Waikuku Beach Holiday Park

Happy Camping Review

Waikuku Beach Holiday Park is a well established site situated a short drive north of Christchurch, and is a popular spot for weekenders from Christchurch as well as international travellers.

The new owners have been managing the site since 2004 or so, and have been incrementally improving the facilities and buildings onsite. The site is nicely positioned next to the beach, with a narrow strip of woodland that acts as a barrier to the ocean wind. There is a useful and very friendly store / fast food takeaway 2 minutes walk up the road, and more basic supplies are also available from the office onsite.

The beautiful Waikuku beach, which has excellent golden sand and solid surfing waves, also has the only manned surf school near Christchurch (full time during school holidays, part time otherwise). It's also worth taking a walk 1km up the coast to where several estuaries meet the ocean, which is a destination for many rare migratory birds.

There are a good number of spacious powered sites available, intermingling with some permanent caravans, and the tent sites are considerately placed in sheltered tree-lined areas. Thanks to the barrier of the trees between the site and the beach, there is a pleasant sound of waves without the heavy winds.

The site facilities are pretty good, with several kitchens and toilet blocks, and a small kid's playground. One of the toilet blocks is being painted on the outside, and looks like it'll have a funky roman bath-house style to it when it's finished. Hot showers involve a fee of an old-style 20c coin (available at the desk), but are powerful enough to wash off any sand from the beach.

Waikuku Beach Holiday Park is a decent, well managed park with a very pleasant atmosphere and a lovely beach. Well worth a visit.

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