Nicholas I Allen
South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
0.5/5
On the plus side generally the park is quite small and compact, mostly well presented and mostly clean (my daughter said the toilets were a bit ‘greasy’).
Niggling issues were the lack of facilities given the number of people staying at peak season – this is quite a normal occurrence in New Zealand, but no doubt compounded by there only being 4 showers each for male and female, 4 toilets each for male and female and one lonely urinal. The kitchen facilities were similarly inadequate in number of cookers and sinks. There was a little queueing at peak times, but not the worst I’ve encountered. The drains at the back of the motels where our site was were poorly designed and very noisy, sometimes late at night.
Our troubles concerned to site we were given. There was poor communication it had been divided in half to squeeze in a campsite. When asked to move our caravan, which was crossing the line, by 2 staff they were not interested in our complaints about difficult site access and its small size making fitting caravan and car there very difficult, and that we were reluctant to move. They left seemingly saying 'that's ok then'. The owner Brad came the morning after. He is the rudest campground owner/manager I have ever encountered. He was not interested when I complained (quite forcefully as I was still annoyed from the day before) about the site. No sorry, no empathy. He was just incensed that he lost $65 from being unable to use the campsite that we had previously been told was ok to occupy. Money was more important than our complaint. Even after I moved the caravan, angry words (but no prophanity or loud scene) continued until we were evicted from the site on the grounds of 'your not being happy staying at the park' and 'your attitude'.
South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
5.0/5
The best park I've stayed in with great kitchen and bathroom facilities.
The showers are really roomy, which is unusual in NZ. A New Zealand Falcon even performed on a regular basis at close range.
South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Lumsden ▷
3.5/5
A welcome port in a storm.
We had struggled towing a small caravan in a gale across the Waimea Plains. Nobody was there to greet us, but the friendly owner came within minutes of phoning. Facilities were basic but adequate.