Road tripping New Zealand is probably the most popular way how to explore this amazing country, doesn’t matter if you are travelling on one of the islands or both. New Zealand can be quite expensive, so sleeping in your car, campervan or motor home can help you to save some extra money. I was into hiring a campervan since the beginning and I believe it was the best decision we could make. New Zealand campgrounds
When travelling during high season (December – February), it is better to book your mean of transport in advance, because you may struggle to find something suitable later. I also booked some of the activities, because we were travelling on very strict schedule. The accommodation was the only thing that we did not book. There are plenty of campgrounds to choose from, especially on the North Island (South was little bit tricky sometimes, for example finding any kind of accommodation in Queenstown last minute was mission impossible, so I recommend to book beforehand).
CamperMate
What helped us the most was CamperMate – really smart app for everyone camping or road tripping around New Zealand or Australia. It will show you not only the campgrounds, what facilities they have and how much they cost, but also all the activities that you can do in the area, some easy campervan-friendly recipes and much more. The only thing that you won’t know is if there are any free spots left.
This is not an ad for CamperMate, it is only me thanking the creators for making our travelling so much easier! Anyway, I am bringing you my over-view of the campgrounds where we stayed, what I liked and what wasn’t as great and hopefully it will help you with your trip planning. New Zealand campgrounds
Auckland – Airport Kiwi Motel
Our first night in New Zealand after we landed at 11 pm in Auckland. This was probably the cheapest accommodation around the airport, we paid only $58 AUD per person and the room had a small kitchen, private bathroom and 24 hour reception. New Zealand campgrounds
Matamata/Okoreire – Okoreire Camping Ground and Hot Springs Hotel
Campground in Okoreire was probably my favorite! It may not have had the best showers or kitchen (we didn’t really used them but from what I saw, it could have been better), but it had natural hot springs included in the price. Just a short walk down the hill from the campground and we found this beautiful wooden door with Maori carvings all around, from where a set of wooden stairs took us down to three pools with natural hot water, forest all around us and roaring river somewhere under. It was dark when we got there, so we had the pools only for us and if you have read my other articles about our adventures on New Zealand, you know it was cold and raining all day so this felt like a small oasis, like a real treat after a long day. It was beautiful, I loved it!
Rotorua – The Backyard Inn
The Backyard Inn is more a hostel and a motel than a campground, however there is a small area to park your car or van (and sleep in it). There is a common room, kitchen and a bar on the premises. The bathrooms were nice and clean, but with limited 5 minutes hot water in the showers. There are also sockets to plug your hair dryer in or to charge your phone. New Zealand campgrounds
Taupo – Great Lake Taupo Holiday Park
Really nice and big holiday park with lots of facilities to spend there more than a night. There was a TV room, playroom, fully equipped kitchens, nice and spacious bathrooms, playground for kids, outdoor barbecues etc. The showers were again limited with 5 minutes hot water, but there was a hair dryer which is a plus. New Zealand campgrounds
Wellington – Capital Gateway Motor Inn
I mentioned this in my previous NZ article, that if you want to stay close to Wellington city center, there are not real campgrounds or holiday parks, it is more about parking lots where they allow you to stay over-night. CamperMate offers this options as well, some people “rent” their driveways and borrow you their bathrooms. Luckily we found a motel with fairly big parking lot for campervans and motor-homes, with kitchen and bathroom (limited 5 minutes hot water, sockets available) and in the motel there was a bar as well as restaurant.
Picton – Marfells Beach Campsite
Well, this campground is not really located in Picton but about 150 km south. Anyway, it was our first night on the South Island. The campground is quite basic, there are toilets and a shower (yes, only 1 shower) and I haven’t really seen any barbecue facilities or kitchen, but the beach is just stunning! Most of the spots face the beach, which is wide and long with big waves and soft sand. Beautiful campground! Be aware though, because here you will need the cash to pay. (Until now everywhere we could pay by card).
Pukaki – Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park
The first campground with unlimited hot water! However, if you want to dry your hair, there are no dryers, nor sockets to plug in your own. Otherwise, the campground is equipped with barbecues, kitchen and common area. It is located by the lake and overall, it felt very natural. It wasn’t modern like for example the holiday park at Lake Taupo, but it was very comfortable. New Zealand campgrounds
Milford Sound – Henry Creek Campsite
Nothing, but toilet! And maybe two picnic tables with benches, that’s all. This campground is approximately half way between Milford Sound and Queenstown. We came here late, around 11 pm and left at 5 am so we haven’t really figured who to pay for our short stay. CamperMate is showing Henry Creek as the last available campground before Milford Sound, but on our way there I counted 7 more, all of them small and very basic, where you can just park and sleep.
Te Anau – Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park and Motel
Again unlimited hot water! South Island is better in this than North! The bathrooms had also hair dryers. The camp is situated by the lake in Te Anau, it is quite large with kitchen, common room and laundromat. The night we were there, it was raining a lot so I can say that the common room is not big enough to accommodate all the backpackers and campers. Also the receptionist wasn’t very nice. But if you want, you can pay for a room and those should have TVs. New Zealand campgrounds
Queenstown/Kingston – Kingston Holiday Park
This campground was again one of my favourites – sharing the first place with Okoreire. It had cosy clean kitchen, bathrooms with unlimited hot water and hair dryer, small TV room with couches and lots of DVDs and outdoor barbecues with beautiful wooden sitting. The whole area had warm atmosphere, I just felt good in there. If you don’t want to camp, there are rooms to rent or if you are after something little extra, you can hire a glamping tent!
Prices
As you may have noticed, I did not mention the prices. They were approximately the same everywhere we stayed – in between $18 to $22 NZD per person per night. I don’t exactly remember how much we paid and where, but CamperMate will tell you the exact prices. If you want to stay in a motel, you will have to pay more, obviously. I liked sleeping in our car, it was very comfortable and even thought we experienced some cold nights, the blankets were warm enough. New Zealand campgrounds
Do you like camping? Can you imagine yourself sleeping in your car for 10 days, sometimes without taking shower or brushing your teeth? Would you prefer our way of road-trip or hiring a smaller car and looking for motel accommodation? Let me know in the comments below!
P.S.: I didn’t really take pictures of the campgrounds, but I maybe should have. Anyway, I hope this gives an idea about our campervan life! New Zealand campgrounds
