would definitely stay here (especially if traveling during wetter months).
Kia Ora,
Thanks for the review and taking the time to make it. You feedback is appreciated :)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Havelock ▷
Havelock Holiday Park
I really liked this sleepy little campsite.
The owner was one of the friendliest people we met on our whole journey. He had great recommendations (not just for Havelock but for lots of parts of the South Island). Unfortunately, Havelock was a little "dead" when we were there. The spots were nice (gravel), and the bathrooms were clean although you had to pay for shower (which was unfortunate because it seemed a little high to have to still pay for shower). Regardless I would give them my business again.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park & Motels
Excellent campsite.
HUGE bathrooms that were clean and warm with a hair dryer. Staff was friendly. They let us park in the lot during the day while we did a tour. Kitchen was clean and had good places to sit to have a meal. Would definitely stay here again.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Punakaiki ▷
Punakaiki Beach Camp
A little bit dated and quite wet during the wet season.
I also didn't like how the campground was barely lit at all at night. The kitchen facilities seemed clean, and the bathrooms were generally okay. Mostly everything is open air (bathrooms, laundry) which is probably ideal in the summer but a little bit cold in September. Probably would try some place different next time.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Ohakune ▷
Ohakune TOP 10 Holiday Park
I'm not sure why this campervan park is rated as high as it was.
Out of all the places we stayed in New Zealand, the staff when we checked in seemed the least friendly compared to anywhere else. The park wasn't very well lit. The bathrooms were nice (warm with good showers) but I didn't feel that it made the dark campground worth it. They also charge quite a premium even when they didn't seem that busy and require 2 night stay. I would probably move on unless you absolutely must stay here for skiing in the winter.
It is always a fine line between being to dark or to bright, we have installed more solar sensor lights and LED lighting. Winter is our peak season and being at a higher altitude, cost for power is high
ohakunetop10
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Motueka ▷
Motueka TOP 10 Holiday Park
Excellent choice for campervan parking.
We stopped here to do laundry which was easy because they had several machines and the price was similar to most other places. The showers were pretty good (there was a light out in the bathroom which made it a little dark). The park itself is nicely spaced out and quiet. The staff seemed pretty helpful too. I would definitely stay here again.
Hello, thanks for you review, happy to hear our facilities were good and the layout of the park was convenient and our staff helpful. Enjoy New Zealand, hope to see you again one day.
Jenny McNamee
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Escape Campervan Rentals
My husband and I used an escape van for about 16 days during September 2017.
We are American so we aren't used to driving manual cars, so we opted for an automatic van. We got a very old van unfortunately (when we saw the other options I think the manual vans were newer). Even worse to my surprise, it was painted with pinup girls on the side instead of the flowers or turtles we had come to expect based on the company's website. Needless to say, it was kind of embarrassing to park our bright pink and blue van with pin up girls while we were traveling throughout the country. Our stove didn't work (which wasn't a huge deal for us). I think the biggest thing that was hard was that the size of the van is very small and to store stuff you have to put it under the wooden slats where the bed is. This would not have been a huge problem, except we were traveling during a really wet month so anytime we tried to set the bed up, the bed would invariably get wet. There was lots of condensation during the night, and the only light source is a desk lamp. I think upgrading to a tiny bit larger van would have been worth it just to avoid standing in the rain when trying to set the bed up. I also just felt like the van was definitely on the older side. There was a plastic piece (like a grate) between the front hood and the windshield that fell off midway through driving and we had to stop and get tape to put it back on. I would have felt more comfortable getting an automatic with a different company that offered slightly newer/bigger vans. That being said, the price was good for what we got, and I definitely recommend campervanning in NZ in general. I think renting with Escape is reasonable as long as you definitely know what you are getting.
Thanks for your review Carmen - we are a budget backpacker company and we don't misrepresent ourselves, the age and size/dimensions of the vans is detailed on our site. We do have our Self Contained Escape vans which are all 2008-2013 models so newer vans are available also with us. We have more storage in our van than a lot of larger campers out there. We paint all sorts of things on the vans and Pinup Chix is featured within our gallery online - along with many other non-flowery designs. We are glad you enjoyed NZ and the van life though, and happy also that the price point was good ($27 per day in your case travelling over September/winter).
Cheers
Jolly Roger
Escape
Terry Wakefield
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Palmerston North ▷
Palmerston North Holiday Park
I would stay here again.
We tried to plan out our trip and locations and this one ended up being a last minute decision to get out of the mountains before some bad weather came in. The owners were nice and friendly and found a place for us. I suppose some of the areas could be muddy in wet season but most of these were marked off. The site is somewhat dark at night but beautiful big trees during the day. Bathroom was a little cold (windows were open) but the shower was excellent.