It’s one of those rare spots that feels gloriously remote without actually being hard to get to. Sitting roughly 30km northeast of Kerikeri township, Matauri Bay Holiday Park puts you within easy reach of town while still feeling like a proper escape. You can spend your morning wandering Kerikeri’s galleries, artisan studios and café-lined streets, then be digging your toes into white sand by lunchtime — close enough for an easy supply run or a day of culture, far enough that you genuinely feel like you’ve got away from it all.

And what a place to land. The beach is the showstopper: a long sweep of white sand, sheltered water for swimming, and proper surf when the swell’s up. Snorkellers and divers are spoilt rotten here, with the Cavalli Islands just offshore and the famous Rainbow Warrior wreck nearby — one of the most special dives in the country. If diving’s not your thing, the climb to the Rainbow Warrior Memorial rewards you with views you won’t forget in a hurry, and the fishing around these waters is genuinely world-class.

The park itself offers a spread of accommodation to suit everyone — powered and non-powered sites, cosy onsite caravans, and tidy cabins and chalets, most of them beachfront or just a short stroll from the sand. The facilities tick every box too: a general store and fish & chip shop for the nights you can’t be bothered cooking, a petrol station, LPG and dive bottle fills, a communal kitchen, clean showers, laundry, and a filleting bench for the keen fishers. Everything you need is right there, which is exactly what you want when the rest of the world feels pleasantly far away.

Best of all is the atmosphere — relaxed, unhurried, and the kind of place families return to summer after summer. Come for the beach, the diving and the fishing. Stay for the slow mornings, the sea air, and the rare feeling of being somewhere truly special, all just a short drive from Kerikeri.