Mark Westlake
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Lumsden ▷
The Lodge and Holiday Park
4.0/5
Lovely place but not straightforward to find - it's quite far back from the main road with no signposts or signs at the campsite itself.
Check-in was a bit confusing as it wasn't very obvious whether pitches were already booked or were available. There was no one on site so you have to park up and check the guestbook in the laundry to see whether there are pitches free. You also pay here in an honesty box. Three of the powered sites were reserved for people staying in the unpowered sites (as each powered site had a small shower/toilet unit, but the unpowered had nothing otherwise).
Shower units were nice - they were fairly clean but none had lighting that worked, one had a broken lock (says on the outside of the door to knock first), and one had no hot water.
The light in the laundry room also didn't work (so bring your own lights!!) but there was a clean, working fridge/freezer and a cold-water washer plus a line to dry clothes.
Lots of greenery around the campsite with chickens, alpacas and goats to greet you in the morning.
Overall I would recommend this campsite, it is a sweet little gem but I think it's in need of a little TLC and don't forget to bring a light!!
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
The Pod Campervan Rentals
5.0/5
We were sold on Pod after we saw their excellent video explaining how to use their campers, and with a nice and simple booking system as well as great pricing we were away!
Getting to their Christchurch location was super easy (we went via bus), and when we arrived we were given a warm welcome and made to feel even more excited about our trip.
The staff were super helpful and ran through everything to make sure we were totally happy. They even gave us the chance to have a rummage through some of the items that people had left in the campers for future users - the storage tubs, jars of coffee and bag of pasta we picked up were handy!
On the road Little Sefton was great. Super easy to drive with a really comfortable seating and driving position. We did around 2,200km in just over a week and I'm glad our Pod was as comfy as it was. We took on some big hills too (especially around Milford Sound) and it handled them just fine. Slow and steady wins the race!
As far as the camping comfort goes, again we were super happy. As we were doing so much out and about we ended up just leaving the camper in "bed mode" the whole time which made life easier when we rocked up to campsites super late. The bed itself was really nice, and fitted me fine despite me being over 6ft/182cm.
We used the cooker regularly and having not used a gas cooker like that before it was surprisingly easy. Whether it was boiling water for an early morning coffee or cooking something more elaborate it had it covered.
Overall, it was an awesome experience. If you ever have any issues or queries out on the road the guys at Pod HQ are more than happy to help out which is nice and reassuring. Little Sefton was faultless throughout and allowed us to really make the most of our trip.
Thanks for the comprehensive review Mark, and we like the tip about the bed :) Glad to see you saw the beautiful Milford Sounds area too - a must visit area in NZ. Thanks again!
podrentals
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Pine Grove Motels
5.0/5
Arrived late (10pm) but we managed to get the last pitch, for which we were very grateful!!
Lovely quiet spot with close access to the kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Bathroom very clean, lots of hot water in shower, and also had washer/dryer.
Loads of appliances in the kitchen although we didn't use it much due to leaving early the following morning.
Overall, would definitely recommend staying here.