We go camping at Maraehako Bay Campground for a couple of weeks every year if possible, and have done for the past 10 years.

We love the casual laid-back friendly atmosphere and we especially love Bea, the amazing woman who runs the place and remembers everyone and treats all the kids as her own.

We love the fact there is no electricity, no wifi, no cellphone reception. Campfires are allowed, which is one of the reasons we return year after year because our fave evening activity is sitting round the campfire as a family just chatting and roasting marshmallows. The kids absolutely love Maraehako and it is their favourite place in the world. There are no marked-out campsites; you just take up as much room as you need. You don’t need to book or pay a deposit, you just turn up. The camp is right on the beach so there is no dangerous road to cross. It’s a really safe family camp, with a fresh-water stream and water-hole leading to the sea. The water hole is an awesome spot and popular for swimming. There are basic facilities; flush toilets, hot showers (50c). Take your own soap, and I’d recommend alcohol hand gel to ward off bugs due to the shared facilities. No laundry or kitchen. There is a ‘shop’ that sells basic essentials like milk, ice blocks, marshmallows, toiletries etc. There are no lattes or flat whites, but if you want that you can wander up the hill up the road to the macadamia farm where there is a cafe. There are no powered sites, and the prices when we were there last year were $9 for kids and $12 for adults per night. This is a family camp where kids can be kids, climbing trees, fishing, swimming, riding their bikes and making new friends, and the adults can relax, read books, swim, make endless cups of tea, make new friends. The only downside for us is that we can no longer take our dog because some irresponsible dog owners spoiled it for everyone by not cleaning up after their dogs, and now dogs aren’t welcome anymore. Can’t wait to return.

Reviewed almost 7 years ago and experienced in January 2017