Arohena Campground — Hotel in North Island

This is a fantastic place to experience a Kiwi holiday. The area is popular and the lake certainly gives options for motor boat and kayak enthusiasts. There are some beach area for kids in a few areas. Rocks for jumping and open spaces for games. The toilet blocks are sufficient for a busy camp ground with 4 toilets. 1 of the 4 had a broken lock but the campers managed around this. There is another block for washing dishes that helps the logistics for families. We found the doc ranger lacking to reinforce curfues for most nights. I make the statement from a parents perspective. Most nights we heard up to 230am or later for louder groups to quieten down. Overall good atmosphere for our own group. Not much shade so a gazebo or marquee would be essential for any campsite. Will go back...

Hidden gem. We had bypassed the usual Jones Landing and Bulmers to try this DOC campsite and were very surprised at how big the camp was and how busy it was.

Reception not great, you have to stand in certain areas to get signal. One toilet block with 4 toilets which was enough as we never had to wait. Sinks available to wash dishes, water needs boiling. We managed to get a nice sectioned off site close to the sinks which was perfect for around 20 of us over Christmas. I think we left just before the crowds started getting rowdy at night.

Some campers near the water with their full set up and boats acted like they owned the area yelling at one of the young kids to not touch their boat (not even close to or wanting to) Put the poor kid off swimming...

not sure why they call arapuni a lake, I studied geography when I was 13 and this would definitely be classified as a river in the international standards book. flowing water is often the main requirement, but I believe rivers do not have areas of stagnant water, so I can see how a beginner geographer might have misclassified arapuni as a lake. having said this, river arapuni was an excellent campground, and it only costs $8 per night for adults. there is also a sink (/ basin) for use with running (river /...