Category Archives: Holiday Parks

Opononi Beach Holiday Park

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Update 2020: Opononi Beach Holiday Park is for sale and the site may be re-developed, Google for updates.

The man who runs Opononi Beach Holiday Park is a no nonsense kind of guy. He knows how he likes things done and he isn’t afraid to tell you. This can include giving specific instructions on how to park your caravan. Fortunately Mike was behind the wheel and he knows what he’s doing, if I was in the driver’s seat I’d be telling a different story.

Once the caravan was parked exactly where the owner wanted it to be, he rode off … Read the rest

Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park

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Plenty of signs point to ‘Ohope: NZ’s Most Loved Beach’. We spent a week on a powered site at Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, a short walk over the dunes to Ohope Beach. While Ohope didn’t take the title of our most loved beach from Waikanae Beach in Gisborne, we did find one of the most family friendly holiday parks we’ve ever stayed in.

Father Christmas and his helper arrived at 11am on Christmas Day with a sack full of presents for all the children under 8. One lovely little girl sang Father Christmas a Christmas carol in … Read the rest

Gisborne – our ‘go to place’ for sunshine

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We often wondered about people who went to the same destination every year for a holiday, it didn’t seem like something we would do. Then one year we went to Gisborne and turned into the sort of people we wondered about. We don’t go every year, more likely every second, but it’s the one place we return to regularly. Given I updated Driving the East Cape from Gisborne to Opotiki, I thought I’d share some of what makes Gisborne a favourite destination for us.

The weather – It seems every Christmas/New Year in one part of the country at least, … Read the rest

Soak and Stay at Hot Water Beach, Coromandel Peninsula

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We were squatters at Hot Water Beach, a puncture and repair job in nearby Whitianga stole most of our soaking, and all of our digging time. We arrived spadeless and hoping for an abandoned hot pool. The sea had already started its push toward the high tide mark and fortunately for us some people had dug their free spa and moved on.

We sat in a big hot puddle and watched fierce waves in the distance. The waves would eventually wash away all evidence that we were here, in a hot pool of water surrounded by foreign accents and backpackers … Read the rest

Climbing & Camping in Mount Maunganui

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When we read that around 900,000 people walk or run around the base of Mauao (the dormant volcanic cone) in Mount Maunganui every year, I have to admit we were sceptical. It just seemed unlikely, but a few days camping at the base of Mauao at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park showed us just how popular the walk around (and up) the mountain is.

We chose a camp site closest to the beach, just in front of the caravan was a path to one of the walking tracks, the people flow was constant. There was no way we could have … Read the rest

Camping & Kaimoana in Maketu

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Camping – Maketu Beach Holiday Park, 2 Town Point Road
Two tickets for Maketu Kaimoana Festival and a booking at the Maketu Beach Holiday Park and we were set for the night. We chose the holiday park closest to the festival and what a choice it was – if our caravan Rosie was any closer to the water she’d be floating (granted the few rocks below would have turned her into a leaky boat first).

It’s not just campers who get the superb location, there’s some cute little log cabins beachfront too. The cabins reminded me of beach huts in … Read the rest

Quirky Creeksyde Holiday Park – Unusual Accommodation in Queenstown

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Curious, quirky and unusual all describe the facilities at Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park Creeksyde. From the ‘Tapas Room’ barbecue pavilion to the trompe l’oeil (deceive the eye) murals in the communal bathrooms …..

The ‘Oast House’ communal bathrooms are built with timber recycled from an old brewery.

The trompe l’oeil (deceive the eye) murals inside ‘Oast House’ – mind the stairs in the mens room.

Girls get a Body Sanctum bathroom with the Skyline Gondola in the shower.

Creeksyde’s not only unusual in design, it has a reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy and it’s the first holiday park in … Read the rest

Taking a shine to Hokitika

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There are a list of reasons why I took a shine to Hokitika ………

Shining Star beachfront accommodation – It was camping with the animals that appealed to me – Highland cattle, alpacas, ducks, and a goat. A visiting free range rabbit made it an Old MacDonald’s Farm of sorts without the noisy sound track. We parked the caravan on a grassy site but there’s also log style accommodation (some of it beachfront).

A beach to yourself – Shining Star is next to a driftwood strewn beach that you may get to yourself, particularly in moody weather. The town sits … Read the rest