Campsite Roundup

On our trip, we chose between rustic sites and "holiday park" sites that had all the amenities including playgrounds and hot showers.  We preferred the rustic sites (all but 1 had decent toilets and running water), but sometimes those just weren't possible to find or practical with where we were.  Even with the holiday parks, there were only a couple of  times that we decided to get electricity--one because the kids REALLY needed some time to watch a movie on the DVD and the second because all of our electronic devices (Ipad for nighttime stories, M's current book, and chronicling the trip; the camera; and the phone) all desperately needed recharging.   

The best part overall about nearly all the rustic sites was the view in the evening and mornings.  Here is a round-up of the sites and a little bit about each one.

Our first night, we spent in Geraldine at at holiday park.  This was a conscious decision since we wanted to see how the kids eased into camping, so we thought decent facilities the first night made was good buffer.

The second night we were renegades.  We spent the night near Cromwell and although the site said no tent camping, there were at least a half-dozen campers and tenters there before we arrived.  After some careful investigation, we learned that the local authorities permitted camping here--and for free.  So we sidled up to the river.  One  group of campers, we were told had been there 5 weeks!

We were shocked to wake up in the morning, to the site of snow on nearby mountains.  It had been somewhat chilly in the camper, but not THAT chilly.  It only got colder that day, as we moved south....

The third night we were raring to go.  So we got a hot tip from the local iSite office in Te Anau, and found this--again free--gem of a place right along a river, and about a km or so down a gravel road.  We got there just in time to get THE prime spot along the river.  Soon after we arrived, another campervan tried to get to the second prime location at the site, up on a little hillock, but ended up getting stuck in the gravel.  R had to help push them out.

The kids couldn't have been more thrilled to be able to spend the evening throwing stones in the river.  

The next night we were in Milford Sound.  Although this view is nice from where we were parked, the campsite was about as unromantic a place as you could find with about 12 sites gathered together in a gravel parking lot.  We didn't take pictures of that.

The following evening we were in Queenstown where lodging can be somewhat scarce.  Although we stayed at a paid campsite, we were intrigued by the ingenuity of the owners.  All of the buildings--the registration area, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the lounge area--were made up of separate container boxes that had been converted into living spaces.  Economical, recycled, and pretty cool.

The tree house was the highlight for the kids.

The evening that followed was at Cameron Flats.  The view was amazing and we had an excellent view of the setting sun on the mountain in the distance.  Nonetheless...

This night will go down in history as the Hellish Night of the Wicked Sand Flies.  These are NOT American sand flies, these are nasty, evil, harassing, foul little creatures that  are the wickedest insect I think I have ever encountered.  They are about 3/4 the size of typical house flies and bite primarily at the ankles.  Now, the initial bite isn't too bad, just a small sharp pain.  What is so evil is that for at least every night for 6 days following the bite (that is NOT an exaggeration!)  I woke up in the middle of the night scratching like crazy.  THEY WON'T STOP ITCHING!  And even now, a mere 14 DAYS later, we still have remnant bumps and scabs and every now and then they still itch.  Since it was our first encounter with them, we hadn't put on sufficient insect repellant and worst of all, they completely infested our campervan.  Our ankles have not been the same since.  And, BTW, despite what my wonderful husband R says, this is not a post-dinner stretch, this is the dance of trying to keep the sand flies off on the way to the bathroom.

The following night we stayed at a Holiday Park in Hokitika that was non-descript.  And then the next night took us south of Hokitika to Goldsboro, described as a secluded site next to a flowing river that used to be the site of a bustling goldtown.  Sounds idyllic to you? And to us and about 100 other people.  This was by far the busiest rustic campsite that we stayed at.  Clearly, it was a popular site, as we had the resident wekas visiting us at dinner and spending a lot of time under our camper van.

There was a great hike with the greatest green moss covered trail and the river promised the opportunity to make your fortune with gold panning.  

I think this is where I have the most regret about not getting a photograph--a photograph of the older couples panning for gold at the campsite.  They were finding gold specks in the mud and really interesting characters.  It was so interesting and it just made the kids even more excited about visiting Shanty Town the following day.  This is R standing next to the riches-filled river.

And this is R and little M enjoying some sunshine on the other side of the road while we were all eating dinner together.  This night will go down in history as the Night of the Annoying Mosquitoes.  L woke up with one of his night terrors for one of the first times in about 2 years (screaming so loudly that he wanted his dad even though R was right there that we thought he woke the whole campsite!) and Little M and M were attacked in the top bunk of the campervan be mosquitos in the middle of the night.  After L woke all of us up, M and little M could not go back to sleep because of the incessant buzzing.  So, we all headed to the bottom bunk and the four of us slept in the most cramped quarters (but at least bug free!) of the trip.  We did find out the next morning, that at least the gold-panners that we had befriended were not woken by the terror-cries of our son.  Just not sure of anyone else there.

The following night was Lyle.  It was raining, it was cold.  No pictures.  However, the interesting thing is it was the home of a famous pip-squeak of a woman (nicknamed Biddy) that we had learned about at Shantytown.  Here's Melina with a lifesize photo of Biddy:

Then we stayed at the Holiday Park at Nelsen.  Again, pretty undescript.  No pictures.  Our final rustic campsite was at Okira Bay.  Very beautiful scenery, but the worst bathroom of the lot.  We got up early and headed straight out before we needed to use the facilities.

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Our final evening was in Christchurch.  There are no rustic accommodations near to the city, so we had to opt for another Holiday Park.  Most of the families in the park were in powered sites, but our kids were more than eager to have one last night camping--except they did get the chance to swim in a heated pool and do some bouncing.  

Overall, we completely enjoyed ourselves and the kids were amazing travelers during our experiences.  They were as excited and helpful at the end as they were at the beginning. It was such a relief not to have to pitch a tent every night or pick it up in the morning.  We didn't have to worry a smidgen about the weather--come rain, wind, sun--and we had some of the best views we could imagine.  Wouldn't have gotten that from a local motel!  We're ready to do some camping in good old DC or up at Bagley Rapids this summer- with a tent.  We'll see if the kids agree in a couple of months.