mcp hm
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Taupo ▷
Hipapatua / Reid's Farm Recreation Reserve Free Campsite
4.0/5
free, perfect location.
campers ignoring the fire ban and some locals driving cars super fast made me a bit uncomfortable. beautiful waikato river. toilets so disgusting we drove back to public toilets in town each time we needed to go, but i see this should be fixed soon, in early june it still wasnt.
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Te Puke ▷
Te Puke Holiday Park
4.0/5
i happen to enjoy dirty south americans so i ignored the racist comment below and stayed here anyway.
it is not a good place to stay if you really want a holiday or just a place for the nightbecause it is full of long term new zealanders and seasonal workers. but at $50 pp per week for a van site, you wont find anything cheaper. convenient to the highway, easy drive to mt maunganui or into te puke town. kitchens and bathrooms cleaned every day. the facilities, granted, are pretty old fashioned and dilapidated, but they are large and you never have to wait for a shower or a space to cook. people were friendly. lots of cats. i would stay here again, but wouldnt recommend it to snobby europeans, they will drive the price up anyway!
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whitianga ▷
Mill Creek Bird & Campervan Park
5.0/5
absolutely the best.
in june, we had the site all to ourselves. big clean kitchen, big clean bathrooms with hot water, nice manager, and the best part, the animals!!! pygmy goats, a baby pony, the welcoming party of white ducks, and so many amazing birds. easy to get to, close to whitianga, beautiful view of foggy hills in the morning. one of thebest campsites in a year of camping in nz.
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North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷ Whangamata ▷
Whangamata Motor Camp
4.0/5
at $18pp for a van site, typical price for a holiday park, perhaps even cheap for the area, but we always feel its slightly overpriced, esp since showers are not included, they are 50cents for a short
5min. still, nice location on the beach, impeccably clean facilities, 50mb free wifi, outdated but cozy tv room. we had the place to ourselves in june, not sure if we got winter rates.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Blenheim Motor Camp and Backpackers
3.5/5
we stayed here to find work and because it seemed to be the only backpackers in town with van sites.
pros:
-incredibly easy to find work
-staff is nice
-very clean, cleaned every day, awesome hot showers
-most multicultural hostel we found in nz, eg not full of germans but truly people from all over the world
-at $80 per week, cheap
-centrally located
-owner seems to be making improvements, even building a small movie room
cons:
-the goddamn train
-worst kitchen ever. shitty camping cookers that are so high up you cant see what you are cooking unless you are at least 6 feet tall. this is not an exaggeration, i am 5,6 and i could not see my food. tiny kitchen always packed until 9pm, but it closes at 10. because of this sometimes we actually cooked in our car to avoid this, which made us wonder why we paid for a site in the first place. staff told us there was a bigger kitchen but it was closed since the hostel was not full - but when we asked for our secondweek discount, we were told the discount was not available because the hostel *was* full. hmm.
- nice bbq area for summer, but the only common area otherwise is a table in a tent. when the kitchen closes, there is literally no place to be inside. the rooms are pretty nice, with tvs and fridges, but everyone living in their van was fed up. literally the only place to go to get warm was the shower, and you cannot always be in the shower! we ended up leaving blenheim largely for this reason, although we certainly didnt regret coming here.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
South Auckland Caravan Park
4.5/5
at $14, lovely and cheaper than most else in auckland.
van sites were right next to the kitchen and toilets, which were clean. cozy old tv room.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve
2.5/5
$20 each for a damn parking spot.
showers were an extra $2. a total construction site. very sterile. facilities were clean and its a good location, but wouldnt do it again.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Ohakune ▷
Mangawhero Campsite
4.0/5
pretty spot, easy to get to, longdrop toilet was clean.
so many stars! frosty in the early morning.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Karamea ▷
Karamea Domain Camping Ground
5.0/5
perfect spot.
friendly caretaker, warm farmhouse kitchen and lounge, hot shower included, cats and wekas. we stayed here after doing part of the heaphy track. karamea has nice sunsets.
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Motueka ▷
W F Moss Scenic Reserve Picnic Area
4.0/5
nice spot, middle of nowhere.
we were the only ones. says self contained only, but we are not and had no problem.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Havelock ▷
Pelorus Bridge Campground
5.0/5
this is the nicest doc site of all!
does get muddy.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
Hans Bay
4.0/5
very pretty.
easy to find a secluded spot even if its crowded. good flush toilets and changing room, but they were so far from our site that we used our bicycles! cute wekas and stunning night sky. we chose this spot because i had read the luminaries, which takes place in the area, and we wanted to go to the gorge. the drive to the campsite and the loop to the gorge are very pretty but it was a rather long drive, not totally sure if it was worth it, but still, nice.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Glenorchy ▷
Sylvan Campsite
5.0/5
the lake sylvan walk is a gorgeous, enchanted forest.
this site is very convenient to the routeburn. two picnic tables. the van spots have some gravel so you wont get stuck in the mud.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Papatowai ▷
Papatowai Campsite
3.5/5
pretty nice for a doc site.
flush toilets and a kitchen with running water, though you bring your own stove. i wouldnt come again, but only because we found the catlins quite underwhelming.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Karamea ▷
Kōhaihai Campsite
5.0/5
sooooo beautiful!
the sunset and the gorgeous day walk were amazing. nice clean flush toilets. it was a long drive though, those mountains before karamea, whew!
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Lake Gunn Camping Ground
5.0/5
gorgeous spot, very crowded, mystical views.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Twelve Mile Delta Campsite
2.5/5
extremely crowded and noisy.
the rangers are nice and the lake is pretty. closest low cost camping to queenstown, we didnt try parking in the city because of all the signs threatening instant fines. its close, but its not that close, a steep winding drive. good if youre on your way to glenorchy anyway.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Invercargill ▷
Colac Bay Tavern & Holiday Park
4.5/5
peaceful, nice location close to the beach, cozy tv room with fireplace, $14pp.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Weirs Beach Recreation Reserve
3.5/5
quiet, no one bothered us, lovely view.
free!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Haast ▷
Lake Paringa Campsite
4.0/5
nice enough spot.
we were there in april and there were only a handful of other cars, and a doc ranger stopped by to clean the facilities (but not, conveniently, to check if fees were paid). sooo many sandflies. the warning about the lake flooding freaked us out a little and indeed it rained overnight and there was water edging the sites. didnt affect us, though. the lake is pretty but not as nice as lake gunn at milford, we thought.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Waikawa ▷
Curio Bay Camping Ground
3.0/5
also not impressed, but what other option is there?
gorgeous spot, gorgeous beach, private sites but some were so muddy you might never get out. nice atmosphere and surf school. creative placement of showers was pretty gross and a ripoff. bring your alcohol, because theres none for miles. kitchen was infinitesimal, but adequate i suppose. i would stay here again, but only for the penguins!
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Ocean View Reserve Carpark, Dunedin
2.5/5
this is one of dunedins 3 designated free spots and apparently there have been many complaints about campers abuse of the spot.
its an absolutely gorgeous area, though rather far from the city itself. we arrived at 4pm and there were already 7 vehicles. only 5 are allowed, so the 2 latecomers actually asked the first cars to park closer together so they could fit in the designated spots. as the 8th, we did not fit and disapproved of such behavior anyway. there are large no camping signs on all the other spots. a security patrol came and wrote down our license plate and said they werent kicking us out, but that someone could come later to do so. we felt uncomfortable and left. we ended up just parking free overnight on the street in st clair and had no problems.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Geraldine ▷
Peel Forest Campground
4.5/5
pretty nice, lovely area.
i would say its a few dollars overpriced. nice to find a doc site with hot showers, though.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Lake Wardell Rest Area Overnight Campervan Parking
3.5/5
only a longdrop, but its ok, you can drive easily enough to decent public toilets in twizel in the morning.
convenient to highway. quite large area but was still crowded, in january.