Camping in NZ

There are many excellent camping possibilities in New Zealand!

There are rural campgrounds and many campgrounds near and in the larger cities. The campgrounds usually have grass to put your motorhome on, they have electricity, showers and toilet blocks, laundry and a communal kitchen.

The facilities in the kitchen vary from campground to campground. All kitchens have seating, fridges and cookers. The more luxurious ones also have freezers, hot drinking water, ovens and microwaves. Sometimes even a popcorn popping machine or a coffee machine (extra charges for use....).

When the kitchen is nice it is usually the central place of the campground, where people meet to have a chat with other travellers. A great way to find out about special things to see!

Rural campgrounds

The rural campgrounds can be privately owned. The facilities and prices differ, depending on the area and on facilities like swimming pool and tennis courts.

There are also many campgrounds owned by regional or national bodies like the Department of Conservation (DOC). These campgrounds are usually in very nice area like parcs and forests, a liitle further off the main roads. They have limited or no facilities, sometimes only a toilet. The rates are very low, a few dollars for a person a night. Information about DOC campsites can be found on their website: www.doc.govt.nz.

To visit towns and cities, you often need to stay on a campground nearby. Almost all city campgrounds are privately owned. There are a few exceptions, where the city council have their own campground. We have not seen a huge difference in the fees.

City campgrounds

Fees for the city campgrounds are relatively high, between 10 and 20 dollar per person, including power. Usually the sites are less nice than on rural campgrounds, more campers need to be fitted to a smaller property. If you really do not want to be closer to your neighbours, it pays to look outside the city, and weigh the extra driving with your privacy. Often for a night it is acceptable if it makes your citytrip nicer, because you may be able to visit the nightlife. The advantage of a more populated campground is that you meet more people and often the facilities of the city campgrounds are very good!

There are many campgrounds that have formed an association and when you go to one of the campgrounds of the group you are assured of a certain standard of the facilities. The best, and most expensive, facilities are usually found at "Top10 Campgrounds". You can buy a card which will give you a 10% discount at all the associated campgrounds. So if you think you will use many of these campgrounds, it pays to buy the card at the beginning of your holiday. You can find all information on their website: http://www.top10.co.nz

Another group are the ''Family Parks". They are a little more diverse and some parks are very special. As a customer of Goodlife Motorhomes we can give you a 10% discount card. To check out these campgrounds: http://www.familyparks.co.nz

In your motorhome you will find a guide with all campgrounds of New Zealand, so wherever you end up at the end of the day, you will be able to find the closest campground quickly.