Andrew K
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Reefton ▷
Slab Hut Creek Campsite
4.5/5
Great - and super cheap - DoC site right on the river bank.
There was an added sense of adventure as we camped here in the middle of a huge storm, so the river was a raging (if perfectly safe) torrent.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
Shining Star Beachfront Accommodation
4.5/5
Nice, well-spaced out site with good facilities and a glow worm dell across the road one side, and a lovely beach the other.
Hokitika worth more than just a drive through too.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
South Brighton Holiday Park
4.0/5
Perfectly pleasant site a little way out of Christchurch, by sea and estuary.
Facilities pretty good, site itself fine. Free wifi was a nice perk too, although only covered half the site.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Putaruru ▷
Little Waipa Reserve
5.0/5
Worth bypassing the other nearby free sites that are closer to the mainroad for this one, which is much quieter and even more scenic right on the lakeside.
Best long-drop toilets I've seen, and a friendly camp/fishing warden who'll swing by to check you're ok. The sign says you need a permit to camp from the council, but we stayed one night and never had a problem.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Timaru ▷
Waihao Box, Willowbridge
4.0/5
Properly remote campsite right by the sea (with only a pebble windbreak separating you from it).
Bit tricky to find though - turn off from the main road when you see the (small) Willowbridge sign, then follow the signs to Waihao box when they appear.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Te Kuiti ▷
Te Kuiti Domain Camping Ground
4.0/5
Perfectly pleasant powered site with a fair bit of space and nice facilities.
The owner was very attentive - even though the laundry facilities required his efforts with a screwdriver to operate!
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Hawdon Shelter Campsite
5.0/5
Probably our favourite camp site, right up a long and windy gravel track in the middle of the mountains.
Properly wild, with mountains all around and a river crashing nearby. Loads of sandflies though, but plenty of space.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Leith Valley Holiday Park
4.0/5
Good facilities, friendly staff and a pleasant (3km) walk into town.
Wasn't busy at all when we stayed.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Wellington ▷
Wellington Waterfront Motorhome Park
4.5/5
Yes it's on a busy road and yes it's pretty much a carpark, but the staff are super friendly, the facilities great and you don't get any better Wellington location than this - whether for the ferry or
the city centre, you're right next door to it. We arrived off the ferry at 2am and the self-check in was perfectly smooth and our space clearly marked with a cone.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Nelson ▷
Brook Valley Holiday Park
4.0/5
Nice campsite up in the hills above Nelson.
Big site, loads of space and perfectly good facilities including big laundry. Friendly owners too. It's a good 4km walk back from Nelson, as my feet will testify after new year's eve, but a perfectly pleasant one.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs ▷
Alpine Adventure Holiday Park
4.0/5
Very peaceful - if busy - campsite but with a good set of facilities and friendly staff.
Can rent bikes here too, and they operate a shuttle back into town (which is 3km downhill).
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Geraldine ▷
Waihi Gorge Campsite
5.0/5
Really great (and cheap) DoC campsite in utterly stunning scenery - mountains, forest, river, you've got it all.
Plenty of room too, and a few decent toilets too. No sandflies either - yay!
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Turangi ▷
Oasis Motel & Caravan Park
4.5/5
One of our favourite camp sites!
In the shadow of Tongawira, nice and quiet and spacious with good (if simple) facilities. The hot thermal pools (2 private ones, 1 big one) were a nice touch as well.
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park
4.5/5
Large, reasonably well spaced out site with good facilities - including ones you won't find anywhere else (such as a place where you can cook your own hangi), as well as thermal pools.
Nice and quiet on the lakeside despite being close to town. Staff bent over backwards to book activities for us too.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Coromandel Town ▷
Papa Aroha Holiday Park
4.0/5
Bit busy and not a huge amount of space per site - our powered site would have felt squashed had we had a bigger van.
But it's right on the seashore, with perfectly good facilities and stunning scenery. A great first campsite for our holiday!