Family Holiday - Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp
Originally posted on my old website on 5 January 2023
We just got back from 4 nights down the coast at Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp. Just past Opotiki, we thought we would have no luck finding somewhere under 2 hours from home (Tauranga) that was affordable, family friendly and allowed dogs over New Years.
It seems that is a big ask, but we found somewhere in the end - Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp, complete with a dedicated dog area and it's own dog friendly beach access. About a 1 hour 45 minute drive from home, we packed up the car and trailer, loaded the kids and dog in and headed off for our first full family adventure. We'd never taken the dog on holiday, and if you follow my socials, you will know he's more than a little bit of a lunatic!
We had our trepidations about taking him.
Would he behave?
Would he be completely embarrassing?
Would we need to come home early?
As it turned out... no! He was an absolute angel! We did come home about 16 hours early, but that was because we knew what weather was on it's way and decided home in our warm dry bed would be FAR better than a windy, rainy pack up the following morning. Turns out that was a VERY wise decision.
But back to the holiday.
So we got there Friday afternoon, the day before New Year's Eve. Setting up was a bit of a nightmare, it seemed like everything went wrong, the wind was really gusty, and then we were too late to cook dinner, so I whipped up the next days planned lunch of Ham Sammies by torchlight, and that was our dinner. Everyone was too hungry to care by then anyway! Off to bed early because we were exhausted and with the wind picking up, we had a feeling we were in for a long night.
We were right. It was so windy and the night seemed to take forever.
The next day though? It was a stunner!! Hot, no wind and beautiful blue skies. We spent the day finishing setting up, sorting out some shelter, checking out these so called amazing icecreams we had heard about. BEST ICECREAMS EVER!! NO LIE!!! Once it cooled down, took we the kids, dog and bikes along the Dunes Trail, a long walkway that runs along the coast.
New Years' Eve itself was pretty quiet, we ended up all in the tent from around 9.30 as there wasn't much to do since we couldn't take the dog with us most places, so we played some games, watched a movie and awaited the countdown.
The countdown came and went, and we were straight off to sleep, ready for a bigger day the next day.
More icecreams and big walks in the late afternoon, this time going along the boardwalk in the other direction, towards Opotiki. I believe it goes all the way there, but we had to turn around due to an injured kidlet. Another sunset beach walk followed, checking out all the beach bonfires and chatting to random people as it got dark.
The next couple of days were much of the same - icecreams, bike rides, walks on the beach later in the day and general relaxing under the gazebo while the kids raced around on their bikes. They loved having the freedom to roam the whole park safely and it did wonders for their confidence.
One thing we noticed with having the dog was that all the fun stuff is in the no dogs area!! So if you have somewhere safe to leave your pup for a while, or if you take turns going away, it's fine. We didn't have anywhere cool AND safe to leave him, so we missed that stuff, but there is a pool for the kids, a trampoline, a big playground that the kids absolutely loved, and a few cool hang-out areas. We didn't see much of these, but they looked great.
All up, for 5 nights over New Years, with 4 people and a dog on a powered site, we paid $495 which for the time of year was the cheapest we found, the sites were a really good size and everything was clean and friendly people. The shop on the outside of the campground was as well stocked as a 4Square and has the best icecreams and fish and chips we've EVER had. Totally worth it!
Like all campgrounds, there were a few yobbos trying to ruin it for others, but for the most part, it was really quiet, by 10.30 every night you didn't hear anyone talking or partying, which was really good for us non party animals!
Would we go back? For sure! The swimming wasn't quite what we expected, but others have said when they go they swim every day, so will just have to assume it was the incoming bad weather making it too dangerous for the kids, but it's a beautiful spot, especially if you love bike rides.
With gorgeous views out to Whakaari/White Island and Moutohora/Whale Island, it felt like every time I went down to the beach, there was something new to see.
Find out more about the campground and booking a site here - https://www.tirohangabeachmotorcamp.co.nz/