Manapouri Holiday Park

We stayed in one of the small huts around the holiday park. Inside were a bed, a desk, and two chairs, while the main house had the shared facilities: laundry, toilets, showers, a communal living room, and a large kitchen. The grounds were very peaceful and quiet. We also noticed a BBQ area, a games room, and a sauna, though the sauna costs extra.

The views from this stunning location are spectacular, and the amenities work well if you're traveling in a camper van. Staff were friendly and helpful. It's an easy walk to the Doubtful Sound cruise or to The Church for fish and chips, and there's a walking trail just across the street along the shoreline. Highly recommend.

We paid $80 a night for four people on an unpowered site. I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that sites would be allocated because some have power, but it's actually choose-your-own. At Christmas and New Year that turned into messy chaos. The junky cars scattered around might be meant to add charm or reflect the park's history, but they were a nuisance and made it harder to find a site without blocking someone in or cutting off car access. Part of the park was basically a dump. We ended up taking down someone's washing line just to drive back to our site because the area had become a disorganized maze since we first parked. The playground was dodgy, with an old broken trampoline that seemed dangerous, which was disappointing with kids. The kitchen was decent but too small for the number of campers. We came back several times to find a free sink, and there was no zip hot water, just one much-used kettle, so we had to wait. At one point there were no tea towels, and with no staff around to tell, I had to go into the utility room and restock them myself. The tiny lounge off the kitchen was a strange, windowless room crammed with people. The toilets and showers were decent too, but congested, and they kept running out of paper. I'm not sure this open layout works for a busy holiday park. The little chalets and Swiss Alps-style buildings were really cute, though, and I did love them.

The unpowered sites are pretty, tucked among trees, and the location is lovely, within walking distance of the lake. The facilities are old and too small for the number of people staying. We were there just after Christmas, likely one of the busiest times, and the kitchen was so crowded we had to queue to cook. There was only one kettle, so even making tea in the morning meant waiting. Fridge space was limited, the showers ran out of hot water during busy periods, and the Wi-Fi was poor. The lake was as cold as the showers, but we ended up jumping in there instead. 😆