FAR NORTH CAMPING: 90 Mile Beach

AHIPARA HOLIDAY PARK

Location: Ahipara, Northland, at the start of the Ninety Mile Beach
Contact: website

Amenities:
-   A wide choice of powered and non-powered sites, level, spacious, mostly shaded. Some are bordered with plants for privacy, others have outlooks through pines. (Also caters for campervans and offers a selection of cabins).
-   Great ablutions, super-clean with fiesty, hot, free showers.
-   Large, welcoming communal space that has indoor and outdoor dining areas; a well-appointed kitchen (stoves, ovens, fridge/freezers, kettles, microwave and some utensils); comfy sofas, fireplace and flat screen TV. 
-   Fast free wifi, accessible from most places in the campsite.
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Vibe:
Feels like a festival campground. Backpacking at its best. Family and pet-friendly. Good for hippies / surfers / international travellers.
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Cost: NZD 40 for two people (non-powered site, high season)

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Experience: 
​We keep coming back here, this is our favourite Northland place to stay. It has the best amenities of any campsite we've been to in New Zealand and we love the location. The site itself is picturesque and it's always possible to find a private space and outlook, even during the busy times. Best of all, it's situated less than ten minutes walk from the start of the Ninety Mile Beach. Kiwi summer camping doesn't get better than this.

Soundtrack:
Surf breaking on the Ninety Mile Beach and wind in the pines. Bird calls. 

Highlight:
So many . . . great value (free wifi and showers), great location, great amenities. Love the smell of the pines on a hot summer's day and the wow views of the Milky Way at night. No light-spill here.

Lowlight:
Getting hit on the head with a ping pong ball while sitting in the communal area waiting for my computer to charge. Not fatal of course, but annoying after the third time it happens. Please relocate the ping pong table.

Lessons Learnt:
Vacate, if possible, on holiday weekends. All the usual issues. Fellow campers not respecting your space, door slamming, yelling into the night, queues in the ablutions while bunnies spend hours hogging the basins and doing their makeup. . .

Travel Tips:
Always pack earplugs and eye sleep masks (fortunately we did). You might look like Batman's Robin without the eyeholes, but at least you won't be blinded by the next door idiot's super-duper gas light. And you'll be able sleep in after a fretful night of doof-doofing while getting-to-know-your-neighbour-at-the-top-of-your-voice. Grrr.

Shopping in Ahipara:
Honestly, there's not much. What there is, is all grouped together: BIDZ Takeaways, a G.A.S Service station with attached superette, a liquor store and the North Drift Cafe around the corner opposite the school. Aunty G's Takeaways is run from what is basically her backyard in Takahe Street.

A very limited selection of crisps, lollies, tinned and packet food (possible at a push to make a meal of it) is available at the camp reception. It's worth trawling through the "Free Stuff" bin in the kitchen. Less loot to be found here than in Auckland campgrounds, but we did score a pumpkin, a can of bug spray and some Weetbix.

Things to do in Ahipara:
We don't care about surfing, golfing, horse riding or quad bikes, but for those that do, all these activities are available. Beach walking is our favourite thing to do here, and this is a long, long beach.

Things to do in the area:

• Kaitaia
  The largest town in the area and about 15kms from Ahipara. It's where you'll find ATMs and pick up supplies. For those missing their "fix", the only MacDonald's in the region is here. There's old-school, small-town strip shopping in the main road and the Te Ahu Centre (visitor's information, library, cinemas) is worth a visit.
• Lighthouse at the top of the Island
  It's only 123 kms to the very top of the New Zealand, an easy two hours drive. Lots of places to explore on the way including Houhora Heads where we've camped before. 
• Sand safaris and other tours
  Tour companies including Dune Rider and Sand Safaris offer day tours to the top of the island and pick up from the Holiday Park. Plenty of info available at the camp office and they'll do the bookings for you. Overheard tourists being quoted NZD50 each, including lunch, which seems like a good deal to me.
• Doubtless Bay
  Just a 45 minute drive across to the eastern side of the island. Matae Bay on the Karikari Peninsula is pretty (my mom's favourite beach ever) and the "world famous" Mangonui Fish Shop is worth a visit if it's not too busy. As vegetarians we finished off our order of kumera chips with chocolate fish.
• Herekino 
  Just a heads up in case you were thinking of going exploring, Herekino is not really a place. There's a small corrugated iron tavern offering wifi, a school, a few signposts and that's about it. As far as we could tell you can't get to the estuary and anyway, the tide was out. It's a scenic drive from Ahipara through the hills to get there though, and a track into the Herekino forest can be accessed from the road.