Bertiethebus
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Kaikoura Kayaks
5.0/5
A fantastic experience.
Booked last minute, the service was great from the start. We are a family, 2 adults and 2 children aged 8 and 9. After a thorough safety briefing we set off in the late afternoon and had dolphins swimming beside us, then watched the seals. We wondered why the dolphins had all disappeared - then Matt (one of the guides) spotted the misty blow holes of Orca killer whales. So we paddled over to them and saw a 3 whale pod rising up just 100 yards from the canoes. To use a NZ phrase, it was "awesome" and one the children will never forget. Throw in a black Pectral ? bird that landed amongst us, dolphins, seals and killer whales. Great. Big thanks.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Gateway Motorhome Hire
5.0/5
After extensive Internet searching from the UK we opted for Gateway Motorhomes, owned and run by Roger and Karen Ballantyne.
We wanted a more personal experience than the large rental companies offer, and wanted better value for money. The service from Gateway motor homes has been exceptional. The communication with Roger at the booking stage was excellent, with highly useful informative email replies when needed. Our pick up arrangement in Christchurch was totally orientated towards our convenience "you tell us where you are and we will bring it to you". The handover was efficient and friendly and informative, I felt we knew exactly what to do, how to run the motorhome, and what to do if something should go wrong ( again really simple " ring us!"). The 4berth home came with bedding, bed sheets, duvets, pillows, towels, everything you could want. It was spotlessly clean, obviously well maintained and serviced. After two weeks we emailed Roger to see if we could extend the rental for a further two weeks, and again we had excellent communication and facilitation from Roger to achieve this. While staying in Queenstown there was a small problem with the fridge, so we did as we were told, and phoned Roger. The next morning "Bertie" was in a local garage and by the afternoon it was all fixed. After a month of rental we handed "Bertie" back to Roger in Auckland and (again typical of the service he offers) he drove us to the airport for our flight home. Utterly professional from the start, we felt this was a company providing an excellent and very professional service, from a couple who run a business that offers true Kiwi care and hospitality. The only last thing to say, is "thank you"! From David,Claire, William aged 9 and Georgina aged 8.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Rangiora ▷
Waikuku Beach Holiday Park
3.0/5
This seemed a real back to basics campsite compared to some we have been to.
The shower and toilet blocks are small and dated, you have a token to operate the showers (6 minutes), the rubbish is collected in painted oil drums. However, it is right beside a gorgeous long beach, and the showers themselves were powerful and hot. It was quiet when we visited, but with only one washing machine, one tumble dryer and three sinks and two showers in the area we stayed, we suspect at peak times the toilet and shower blocks would be pretty stretched.
Thank you for your observations. We are an old fashioned kiwi coastal campground and we love our beach. So glad you mentioned it!
The area you have described has another toilet block with 8 additional toilets. We have several amenities blocks throughout the holiday park bringing the total number of toilets to over 30 and showers to 18. We have two other kitchens and laundries as well. It doesn't make economic sense to keep all the facilities open during the quieter months, so we generally shut down some of the amenities blocks after Easter.
We are working with our local Council, who is our landlord, to upgrade our facilities, as the older buildings are a bit dated. Our priority at the moment is to improve the drainage and roadways within the holiday park. While we would love to refurbish the buildings, they are still very functional, and as you say the showers are powerful and hot. We kept the token system as part of our initiative to reduce our carbon footprint through the reduction of hot water usage, and it also prevents visitors to the beach who are not campsite guests from getting free showers at our campers expense. It is a very popular beach in summer.
The oil drums you mentioned are actually syrup drums from a soft drink bottler. We have separate containers for glass, plastic, cans, paper/cardboard, and rubbish. It made sense to us to reuse these drums that were made available to us, rather than having them go to scrap metal.
Again, we thank you for your review. It is important to us to see our campsite from our guests point of view.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Queen Charlotte Track
5.0/5
The further adventures of Bertiethebus (2adults, 2 children aged 8 and 9).
So after two weeks of travelling the South Island in a campervan, we fancied a break, a treat, before heading to the North island. We considered our options of Marlborough Sounds or heading west to Able Tasman. the Sounds won, on the basis that we were heading up the east coast and why move on from Picton? a fantastic decision. We parked in Picton marina car park (2dollars a day so 8dollars for a four day ticket) and walked 50yards to Cougar Water Taxis (brilliant team, very helpful, friendly utterly professional) for our pre-arranged transfer to Punga Cove Resort. Stunning boat trip, stepping back almost in time to arrive at a hotel experience of chalets nestled into the hillside, with a distinct colonial feel, yet with kayaks to use from their beach, a cafe by the waterfront, a great restaurant, outside hot tubs, hammocks nestling in the shade, swimming pool and really comfy beds. Thank you Ralph and Bev (the owners) and Hugh (restaurant manager) for such a great experience. Access up to the Queen Charlotte track for a couple of hours walking each day, which is what we were happy to cope with as a family. We highly recommend it as an extremely relaxing break,where you embrace the odd power cut, the lack of Internet access or mobile phone reception with both open arms! Return to Picton after three days, but it felt like so much more.
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Taupo ▷
Lake Taupo Holiday Resort
4.5/5
A mega big site in every way.
Wonderful facilities, including a huge play ground, enormous bouncy pillow, and a swimming pool heated thermally so part is gorgeously warm, while the rest of the pool is less hot so better for actually swimming. Very clean modern toilets, showers, washing facilities etc. the powered site pitches are plonked right beside each other with minimal privacy between, and there is not exactly much character to the place, and if you want to nip back down to Lake Taupo to watch a sunset or have a dinner then you will definitely need to drive.
Thanks for your feedback! We are only a ten minute walk to Spa Park which is a beautiful place for a picnic and to watch the sunset! With the addition of our new swim up pool bar and cafe this year, we will soon be able to offer food onsite!
laketauporesort
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Turangi ▷
Tongariro River Rafting
5.0/5
After reading so many excellent reports, our hopes were high.
And what a treat to find a company who are as good as their word! We booked a family rafting trip, and enjoyed the whole experience. Our guide was Mike "Dally" and the lady running the behind the scenes was Nicole "awesome"! The rafting trip was a pleasure, fun enough for kids and adults alike, beautiful scenery, opportunities to jump in and swim, long enough to feel a real adventure, not too far to wish it was over. They seem to have thought of everything to make your time a treat. A great experience, Or perhaps you will excuse us for using the phrase "awesome"!
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North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷ Rotorua ▷
Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park
4.0/5
Great to arrive at a campsite with a bit of character!
The owners were extremely helpful, extremely willing to give time suggesting good things to do. There are three hot tubs, a steam oven, and slightly dated but clean toilet blocks with decent showers. Haven't tried the swimming pool but owner says it is heated to 28degrees. Spades available if you want to dig a hot hole on the beach. Altogether unique and positively memorable.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Wanaka Hampshire Holiday Park
3.5/5
We arrived with Bertie the bus (our campervan) looking for a site close to the centre of Lake Wanaka so we could park up and walk into town and not have to keep driving everywhere.
This site is spot on for location, a 5 minute walk to the high street, a supermarket, and the lake itself. The site was clean, the toilet and showers clean with excellent showers. The powered sites seemed spacious, there is a decent children's play area, it did not feel cramped, and we had great views to the lake. We wish we had stayed longer here, Queenstown seemed huge and over developed compared to Lake Wanaka.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Hawdon Shelter Campsite
2.0/5
What a great campsite to try to get to, down long dusty untarmacked roads, over a narrow bridge and still further into the seeming middle of nowhere.
However, when we got there, we were expecting utter solitude, but there was a school trip of 40plus teenagers.. So we turned around and drove all the way back to the main road. Could have been so good though!
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Klondyke Corner Campsite
4.5/5
Our first night in New Zealand, after arriving in Christchurch and picking up the campervan.
This just felt so memorable, parking up in a simple field, fantastic views, real getaway from it all night. Would happily return. Glad we were fully self contained in campervan, as lots of midges, and very cold at night!
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Leith Valley Holiday Park
3.5/5
A warm welcome on Good Friday, our host equally looking forward to the Super 15 rugby match that night in Dunedin, and this site was a 20 minute walk to the rugby, and equally short walk to the streets
of Dunedin itself. The site seems a bit dated compared to some, the concrete block shower blocks bristling with plastic curtains and metal shower trays, but some effort to jazz up the scene with colourful toilet seats. Facilities kept very clean, good showers, excellent swings for the kids.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Portobello ▷
Portobello Village Tourist Park
4.0/5
Arrived on Easter Sunday, warm welcome from the hostess.
The campsite was clean, toilet and shower blocks very clean. Easy water and dump stations at each powered site. Lovely walk straight up the dead end road to the top of a hill, overall peaceful and enjoyable stay.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
Shining Star Beachfront Accommodation
4.5/5
What a great location, yards from a stunning soft sandy beach.
The campsite is quite small, the powered pitches reasonably spaced, a great children's playground, a small collection of animals, and great shower/toilet facilities in modern but attractively designed building. A welcome stop en route to Franz Josef. The town is also quite useful for restocking, with a supermarket, book shops, and all the other shops you are likely to need.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Queenstown Holiday Park Creeksyde
4.5/5
This is in a prime location, within easy walking distance of the gondola ride and Queenstown, with a supermarket and delicatessen just around the corner.
The site was spotlessly clean, our toilets and showers a real triumph with wonderful effort in design and decoration. However do not expect large plots or great privacy, this is a prime site in Queenstown after all. If you were to come in high season, it would be not quite packed like a tin of sardines, but certainly close!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Haast ▷
Haast River Motels and Holiday Park
4.5/5
Arrived in the pouring rain, but this campsite seems purpose built for exactly that, with gravel everywhere soaking up the rain.
The powered site was fine, spacious, and located very close to the cleanest and newest looking shower/toilet facilities we had encountered yet, housed in the equivalent of a small aircraft hanger. Really impressive. Washing and tumble dryer work well, helpful receptionist with umbrellas at the front door. They clearly are adapted for the annual rainfall. The drive from Haast to Lake Wanaka is stunning with waterfalls everywhere. Best done in the rain!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Cron street ▷
Franz Josef TOP 10 Holiday Park
4.5/5
A large but good site, modern, well maintained, with really excellent toilet and shower facilities and even a young children bathing room.
The kitchen facilities seemed well designed. The receptionists were ever keen to help, and are able to book helicopter flights etc up to the glacier on your behalf. Overall an impressive purpose built facility with reasonably sized pitches.