Quinney's Bush Camp — Local services in South Island

We just spent 8 days at Quinneys Bush - it was absolutely awesome! Family of 5 - 2 adults, kids aged 11, 14 & 16. Lots to do - kids loved the lake (it's around 2.5-3.5m deep) especially the diving platform and slide, they loved the water slide and the flying fox. We had a LOT of rain and the ground stayed pretty dry - wasn't boggy in our area at all. Loved having our setup under the trees in Block F - lovely and shady... and nice big sites too.

The only thing (in my opinion) that would be a significant imrpovement would be an additional ablutions block. We were in 'F' and it's quite a hike to bathrooms in the middle of the night (and especially in torrential rain) and the women's toilets and showers usually had a bit of a queue, especially from around 7pm - 9.30pm. (only 5 toilets and 3 showers plus family/ wheelchair toilet / shower in block one, and less than that in block 2). The addition of another similar sized ablutions block the other side of 'F' or 'I' would be amazing. Also a bench in the showers would be great a) to put things on so they don't get wet and b) as a not so young camper any more it's hard to get legs and feet dry while balancing and trying not to get my towel wet on the floor! $1 for a 5 minute shower is absolutely fine - pressure was good and shower was hot.

The electric cooktops in the kitchen was a bit of a pain - took a good 15 minutes to heat it up enough to cook so had to put a second $1 in to finish cooking. People after us asked if they could use ours straight away as it was already hot (they had had the same experience the previous night). A couple of gas BBQs (with a timer) would be a good alternative.

Other than that, it was fabulous - loved being able to have a brazier on our site (gotta grab them when they're available!) and $5 for for the firewood was very reasonable.

Will...

There's really nothing quite like Quinney's Bush anywhere

We spent an incredibly relaxing few days at Quinney's Bush with our severely disabled son and our 2 grandsons - absolutely perfect!

The facilities were second to none, and believe me, we've seen a few! Having completed an around the world journey in 2019 visiting 19 countries, whilst a trip of a lifetime, it helped us to appreciate what we have in our own backyard.

Quinney's Bush is the epitome for a family get away. We were there at a time when the attractions were not operational, and it was too cold for swimming, so you can imagine my grandchildren's excitement to know what would be available when we visit again in the summertime. They made friends within a couple of minutes of being there, and having to go find them when it got dark shows how much they loved it.

Of exceptional note was the facilities available to my disabled son. These were very well thought out and the cleanliness (which is of utmost importance to us because my son has a compromised immune system, plus he spends a lot of time on the floor) was outstanding. The staff were so friendly and I'm going to run out of space here before I could ever finish extoling the virtues of Quinney's Bush. What a jewel in the crown...

I'm sure we caught it on a bad day (New Year's Day - height of the season) but we found Quinneys Bush Camp to be totally chaotic. There are no allocated spaces, so most of the camp was given over to multi-tent/van groups with children and it was hard to find a spot to park our camper. It seemed to us that they had likely overbooked and were beyond full capacity.

Within the first 5 minutes, we'd had multiple toddlers run out in front of and behind us. Older kids and teenagers were moving through the camp very quickly on bikes - we tried to do their walk around the perimeter and found it being used as a BMX track in places. Parents were not present or supervising, meaning it felt very dangerous to move around the site in the van. There are aggressive signs around speeding all over the camp - but maybe more emphasis should be put on rules for the kids too. Kitchen and toilet block also very busy.

Looks like absolute paradise for kids, with loads to do, but was not the one for two adults. We also found the language used in the signage around giving out warnings for visitors, noise, bad behaviour and complaints quite full-on, but suppose this is needed with the big groups they attract.

For those looking for a chilled evening, recommend keeping on...