Best Beach 2023: NZ’s top 50 finalists revealed. How to vote for the winners. Video / NZ Herald
Herald readers have nominated their top 10 camping beaches around the country. Now it’s time to vote for the winner. Read on to find out how.
It wasn’t mentioned in the Treaty but camping beside the waves in summer is, some might say, a Kiwi right. Perhaps fewer families are pitching a tent these days but here are 10 of the best places where our readers still enjoy an old-school beach holiday.
Time for you to roll over on the beach towel and vote for your favourite. You’ll find the easy form at the bottom of this page, or go to nzherald.co.nz/bestbeach now.
Readers named the town in the top 10 family beaches so it’s little surprise it’s turned up in the camping section too, as have several others.
At Hahei Beach Resort you’ll wake to 500m of Pacific beachfront at your door (or tent-flap). Accommodation runs from villas sleeping 2-7, cabins, more than 100 powered and 100 non-powered campsites. A glamping tent in the hills above is possibly the ultimate off-grid hideaway.
Bonus: onsite cafe, restaurants, The Deck bar (family-friendly, guitars and jandals optional), beachfront bar and outdoor hot tubs.
Kaiteriteri, Nelson
There’s more to Kaiteriteri than its much-loved beach. The Nelson Tasman spot is on the doorstep of three national parks, MTB trails, world-class food and wine. Kaiteriteri Reserve Camp has 17 cabins and 400 powered campsites catering for campervans, caravans and tents, and four amenity blocks.
Maitai Bay, Northland
DoC has made a habit of finding superb sites for its campgrounds. Between sheltered Maitai and Waikato bays, the two camping areas contain 100 non-powered sites. A track makes it easy to walk from one bay to the other. With excellent swimming and snorkelling, Maitai has long been renowned for fish and shellfish, but you must check local rules first.
The DoC campsite at Maitai Bay in Northland's Karikari Peninsula has been nominated as one of NZ's best camping beaches. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Mt Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
There’s nowhere that says Kiwi summer more than The Mount, and camping at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park. It has three zones, each with its own character and amenity block, BBQ areas, toilets, showers and laundries. As well as the usual accommodation, the park rents caravans that sleep four.
It’s not the only option in town. Cosy Corner family holiday park is 80m from the beach, operating from Christmas-Easter and Labour Weekend. It has 60 sites, eight cabins and five self-contained units.
Ōhope, Bay of Plenty
Defending its win as our readers’ Best Holiday Park in New Zealand 2022 is Ōhope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park. Absolute beachfront, affordable accommodation options include apartments, units, cabins, glamping, 300 powered and 100 non-powered campsites.
Other options to check out – Ōhope Christian Camp and Whakatāne Holiday Park, in the Big Smoke just over the hill.
A contender in our top 10 family beaches, Ōhope has also been voted one of the country's top 10 camping beaches. Photo / File
Tāwharanui, Auckland
The jewel in Auckland Council’s crown, Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary is 90 minutes’ drive north of the harbour bridge, behind a 2.5km fence that keeps out cats, dogs and other pests.
The campground has room for 260 campers in two areas. Numbers are strictly monitored and sites must be booked through the council website. There’s no power, showers or cooking facilities or rubbish bins – take that home, but there are good clean long-drop toilets and water taps.
Tōtaranui, Abel Tasman National Park, Nelson
DoC does it again, with more than a little help from nature. Tōtaranui beach and campground is one of places where families return generation after generation.
The Abel Tasman National Park bay has intense golden sand, a tidal inlet, and is the pick-up/drop-off point for many water taxi and boat operators taking folk to the park and coastal track. The campground can accommodate up to 850 people, and those numbers are needed during summer.
Waihī Beach, Bay of Plenty
BOP tourism points out “you won’t find one set of traffic lights in Waihī Beach,” which will attract any JAFA. For a place to pitch or park your favoured accommodation, the Aussie-based Tasman Holiday Parks chain operates two holiday parks.
The larger Waihī Beach resort is at the northern end of the 9km beach, next to the surf club. The Beachside site is a little further back from the water, although nowhere is too far here.
Folk with Scottish heritage might disagree but the No.1 reason to visit is Waipū, less than two hours’ drive from Auckland and a half-hour from Whangārei, is the long, sandy beach with safe swimming, surfing and fishing.
Camp Waipū Cove, at the southern end of Bream Bay, has been a holiday home for generations of families, with accommodation including self-contained and basic cabins, a bunkhouse, 135 powered and 30 non-powered campsites.
Whangamatā, Coromandel
There’s no other word for it. Iconic Whangamatā Motor Camp has been Ground Zero for old-school beach holidays for decades. Now – like many in seaside towns around the country – it faces an uncertain future as land is sold to build the townhouses and villas that many 21st century holidaymakers prefer.
For a different view of the town, the DoC-managed Wentworth Valley Campground is set in native bush next to the Wentworth River. Enjoy swimming holes, waterfall, goldmining history and forest walks – and it’s only 1.8km to the delights of Whangamatā.
HOW TO VOTE
Use the easy form and drop-down menus below to vote for your favourites in each category.
