Great site with good facilities.

The weather was bad so the undercover BBQ area was great, as was the kitchen and dining room. It was really quiet when we were there (August) so I'm not sure what it's like during busy times, but the pitches were mainly hedged so you would get a bit of privacy.

Staff working there were nice, very friendly and helpful. The only downside is that despite the great lakeside location, there aren't any pitches with view of the lake, but it's still a good site for those wanting to get away from it all (there's nothing there apart from this campsite so take plenty of supplies!).

Reviewed about 14 years ago

It was off season - toilets weren't very clean, showers looked uninviting and BBQs were filthy and they weren't putting the lights on over most of the site because there weren't many people, but they were

still charging peak season rates! It was too expensive for what it was - $61 for a seaview power site - the only thing that was worth it was the view.

They didn't have the toilets open near the seaview sites and those were the only ones that were occupied at this time of year.

It was the most expensive site we stayed on and it wasn't a patch on the Top 10s.

Reviewed about 14 years ago

We had a nice day here and for $54 for a family of 4, the entrance price was reasonable.

It's a nicely laid out zoo and the safari areas are great - coming from Singapore where we have one of the world's best zoos, this is a big compliment!

We mainly went there because our children wanted to see the kiwis and we weren't disappointed - the kiwi house is in darkness with dim lighting so you can see the kiwi foraging for food and there was also a 'nest-cam' so we could see the other bird sitting on their egg (kiwi chicks could feature for visitors in the not too distant future!).

The cost of the food was very OTT though - a few drinks and a couple of snacks and I was $35 lighter. The other thing was that you pay your entry fee and then they want to charge you $2 for a map - I think a free map should be given to every group who pay to enter (it's not asking too much I don't think). If you don't buy the map, I counted only 2 map boards in the zoo, so it's almost as if they're forcing you to buy one to find your way around. Apart from the extra expense, it was a good day out for us.

Reviewed about 14 years ago

I think you'd only stay here if you needed to be near the airport as it's not a picturesque site and it's too far to be able to get the bus into Auckland for the day (well you could try but it'd take a

while - the bus stop is right outside). We drove to the zoo from there and it took about 30-40 mins.

We stayed 2 nights, the first because we wanted to drive into Auckland the following day and the second because we needed to drop the camper off and head to the airport early - I wouldn't have chosen to stay here for any longer but for 2 nights it was fine.

The showers were free and hot, the bathrooms were a little tired looking but of all the sites we stayed in, this was the busiest and I think most people were using it like us, as a stopover - it's not a long-term holiday site.

The area isn't particularly pleasant with a busy road outside and houses surrounding the back of the site behind a high fence. There was music pumping out from somewhere - I think it was the gym/leisure centre up the road, but it did stop around 7pm. It didn't feel like an unsafe site, despite it being in a built-up area and there's a keypad for opening the barrier to stop unauthorised people driving in.

You can walk to a few shops - we ate in the Irish pub on the retail park near the Rainbow's End theme park and there's a buffet restaurant next door which seemed quite popular, so it's useful when you've got to the end of your holiday and have run out of food!

It took us about 20 mins to get to the airport from there when we were leaving so it was good for that, but there are closer sites to the city for those who want to be nearer to the sightseeing.

Reviewed about 14 years ago

I gave it a 7 because the walk and thermal sites are impressive but I wasn't impressed with the price - $75 for a family of 4 was too expensive I thought but we paid because we'd gone all the way up there

and everyone wanted to go in and have a look around.

The weather became really bad when we were half way around and there was one shelter throughout the whole walk - they can't help the weather but it'd be nice if they're reading this if they put up a few more shelters - it's very exposed once you leave the gift shop and cafe area.

Reviewed about 14 years ago