Best holiday parks Gisborne: 10 top campgrounds guide

Image credit: Ray Sheldrake - SheldrakevisualART.com

Tucked into the curve of Poverty Bay on New Zealand’s North Island, Gisborne is known for its award-winning wineries, pristine surf beaches, and strong Maori culture. Just six hours drive from Auckland, there’s a wealth of scenery to enjoy around Gisborne, with plenty of holiday parks, caravan parks and free camping available, which makes it easy to plan your road trip and explore everything the East Coast has to offer.

Here’s our pick of the best road trip accommodation options around Gisborne.

Waikanae Beach Top 10 Holiday Park

You can do your Gisborne surfing holiday in total comfort at the Waikanae Beach Holiday Park. Right on the beach and five minutes walk from the centre of Gisborne, this park offers attractive powered sites, some of which come with beach views.

The grounds are green and inviting and absolutely packed with stuff to do, from surfing lessons to go-kart hire, an inflatable jumping pillow and two playgrounds. They also offer a heated swimming pool, trampoline and table tennis, a TV room, and equipment hire for everything you will need at the beach, including boogie boards and kayaks. The amenities here are first class and include bathrooms and showers, a laundry, wifi, a dump point and boat and car wash facilities.

This is the perfect holiday park for families and those who want to explore the centre of Gisborne before heading out further. Prices start from $24 per person per night for a powered site.

Tatapouri Motor Camp

Ten minutes north of Gisbourne, along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway, is the tiny township of Tatapouri where you’ll find the Tatapouri Motor Camp. A relaxed, laid back caravan park nestled between the ocean and the rolling hills of the East Cape, this is the perfect place to unwind and relax in the quiet beauty of the East Coast beaches, to experience the landscape up close while hiking, or to visit some of the region’s famous wineries.

Tatapouri’s huge beachfront powered sites allow plenty of room to park your camper or caravan. Facilities include showers and toilets, a communal kitchen and BBQ area, and pets are welcome upon request. Powered sites start at $25 per person per night, with additional fees for additional guests.

Anaura Bay Campsite

Anaura Bay is most famous for being the site of Captain Cook’s first landing in New Zealand. It’s a small, sheltered section of North Island coast that still features the quintessential North Island rocky coastline. Anaura Bay campsite is one of the Gisborne region’s best freedom camping sites, which is open between April and September (outside of New Zealand daylight savings time).

You’ll need a completely self-contained RV to camp in one of Anaura Bay’s 75 unpowered sites. While a dump point, showers and drinking water are available, there are no toilets, so your van will need to be equipped with one. It’s also relatively remote, which will make for a peaceful stay and the chance to explore the coastline in solitude, but don’t forget to stock up on supplies. Bookings are not required and the campsite operates on a first-in, best-dressed system.

Manganuku Campsite

Drive an hour and a half inland from Gisbourne and you’ll enter the hills of the Bay of Plenty region where you’ll come across Manganuku Campsite. This small but serviceable campsite is run by the Department of Conservation and offers cheap but basic unpowered sites at $8 per person per night for adults and $4 for children, with payment required by self-registration when you check-in. No bookings are required and this campsite operates year-round.

Facilities here include toilets and BBQ's, but you’ll need to bring your own water. The scenery and local flora are amazing and the campsite is the starting point for the Manganuku Track, with a variety of other hiking trails nearby. The campsite also sits next to a historic wooden Howe truss bridge. With the bridge and the lush green backing of the forest around it, it makes for amazing photos and a gorgeous camping aesthetic.

Motu Rest Area

No road trip through the Gisborne hills is complete without a stop off at Motu Falls and the Motu River, and of course the tiny village of Motu. Driving through the area will give you a feel for rural New Zealand, and the rolling green landscape will take your breath away.

Motu Rest Area is popular with freedom campers for its good location and simplicity. There is drinking water and a toilet available, with a maximum of a three-night stay permitted.

Tolaga Bay Holiday Park

Tolaga Bay Holiday Parkis a beachfront, family-run holiday park that comes alive over the summer months. Situated close to Tolaga Bay’s unique 660-metre wharf, and at the starting point to the historic Cooks Cove Walkway, Tolaga Bay is popular for surfing, fishing, walking and swimming.

The park has 52 powered sites available, starting at $22 per person per night. There are also unpowered beachfront tent sites available. Facilities here include a dump point (for stays longer than two nights), a shower and bathroom block, a BBQ, playground, laundry and kayak hire. The park’s small shop is open in December and January.

Showgrounds Park Motor Camp

Surrounded by 100-year-old trees in the 40 hectares of Gisborne’s Showground Park, this motor camp is close to Gisborne’s shops, beaches and attractions, and offers large powered sites perfect for bigger RV’s and buses. It’s also close to the local golf course and equestrian centre, and close enough to town to be accessible but still peaceful and private.

With reasonable rates that start a $22 per person per night ($12 per child) for a powered site, the Showgrounds Park Motor Camp offers all the facilities you would expect and is a family run and well maintained. A shower and bathroom block, laundry, lounge and BBQ are all available for use. Book well ahead of time as this is a popular Gisborne spot, especially during the summer months.

Oraka Reserve

An hour south of Gisborne isOraka Reserve, a small freedom camping area near Mahia. Surrounded by natives trees, the ocean and Maungawhio Lagoon, it’s a quiet paradise of a spot that makes the perfect resting place before you move on to your next hiking and sightseeing adventure.

Oraka Reserve is in close driving distance of Mahia Beach, Mokotahi Lookout and the starting point for the beautiful Mahia Scenic Reserve Walking Track, which is a 2.5 hike that shows off the best of the peninsula.

Facilities here are reasonable scarce, with only a public toilet available. No bookings are required and it’s a maximum of a three-night stay.

Morere Tearooms and Camping Ground

Morere Tearooms and Camping Ground is the closest accommodation to Morere hot springs, only an hour south of Gisborne and close to Mahia. Morere hot springs is an enticing collection of public and private hot and cold spring pools set amongst 364 hectares of rainforest.

After a soak in the springs, you can head to Morere Lodge and Holiday Park to set yourself up for a night or more, giving you a chance to explore more of Gisborne’s beaches and the rolling hills of its inland areas.

All the usual facilities are available with showers, toilets and fresh drinking water provided. Contact the Camping Grounds for rates.

Te Araroa Holiday Park

The Te Araroa Holiday Parkis situated in Hicks Bay, on the northern tip of the East Cape, a two and a half-hour drive from Gisborne. This holiday park is situated in a remote and quiet location, with stunning beaches and rugged cliffs nearby. The grounds are leafy, green and have a distinct laid back vibe. While the facilities here are basic, they do include everything you will need such as showers, toilets, a laundry and drinking water. Given the remote location, you’ll need to ensure you have plenty of supplies, especially if you plan to stay a few days and soak up the scenery.

Rates at Te Araroa are very cheap, starting from $13 per person per night for a powered site.

Gisborne and it’s surrounds are an underrated New Zealand destination, with plenty of rugged countrysides, quirky towns and excellent beaches just waiting to be explored. Hire a campervan or RV and hit the road in New Zealand’s North Island for an adventure experience you won’t forget.

So what is Camplify?

We are a caravan hire and RV sharing community, helping connect thousands of holidaymakers with RV owners.

What does that mean?

Essentially, we provide a unique sharing service where owners of caravans, camper trailers, motorhomes, and campervans list their RV for hire while not in use. As an owner, this enables you to earn over $10,000 each year instead of having your RV just sitting around while you’re not using it.

As a holidaymaker, Camplify helps you find an RV that is perfect for you so you can experience the joys of caravanning - without having to own one yourself.

Interested? Learn more about Camplify here.