Summer Holidays At A Camping Ground In New Zealand

Image Source: Tripadvisor.com

Summer holidays in New Zealand are something that Kiwi's (the colloquial name for New Zealanders) look forward to all year. New Zealand is situated in the southern hemisphere and celebrates Christmas and the New Year during summer which starts in December, just as the northern hemisphere is entering winter, which is why a summer holiday in New Zealand, and Christmas in the sun, is definitely the best way to escape the cold. Both the North and South Islands experience great summer weather and it's quite a different experience for northern hemisphere cousins to have Christmas in the sun.
A great way to really experience a true summer holiday here in NZ is to book yourself into a camp ground or holiday park. Camping over the summer holidays is a long held tradition in this country with many families returning to the same camp grounds and in fact the same camp sites for many years, some for generations. You would find it difficult to find any of the 4 million residents who have not spent at least one or two summers 'camping'. The long narrow geography means many of these camping grounds are near water - perfect for the kids to go swimming or to partake in that other much loved New Zealand pastime, fishing!. Imagine catching a snapper or Kahawai to have for dinner, very memorable.
Camping grounds here used to be very basic, providing little more than a site, a power connection and rather unappealing amenities. However, over the years as guests expectations have increased so have the facilities and accommodation in New Zealand options they offer, continuing to meet their customers' requests they now offer not only a wide range of accommodation but clean modern facilities and amenities such as Sky television, internet cafes and, in some cases, wi-fi.
Most camping grounds in New Zealand now boast modern, clean and hygienic amenities including large shower blocks with hairdryers, kitchens with fridges, microwaves and ovens and laundry's with multiple washing machines and dryers.
Outdoor areas have continued to be adapted to the requirements of the campers and many now include barbeque areas, children's playground and a spa pool. Rainy days are taken care of in the games room with TV, games for young and old and sometimes a pool table or table tennis table.
The accommodation options are probably the biggest change over the years. Of course if popping up a tent, unrolling your sleeping bag and just enjoying the simplicity of camping appeals to you then tent sites are still readily found, however should you wish to have a bit more space for yourself and your family then another option you can choose from is to book a caravan - many camping grounds in New Zealand have these permanently on site which they rent out, if a caravan doesn't suit your requirements then you will also be able to choose from tourist cabins with beds and a small kitchen, in most cases guests use the communal facilities, if you would really like to be self-contained many of the grounds have motel units with separate bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom facilities.