Curio Bay Camping Ground

Curio Bay. Nice campground (contrary to some of the feedback) and friendly staff. Snug sites or site bays separated by flax plantings on what would otherwise be an inhospitably windy peninsular. Safe drinking water. Fairly tight security to keep day visitors from using facilities: good clean showers ($1 coin needed), toilets, laundry and kitchen/dining space. There are other toilets dotted around the camp area; less salubrious but you don’t need to walk far in the night. Beach is good for walking and swimming, and there were dolphins playing in the sea. Petrified forest and penguin crossing very nearby (200m walk), and a remarkably peaceful, quiet forest-reserve walk, to the sound of native birds, across the road.

Nice terrain, big tent places, surrounded by 1 meter of bushes as fence. Even with lots of wind, comfortable. Close to beaches and spot to see pinguins. To see pinguins you need to be at the right moment; information about that was contradictory. We saw them between 5 and 7 pm (no dusk). Only 2 going to the sea.Good kitchen, showers and toilets, clean. Office is limited open but can be called. Nice museum at office giving lots of insight in petrified forest with nice animation and film.

Beautiful 5 star spot. Unfortunately whoever runs the place has no idea about customer service.Toilets and kitchen closed for extended periods. 10am-1230! I understand cleaning needs to be done but people also need to use the bathroom that they are paying for. It could easily remain open like every other place.Rude and aggressive cleaner/maintainer.The people in the check in and restaurant were nice though, however inexperienced.

Really bad experience with the staff where the cleaning lady did not trust us regarding our previous night booking. She did not want to let us take our food back from the kitchen. She was really suspicious and complain to the manager who came and did not apologize after seeing that we obviously booked the night before.I don’t recommend at all

Almost didn't book as there were slightly mixed reviews but that would have been a mistake. Amazing location. Clean facilities (you no longer have to pay for a shower as other reviews mention). Saw lots of dolphins in the bay playing in the waves. Tried to go and see penguins but were told after there are only 4 that live in the beach so unlikely to see them. Fairly windy.

We stayed one night, and here are some thoughts I'd like to share.Pros: close to the beach, the petrified forest, and if you're lucky you can spot yellow-eyed pinguins close by too. All just a short walk away. The spaces for tents/vans are large enough and protected from the wind by large pieces of flax and do provide some privacy. Hot and powerful showers. Big kitchen area with numerous freezers but only one fridge. There's also a café on-site.Cons: no shade, really no large trees or so to protect you from the sun (we were here in January). It can be a bit of a walk to the showers/toilet block, and the kitchen gets very hot.Overall, we enjoyed our stay and the location is perfect if you're on a road trip through the Catlins.

The place is beautiful, but I gotta evaluate the campground itself and the service. First, I paid for a powered spot and there was no information I would need an adapter to plug my stuff there. They deal with tourists daily, so there are no excuses for that. Basically, I paid for an extra I couldn't use due to lack of information.Second, this is pretty expensive considering what they offer. You're using a camping spot, but paying for a room.The brightside was the shower. Good flux, warm.

Great location, service at reception minimal. Had to go back to get code for kitchen and then reception was closed when we realised we had not been given wifi code. Could have more toilets around the campsite. Nice kitchen, showers etc. Again, facilities must be very busy in peak season!

I really love how the camp sites are divided by flax its gives more privacy. The grounds are clean and tidy, with plenty of toilets. The showers cost $1 for 5min which i found was actually enough, all they need is a rubber mat when you get out so you are standing above the wet floor. On one side is the beach with dolphins on the other side is penguins and a bush walk.I personally found the water tastes awful, will definitely be bringing my own next time.

As everyone says, this park is in a stunning location with a variety of options for camping either overlooking the beach or the cliff side, or sheltered amongst the flax.The facilities need a serious overhaul to bring them to an acceptable standard for the fees. Sadly as there isn't any nearby competition I expect that's a long way off.Beautiful area for seeing dolphins and penguins and nice swimming in Porpoise Bay.