Philippa Buchanan
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Haast ▷
Lake Paringa Campsite
4.5/5
We arrived in the dark but were impressed by the lush green scenery that we woke to.
There are very smelly but spacious drop toilets (not those small plastic mini toilets that the very remote DOC campsites have), but they didn't have a light so take a torch. We had to leave early and the lake was covered in dense mist so we didn't get to appreciate the views. Overall I was very pleased with this pretty site.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Waikawa Recreation Reserve
4.5/5
Great little overnight stop.
There are public flushing toilets with lights that are clean and well maintained. Only a few spots get water views but the whole site is covered in thick lovely grass. Would recommend to a friend!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Waikawa ▷
McLean Falls Walk
5.0/5
BAH-utiful short walk through temperate rainforest to a lovely waterfall.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Purakaunui Falls Walk
4.5/5
A beautiful temperate rainforest walk to a nice wide waterfall.
I preferred McLean Falls but loved this too.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Moeraki Boulders
4.0/5
I appreciated these as examples of what nature can create but I like geology and geography.
Others may find them less interesting/an anti climax. Go through the DOC walk entrance not via the restaurant (don't follow the big blue signs) so that you don't feel obliged to pay $2pp to use their steps down to the beach.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Dunedin Holiday Park
4.0/5
Not an especially beautiful park but had everything we needed.
The free wifi is good. Toilets and kitchen facilities are old as others have said. We felt the prices for an unpowered site for two people was too high - $36. Staff are friendly, showers hot but temperature was temperamental.
Thank you for taking the time to review our holiday park!
We do strive to be an affordable, clean and comfortable family holiday park and are sorry that you didn't find this with your stay here. We do hope you enjoyed our beautiful city whilst in Dunedin and enjoy the rest of your travels!
Dunedin Holiday Park
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Deer Flat Campsite
5.0/5
I loved this site!
My favourite during our stay in NZ. There are many spots, multiple drop toilets that all had toilet paper, and beautiful mossy forest all around you. There is a creek/river nearby with beautiful clear blue water. Isolated and stunning :)
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Jucy Cruise Milford Sound
4.5/5
We had bad weather on the day we went so can't comment on the scenery too much.
But the Jucy cruise was good. They'd run out of milk by the time we went to get a cup of tea which was a shame. The staff were knowledgeable and the captain does the perfect amount of talking - a good balance of information and peaceful times on the water.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Lake Tekapo ▷
Pattersons Ponds Camping Ground
4.0/5
Not an especially beautiful camping area but in the distance are the great snow capped mountains.
The camp area itself has no facilities but it's close to Tekapo and free, so gets my approval! It was a spooky drive in at night time as there's little else around and you feel like you're driving down a ditch into a trap. Extremely cold overnight temperature! There's a warning sign as you enter about quickly changing river conditions so perhaps don't visit after heavy rain in case of flooding.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Hokitika ▷
Lake Mahinapua Campsite
4.5/5
A beautiful lakeside location with lots of space for many campers.
You have to drive through dense forest to get to it so you really feel surrounded by nature. There are flushing toilets but they don't have lights so bring a torch. There are large sinks for use. One of my favourite locations during my trip to NZ!
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Onsen Hot Pools
4.0/5
A truly relaxing experience.
A few problems though - their website doesn't say what each 'package' contains, so I booked the indulgence package and also chose to pay for hire towels. Turns out the package includes towels, so on arrival I had paid for towels twice. They offered me extra beverages or ice cream instead of a refund. I also found the staff to be quite abrupt (but not impolite) and their voices, volume and tone not in keeping with the tone of the experience. The waiting area is shabby. We were also shown to our pool room 5 minutes late with no offer of extra time at the end to compensate. Remember you still have to undress and take a shower before you can hop in and start enjoyed the tub. Luckily 50 minutes in the tub is enough as it's very hot! The tubs and rooms themselves are AWESOME.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Diamond Lake (Wanaka)
2.5/5
More of a car park than a campsite; it's literally a gravel area on the side of the road.
However there are so few other free or DOC options in the area that we had to use it, and so did many others - it was busy and crowded. The toilet is a distant and steep uphill walk, has no light or toilet paper and smells very bad. The hills surrounding it are nice, but possibly my least favourite site that we stayed at.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Lumsden ▷
Lumsden Information Centre
4.5/5
Not a pretty location a but a GREAT pit stop!
Not a pretty location a but a GREAT pit stop! It has everything a camper needs - public flushing toilets with lights, a free dump station, water, and free wifi!