An ideal overnight or longer stopover on the Pacific Coast Highway is the long-established Waihi Motor Camp, a haven of peace and tranquillity in a secure rural setting. It is an ideal base from which to explore the Karangahake Gorge, just a ten-minute drive up the road. With its well established trees, its rocky stream and well-tended grounds and facilities, Waihi Motor Camp is a truly restful place in marked contrast to our now all too familiar stressfully frantic world.
It is also just far enough off State Highway 2 to be both free of traffic noise, while still being easy to get to. The Waihi Motor Camp is a fine example of the away-from-the-seaside kind of motor camps that are becoming more popular in New Zealand. Good soil and weather protection generate top lawn and pasture growth, plus well-established old-growth trees create a sense of permanence and give comforting shade in summer.
Nevertheless, if you hanker for some beach time, the popular tourist destination of Waihi Beach, a surf beach, is only 10 minutes or so to the east. For golf enthusiasts, the Waihi Golf Course is even closer, set in a very pleasant rural setting. It is a pleasantly green and playable course that is one of golf''s best-kept secrets.
The Waihi Motor Camp is right on the north-western edge of Waihi, so its main aspects are pure rural, while the facilities of Waihi are only minutes away. Tame domestic animals -- sheep, lambs, small pigs and assorted chickens and ducks -- are an unusual feature of the property. You are free to walk among them if you wish, in the region of the duck pond and the "peaceful zone" and you can even take part in feeding them.
Note, though, that the animals are fenced off from the accommodation sites and won't be found wandering around where they're not wanted. Hosts and operators Gloria and Paul can tell you all about them, and about feeding times -- an event popular with children.
Because of the rules on highway signs, the signposting on SH2 can be confusing. Please take particular notice of the NZScenics Karangahake Gorge/Waihi location map and all will become clear.
The office is in the new house, a little back from the road entrance. When you sign in, a refundable deposit of $20 gets you an electronic entry card which operates the main gate to the park-like camping area and facilities.
The central amenities include a well appointed kitchen with stoves, microwaves and fridge. The ablution facilities are well-tended and clean. There is a paraplegic toilet. The laundry has an automatic washer and dryer. A dump point is provided for campervans. There are 50 sites with power and 40 for tents. Tent sites cost NZ$12 per person per night, NZ$25 for a powered van site for two. There are also a number of cabins and log cabins.
The attractive grounds have mature trees, lawns and even a duck pond. You will really enjoy the lively and rocky clear-water stream that flows around much of the north-west boundary of the camp. It is a visual delight and even has a swimming hole within the grounds. But if you prefer a proper, fully-maintained swimming pool, there is one of those, too, quite separate from the stream and well-fenced for child safety.
The Waihi Motor Camp has been there a long time, which accounts for its established feel. Gloria and Paul took it over at the end of 2003, and have given it a complete facelift and upgrade since then. On top of that, both of them have years of experience in looking after holiday-seekers and travellers who are looking for good service.
Paul, although a New Zealander, spent many years at the huge Mammoth snow resort in the Sierra Nevada in northern California, and Gloria has a long background in cabin and customer service with Air New Zealand. They are drawing on all that background to make sure that staying at the Waihi Motor Camp is a great experience, no matter whether you are a luxury campervan traveller, a backpacker or a tent-camping fan. It will be a long-remembered part of your travels in the area.