Hannah and Matthew
-
South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Reefton ▷
The Strand Freedom Camping Area, Reefton
5.0/5
Reefton is a very welcoming town to freedom campers.
Clear signage which made it obvious what to do / where to park for newbies to freedom camping. Nearby public toilets (very clean and flushing) dump station and water (but not drinking water due to water work problems). Right by quite a big river which was a really lovely sound to wake up to in the morning.
-
South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Milford Sound Lodge – Rainforest Campervan Park
4.5/5
Beautiful campsite, lovely pitches with privacy from rainforest flora.
Easy (if you go the right way!) walk or free shuttle to the ferry port and Milford Sound. Lots of sandflies / midges around so bring bug spray - even in the winter! The most expensive one we stayed at while in NZ but they have such an amazing location it was worth it. We had to cut our stay by a night because the road out of Milford was closed - was a bit alarmed that we weren’t told this when we went into the reception earlier during the day but luckily found out during our ferry cruise. Delightfully woken up by an inquisitive Kea on the top of our van which shocked us initially but it was amazing to hear just a small part of the wonderful nature that was flourishing around us!
-
South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Lake Tekapo ▷
Lakes Edge Holiday Park
5.0/5
Very friendly team, who moved us to an amazing spot on our second night so we woke up with views right across the lake - beautiful!
DVDs available to borrow for free if you’d like. Great suggestion from a member of the team to do a walk up Mount John (the way back basically ends at the foot of the campsite!). Great facilities but quite busy due to the ski season (never not enough space but just busier than other places we had visited).
-
South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park & Motels
5.0/5
Friendly staff who gave us a spot with a great view even though they warned us it was far from the facilities (we wanted to see over the lake instead!).
Great facilities, nice and warm. Good showers with bathmats provided. We used the hot tub on our first night there too which was very bubbly indeed! Very quick walk into town but definitely the campsite with the best views in Te Anau!
-
North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Wellington ▷
Capital Gateway Motor Inn
4.5/5
Clean facilities and friendly staff who were helpful in letting us know the best way to get into Wellington.
Extremely easy to get into the city centre on the bus, and very easy access to the ferry port for Interislander the next morning.
-
South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Wanaka Hampshire Holiday Park
3.5/5
Friendly staff, clean facilities but much bigger and less privacy than the other sites we had stayed at.
Good facilities - felt a bit more like student accommodation than other places we had been. Quick walk into town / to the lake and dump station just outside. Worked well for a quick one night stop.
-
North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Tongariro / National Park Village ▷
Discovery Lodge Campground
5.0/5
Incredible views across to Mount Ruapehu and Mount Tongariro.
We were the only camper in on our night and the owner Miki put us in a prime spot to wake up to some beautiful views the next morning. The facilities were clean but if you’re looking for a lock on the shower door these ones were just curtained. Nice warm water, good kitchen. Worth it for the views / location / solitude!
-
North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park
3.5/5
A good place to have booked in advance of our trip.
Clean facilities and friendly staff. A slight whiff of sulphur but no way near as bad as in town! There were hot tubs available but we didn’t use them. Would say the walk into town was a bit further than advertised which is why I haven’t given higher.
-
South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Alpine Pacific Holiday Park
5.0/5
Really lovely site.
Extremely friendly staff who put us in a position prime for a good view over a stream and the mountains behind Kaikoura. Just around the corner from Kaikoura Bakery which is well worth a visit. Hot tubs free to use to guests - nice and dark so you could see plenty of stars. Great facilities - large kitchen and lounge, lots of showers which were very clean. Hair dryer and straighteners in the ladies loos if you are so inclined!
-
South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Cron street ▷
Rainforest Retreat
4.5/5
Friendly team on reception.
Good pitches with lovely privacy provided by an array of rainforest flora. Good facilities but in need of an update (not heated / hole in ceiling) but bathrooms were nice. There are new facilities coming but not sure when.
Nice bar on site with free pool table which was fun. Easy access to the main high street. An enjoyable stay (even though it was raining quite hard!).
-
South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Kingston ▷
Kingston TOP 10 Holiday Park
5.0/5
Thank you so much to Jen who welcomed us into the camp late at 7.30pm after we had a slight change of plan in travelling back towards Queenstown early due to road closures.
The camp itself was brilliant. Great facilities, a gorgeous log cabin housed a basically new kitchen and accompanying lounge and I would imagine it would be great if you had kids. Lots of beautiful views of the mountains around the area and ever so convenient for a quick drive into QT the next morning. Thank you again!