Paekakariki Holiday Park — Attraction in North Island

We had a 3 night stay with a group of families. On arrival I was coldly greeted by the staff member on front desk. No smile or happy welcome. My card did not work nor did our other friends card and she presumed it was our cards that were wrong so begrudgingly she charged the cards through the system. We found our site which was great. We set up the gazebo first and was swiftly approached by maintenance telling us to move it as it was partially blocking a thoroughfare. Noone else was around so we thought it a bit odd and rude the way he said it. We had only placed it there for a bit of shade for the kids while we pitched the tents and worked out the spacing for the 2 large tents in the small space made smaller by a big tree on the site. The next morning went into the kitchen to find it a bit flooded after slipping in the water which leaked from the Zip to the hallway, so went to the office prior to their opening time. Scared to ring the bell because of the intimidating sign, I proceeded. I Rung the bell twice over the course of 10+ minutes. No answer. Legitimate concern hence trying to get contact before their opening of 10.30. So I left it as I felt I was wasting my time I Scratched myself on the exposed screws poking through the wall of the toilet. The showers operate for about 15 seconds before turning off, so continuously having to press the button while trying to shower the kids and myself proved very difficult. They wanted Cash sales for the ice creams at the office, so we didn't purchase any. The rules were clear with dogs not being allowed anywhere but the dog areas were ignored. Off leash dogs came over to us and one came up licking my child's face. Another family carried their white dog INSIDE the kitchen bathroom areas and sat it in the communal table/eating area. Front office did not seem to care. My partner had to go to work and rules are clear for check out time, so paid an extra night to cover the extra time on-site. The office lady was majorly inconvenienced by me coming to pay for this and again having to charge the card. She was very busy with the toddler behind front desk and spoke with him and gave me one worded answers and more unhappy glares. The location is great and it is a nice set up, but not worth the money spent. Especially when it seems under maintained and has No-one following the rules. The dog area seems much more expansive than the one little bay set aside for them. When I had phoned asking about it, they sounded strict on dog rules so we arranged someone to watch our dog whilst away so we could be close to our group. My partners gate code did not work when he came back from work and was greeted by a lovely lady(Miriam I think) and it sounded a complete contrast to the person we had dealt with. Would give service/ Staff a 0 star if I could. We got to enjoy being with our friends and meeting other campers who all said the same thing...

BEWARE. I woke up this morning to a man walking around my tent with a knapsack spraying herbicides around my tent. There was another man on a quad bike spraying large areas of the grass surrounding all of the other campers. When asked what he was spraying he initially said “glyphosate” when I went to reception to ask if it was a common practice to spray toxic herbicides around campers and why they were walking around my tent (WHILE I WAS IN IT) she completely went off on a tangent about how “we need to get rid of the weeds somehow” and was telling me glyphosate was “environmentally friendly.” NO HERBICIDE IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY. Not to mention it is completely disturbing for employees to be working in occupied campsites and disturbing campers with loud quad bikes in the park. The lady at reception was extremely abrasive and rude and started acting like a fussy child, rolling her eyes and scoffing. Zero customer service skills, zero empathy, not to mention zero knowledge of what she was talking about. She called the groundskeeper John to the reception desk and I asked him again why they were spraying glyphosate around campers. He said there’s no way they are spraying glyphosate as it would kill the entire lawn (it is an untargeted herbicide) and that they were spraying a targeted herbicide called Conquest. Again, no herbicide is safe for humans to be exposed to. Conquest is an ecotoxin, harmful to aquatic life, and a eye and skin irritant. The irony being the employees spraying were in full PPE spraying around the public who were not covered in protective equipment and were completely exposed. No verbal warnings or even signage of the ongoing spraying and employees/contractors spraying were working in occupied campsites and spraying around personal property i.e. cars, tents, and campervans without warning, or care for the public’s safety and privacy. No one wants to camp in a worksite! Edit: Conquest is not extremely harmful with short term exposure although there are health risks of prolonged exposure. The most concerning being the risk of dogs and small children and oral ingestion; putting hands/body parts that were exposed to the herbicides to their mouth. Poor practice. This park is supposed to be family friendly, there are always many children, especially young children in this park. If you are pregnant, have young children, pets, or have any common sense at all DO...

reaching staff via phone was difficult and when calls were answered I felt as though I was an inconvenience |- A very blatant rule listing (with capital letters) email was provided prior to our arrival |- signs everywhere reinforcing the site rules |- signs how to make sure facilities were best used |- signs explaining how facilities were to be used …. Everywhere|- no lee-way given to anyone campers trying to enjoy their holiday|- no consideration made as to seperating or offering separation of those with young families and those there to enjoy a couple of nights socializing.||We were made to feel that we were intruding in the owners space and land prior to arrival. This is we confirmed during one of the owners nightly ride-her-bike inspections.||Overall this is a lovely campground, with need for some upgrades and owners that accept there income is from those using the camp ground. To be treated like a guest and to feel welcome and no as though we were intruding would have resulted in our recommending Paekakariki Camp. We will therefore never recommend this as a nice, welcoming, comfortable and / or welcoming place to stay during your family holidays.||Too many signs saying what not to do, with the prior email saying what not to do made our family unwelcome before we arrived.||And to those who enjoy a belly laugh, don’t consider this place. The rude ever watching owner will ensure you keep it down during her nightly bike ride patrol.||Overall, this place looks nice on paper and in theory. But look further for a relaxing and comforting place to complete your camping trip. And if you are determined to stay here, be sure to have a small to medium tent or leave unneeded items at home as the sites are small and crowded.||Oh, and to those without children looking to let your hair down, be prepared to share your space with families as there is no available segregation. Likewise to those with children hoping for peace and quiet ||Despite the great location, until new ownership is announced we will drive past and onto Foxton or Himatangi for our...