Chloe
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Geraldine ▷
The Farmyard Holiday Park
4.0/5
Definitely a campsite tailored to children but as two young women in a campervan, we also had a pleasant stay here for one night.
We indulged our inner child and fed some of the animals which was delightful. The campsite does feel a little run down, but we realised we got lucky and used the better showers/toilets (those closer to reception) as there are some rather old, pretty much outside showers and toilets at the other end of the campsite. The showers/toilets were clean as was the kitchen area which we used to wash our dishes. Staff were friendly but not around in the evening to tell people to be quiet. Music was playing until around 10pm which wasn’t too bad but would’ve been nicer to have gone to sleep earlier , especially considering we were woken up at the crack of dawn by someone’s dog! We thought we might be disturbed by the farm animals or the peacocks but they were fine. Overall, it’s a lovely quirky little place ideal for one or two nights, which could do with a bit more reinforcement of the rules as some other stayers were slightly inconsiderate.
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Palmerston North ▷
Himatangi Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park
4.0/5
Pleasant stay at this Top 10 where we stayed on a powered site.
The park was fairly busy but we had no one next to us and there were no issues with noise despite it being a Saturday. The park is evidently well maintained- the toilets, showers and kitchen area were clean and tidy. There is a dumping station, water supply and rubbish bins on site.
Although it says you need to be checked out by 10am, we found out departure time was actually 11am but for an additional 10$, you can stay until 5pm. We paid the extra amount because we wanted to the check out the beach nearby but it wasn’t the prettiest beach we’ve been to in NZ so should’ve probably just left at 11.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Broadpark, Waimairi Beach
4.0/5
Stayed here in a campervan on a Friday night in November.
We arrived here at about 4.30pm thinking there might be nowhere to park as we were a bit confused by some of the previous reviews. There are loads of spaces and at the time, only one other campervan parked here. It is clearly marked along Broadpark Road that self-contained vehicles can park in the bays along this road (facing the park in front). Don’t get this confused with the car park by the beach as this isn’t for freedom campers. Toilets are in the park. There was a bit of a grimy feel to these loos as they’re public loos and quite rundown, but the actual toilet itself was clean. No soap and the sink would fill up so we had to sometimes wash our hands in our campervan. The parking bays are also used by cars and it was full with cars when we woke up the next morning but shouldn’t be an issue for those arriving late at night. Close to beach and the park has swings, slides etc which are good for kids. No issues with noise and felt fairly safe.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Wellington ▷
Evans Bay Marina Carpark
3.0/5
This car park is convenient if you’ve got a ferry the next day as it’s only about a 15-20 minute drive away from the port.
I wouldn’t stay here more than one night though. We didn’t get the best of sleep because of how cold it was but we didn’t find it that noisy compared to what others have said. It does seem like a rat race to get to the car park because there aren’t that many spaces. We arrived at 3.30pm on a Sunday in November and managed to nab the very last spot at the end tucked behind a massive motorhome. It looked like it wasn’t a spot but upon closer inspection, you could see the faded white line across the yellow line (we were a bit concerned at first about parking here as we had heard how strict they are with fines but had no issues because it is a parking spot albeit not well marked). We could only park in this space because we’re a small campervan so it does seem like the car park would be better suited to campervans only as the spaces aren’t that big. The toilets are in the car park which is great but there are only 2 of them and you can tell they’re regularly used by those in the car park and the public because they’re not the cleanest. Overall, it’s ok for one night, it’s free and we felt pretty safe.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve
4.5/5
I think this was probably one of our favourite campsites to stay in.
Stayed for 2 nights mid-week in November. Not too busy and we luckily chose a powered site which was by the showers, toilets and kitchen but had no one next to us. Staff are really friendly, campsite is clean and tidy, and it’s right by the beach to get the Abel Tasman boat shuttle the next day. I’d recommend eating in the Beached Whale which is a great restaurant basically onsite. Only downsides to the park are it is quite expensive and we’ve found others offering similar for a cheaper cost and the showers aren’t the most intuitive to use (you need to press a button outside of the shower cubicle to get hot water for 6 minutes- if, like my sister, you use the entrance to the showers which are the other side from where the buttons are, you can easily miss this because there’s no signage and end up having to take a freezing cold shower!)
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs ▷
Hanmer Field Base and Picnic Area
4.5/5
We stayed here for two nights mid-week as we loved Hamner Springs so much that we extended our stay!
It is quite a small car park but on both days we arrived here at 5pm (we parked in town during day 2 and then returned to the car park in the evening) and there were still plenty of spaces (although we did see one or two bigger caravans turn around at about 8/9pm as it had got full and the spaces left weren’t big enough for them). There are nearby toilets which were clean, although one of the three toilets didn’t have soap, there wasn’t anything to dry your hands and on day 2 we noticed the flush in the disabled loos had broken leaving only 2 toilets. Despite being by a main road, we didn’t experience any noise disturbance during the night and we felt safe all the time. This was our favourite free camping site so far on our trip of NZ.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Reporoa ▷
Orakei Korako Geyserland Resort
4.5/5
We stayed here for one night and it was a delightful stay with gorgeous views of the lake.
You can park anywhere in the car park but one thing to note is in order to stay here you must either have bought a ticket or buy one the next day for the geysers which are around £25 (50$) each so it’s not technically free to stay here. I really recommend this excursion and it’s one of our favourite ones so far on this trip. Despite a sign saying the toilets are shut at night, they were fortunately left open all night for us to use and they’re really well cleaned (judging from other reviews, they do seem to leave them open if they know people are staying the night). There were only two others in the car park with us but as two women, we felt safe. It does get a little noisy in the morning when visitors arrive for the geysers but we were awake already so it didn’t bother us. It is quite in the middle of nowhere so if you need to do shop or fill up on fuel, the closest town is about 25 minutes away so it’s worth stocking up beforehand.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Cambridge ▷
Horahora Domain
3.5/5
Decent stay for one night and pretty views of the lake.
There is plenty of space and quite a few people seemed to park outside the free camping area closer to the lake, although no one seems to monitor this. We arrived late at night but felt quite safe as there were a number of campervans/motor homes. It can be a distance to the toilets and they’re not the most well maintained but again, it was ok for one night. Possibly the main downside is it’s all on grass so if you have concerns about your vehicle getting stuck after heavy rain, it may not be the best place to stay. Fortunately, despite experiencing heavy rain ourselves, our campervan moved away fine in the morning.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Driftaway Queenstown
5.0/5
Really pleasant stay at the campsite.
They provide you with fully equipped and clean facilities. Queenstown centre is about an hour away by foot but the walk by the river can be amazing if you’re up for it ( if not there’s a bus and water taxi you can get). The only downside is there’s only one block of toilets so if you’re the other side of the campsite it can be quite a trek. Overall very pleased and would recommend!