Christmas in NZ - We can either camp or hotel it

[Katie 84]

Hello,
This Christmas will be the first one for my partner and I since arriving in New Zealand. Thinking of packing our tent and heading up to Nelson area for the week. Can anyone recommend a good campsite, holiday park or motel to go for this which may have a bit of an atmosphere over Christmas week. We can either camp or hotel it not fussed. Looked at a lot of websites and still plenty of space available. We are going to be ending up in Pohara for New Year to meet some friends.

Thanks,
Katie

[kiwieagle]

McKee Reserve in Ruby Bay and Kina Reserve are in the Mapua/Tasman area and are really basic campsites right on the water. They are both lovely, natural spots.
A little bit different is Tahuna Beach Motor Camp. It's a lot of fun and usually very busy and bustling. You are within walking distance to Tahunanui if you fancy a drink or dinner.
Mapua Holiday Park is in a lovely spot and close to the wharf but not quite as bustling as Tahuna and not quite as isolated as McKee and Kina. It's only clothing optional in March . For a small town, Mapua Wharf has some excellent restaurants and a brew pub. From there you can take the ferry over to explore Rabbit Island and hire a bicycle or bring your own.
Kaiteriteri is about 10 minutes from Abel Tasman and is usually very busy over the Christmas break. It has a lovely swimming beach. I'd be surprised if there is anything available. Split Apple Rock is just a few minutes from there and is a lovely little beach. You can't camp there but there is an amazing spa-hotel there.
Golden Bay is magical, my husband is from there. I would recommend spending a bit of time over there. Pohara is awesome.

[dbonnett]

Nelson is a very popular place for the holidays so I wouldn't wait too long or your choices will thin considerably. Where to stay depends on what you want to do:

• If you want to be close to Nelson City and the amenities of the CBD, then Tahunanui is great, with a lively beach, restaurants, bars etc, but it will be more crowded and noisy with traffic and younger crowds. Places to stay include Tahunanui Holiday Park, a wide range of motels and backpackers. Unless you really like being around tons of teens, I would not do the Maitai River Holiday Park this time of year, they do the 'youth' New Years party. You do also have many motels in town to choose from.
• Part way around the Bay is Mapua with a nice holiday park, some smaller motels and homestays, a good small collection of restaurants and a ferry to Rabbit Island if you want to go to the beach (fare charged for the ferry). Rabbit Island is a great beach about 8km long and never that crowded. I would suggest bikes for the ferry, either bring your own or hire in Mapua, since it is a few km from the ferry to the main beach.
• Motueka has groceries, shops and a lot of motels/backpackers and homestays, but it is not a destination itself. Mapua and Kaiteriteri are both about 15 minutes away from Mot, Nelson is ~30 minutes. Mot does get pretty lively over the holidays and traffic queues along High St as everyone heads to/from the beaches @Abel Tasman. This is the last place to get groceries before Kaiteri/Marahau.
• Kaiteriteri has a beautiful (but busy) beach, a little cafe and grocery as well as two nice holiday parks, one right at the beach and the other a bit inland. Kaiteri will be very busy over the holidays with families, some of whom have been coming for several generations. There is a great mountain bike park at Kaiteri and if you like to ride, bringing your bikes is mandatory ;-) You can get water taxis to Abel Tasman from here.
• Marahau is about 10km past Kaiteri, right at the edge of Abel Tasman National Park. It doesn't have much of a beach (more tidal flats) but it is much quieter than Kaiteri over the holidays. There are some home/farm stays, and some holiday parks/campgrounds which are popular with trampers and overseas travelers and a few cafes, but no real shops.

Not knowing what you like to do, it is hard for me to recommend one over the other, but Mapua might be a nice balance - the holiday park is right on the water and close to the wharf but not super crowded or noisy - you can get a beer & Mexican food at the Golden Bear, ice cream at Hamishes, fish & chips, bike/drive to Rabbit Island or head off for a day at Kaiteri or in the park. None of these places are so far from each other that you can't hit all of them over the week (plus Nelson Lakes, Cable Bay and more). We live on the north side of Nelson and are only 30 minutes from Mapua and 1 hour from Kaiteri.

Let me know if you have other questions - we love where live and are happy to share!

[Katie 84]

Oh my goodness thank you ever so much for those replies it is very much appreciated. Having spent hours trawling websites it is good to have some direction. Just one last question......do you know of any recommended companies who do a several night kayaking tour? There are quite a few out there and once again I am lost even with the use of trip advisor, much better to get inside info

Once again thank you!
Katie

[dbonnett]

Oh my goodness thank you ever so much for those replies it is very much appreciated. Having spent hours trawling websites it is good to have some direction. Just one last question......do you know of any recommended companies who do a several night kayaking tour? There are quite a few out there and once again I am lost even with the use of trip advisor, much better to get inside info

• If you want to go from the Marahau side, check out http://www.freedomrentals.co.nz/ - They will let you go as far north as Tonga but will give you more than 3 days to explore if you want.

• From the north side, talk to http://www.goldenbaykayaks.co.nz/ - they go out of Tata Beach, not far from Pohara.

The section from Anchorage south to Kaiteri is really pretty but also gets a *lot* of water taxi and kayak traffic, so it won't feel like you are the only people around. You can do a mix of kayak/walk trips if you want to spend some time on the Coastal Track.

The north side is much quieter and hits more open water. Check out: http://www.goldenbaykayaks.co.nz/kay...k/taupo-point/ for an example. I did notice they specify that the multi-day trips longer than this one may be unavailable between 20 Dec & 31 Jan since they are busier, but it would be worth asking. One of their kayak/walk packages might be a good option - the north section of the park doesn't get any of the bus crowds/day trampers that can dominate the southern parts.

(Putting on my Search & Rescue hat) I assume you have some open-water experience in sea kayaks? Abel Tasman is generally pretty safe with easy landing points, but the weather/winds can't be counted on to be nice If not, I would suggest sticking to the trips on the south side.