BigSis
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whitianga ▷
Whiti Farm Park
This is a nice place to go with the kids so they can get a bit of experience with the animals.
Our kids don't have much contact with animals because we live in a big city and they rarely even see a sheep or chicken these days so it was good for that.
It was raining quite heavily when we went but even so, most of the animals were out and about and came up to be petted and fed. Our children's favourite was the possum, even though they're considered a pest in NZ, he was still lovely.
It was also the cheapest place we went on our trip - at only $20 for a family of 4, it was a real bargain.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Tikitere ▷
Hells Gate and Wai Ora Spa
I gave it a 7 because the walk and thermal sites are impressive but I wasn't impressed with the price - $75 for a family of 4 was too expensive I thought but we paid because we'd gone all the way
up there and everyone wanted to go in and have a look around.
The weather became really bad when we were half way around and there was one shelter throughout the whole walk - they can't help the weather but it'd be nice if they're reading this if they put up a few more shelters - it's very exposed once you leave the gift shop and cafe area.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Manukau Holiday Park
I think you'd only stay here if you needed to be near the airport as it's not a picturesque site and it's too far to be able to get the bus into Auckland for the day (well you could try but
it'd take a while - the bus stop is right outside). We drove to the zoo from there and it took about 30-40 mins.
We stayed 2 nights, the first because we wanted to drive into Auckland the following day and the second because we needed to drop the camper off and head to the airport early - I wouldn't have chosen to stay here for any longer but for 2 nights it was fine.
The showers were free and hot, the bathrooms were a little tired looking but of all the sites we stayed in, this was the busiest and I think most people were using it like us, as a stopover - it's not a long-term holiday site.
The area isn't particularly pleasant with a busy road outside and houses surrounding the back of the site behind a high fence. There was music pumping out from somewhere - I think it was the gym/leisure centre up the road, but it did stop around 7pm. It didn't feel like an unsafe site, despite it being in a built-up area and there's a keypad for opening the barrier to stop unauthorised people driving in.
You can walk to a few shops - we ate in the Irish pub on the retail park near the Rainbow's End theme park and there's a buffet restaurant next door which seemed quite popular, so it's useful when you've got to the end of your holiday and have run out of food!
It took us about 20 mins to get to the airport from there when we were leaving so it was good for that, but there are closer sites to the city for those who want to be nearer to the sightseeing.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Blue Lake TOP 10 Holiday Park
Great site with good facilities.
The weather was bad so the undercover BBQ area was great, as was the kitchen and dining room. It was really quiet when we were there (August) so I'm not sure what it's like during busy times, but the pitches were mainly hedged so you would get a bit of privacy.
Staff working there were nice, very friendly and helpful. The only downside is that despite the great lakeside location, there aren't any pitches with view of the lake, but it's still a good site for those wanting to get away from it all (there's nothing there apart from this campsite so take plenty of supplies!).
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Auckland Zoo
We had a nice day here and for $54 for a family of 4, the entrance price was reasonable.
It's a nicely laid out zoo and the safari areas are great - coming from Singapore where we have one of the world's best zoos, this is a big compliment!
We mainly went there because our children wanted to see the kiwis and we weren't disappointed - the kiwi house is in darkness with dim lighting so you can see the kiwi foraging for food and there was also a 'nest-cam' so we could see the other bird sitting on their egg (kiwi chicks could feature for visitors in the not too distant future!).
The cost of the food was very OTT though - a few drinks and a couple of snacks and I was $35 lighter. The other thing was that you pay your entry fee and then they want to charge you $2 for a map - I think a free map should be given to every group who pay to enter (it's not asking too much I don't think). If you don't buy the map, I counted only 2 map boards in the zoo, so it's almost as if they're forcing you to buy one to find your way around. Apart from the extra expense, it was a good day out for us.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Hahei ▷
Hahei Beach Resort
It was off season - toilets weren't very clean, showers looked uninviting and BBQs were filthy and they weren't putting the lights on over most of the site because there weren't many people
, but they were still charging peak season rates! It was too expensive for what it was - $61 for a seaview power site - the only thing that was worth it was the view.
They didn't have the toilets open near the seaview sites and those were the only ones that were occupied at this time of year.
It was the most expensive site we stayed on and it wasn't a patch on the Top 10s.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Rotorua Tasman Holiday Parks
We got there fairly late for winter (around 4pm - it was dark by 5.30) so we just wanted somewhere to stay that night before heading off elsewhere.
This site was perfect for what we wanted.
It's a small site but has everything you need - free showers, kitchen, BBQ etc. The kitchen was great actually because the weather was cold so it was nice to be able to go in there and make a drink, watch a bit of TV etc.
You can walk into town from there - it's about 5-10 mins walk to the supermarket/retail park and a bit further to the main town. It's also very close to Kiruau Park where you can see the thermal activity for free.
Thanks for taking the time to make a review. We appreciate all feedback and thank your for coming to visit Rotorua. We will hopefully see you return in the future :)
Thanks
Jared Adams
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Hahei ▷
Cathedral Cove Walk
It's a lovely bay.
The arch was closed but some people still went through it - we didn't as we had our children with us and as well as not wanting them to go through if it was dangerous, we didn't want to be irresponsible parents! ;o)
It's a good walk and fairly steep in places but worth it. We had woken up early that day and started on the walk before 9am and that turned out to be great as there weren't many people about. By the time we got back to the car park there were loads of people setting out including a whole coach load of students so I'd recommend getting there as early as possible to appreciate the cove in peace.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Alpha Campervans
The van was great - 4 berth Mitsubishi - it handled well and wasn't a gas guzzler.
No problem with the hire company, everything was very straightforward. We went in August so I suppose we might have had one of the best vans as they weren't busy but we'd definitely consider hiring through them again.
They dropped us off at the international terminal too at the end of our stay making it all even more relaxed and easy.