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DOC Matata Campsite
off Arawa Street in Matata township, Whakatāne New Zealand
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4.0
#3 of 3 campsites in WhakatāneLocation
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Beach
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off Arawa Street in Matata township, Whakatāne New Zealand
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53 Restaurants
within 10 kilometers
28Reviews1Q+A5Room tips
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Detailed Reviews
I initially read a few very negative reviews about the campsite but I had a different experience. Upon arrival I met with Edwin the site manager. Edwin was super helpful and friendly. Chilled, easy going dude.
After setting up camp, I later met Pip, Edwin’s wife who was also really friendly and easy to talk to. They both shared great info of the surrounding areas and things I should try do and see. They were the nicest site managers I’ve met.
As far as a DOC camp ground goes, it’s a great location. My tent site was bigger than I’m used to, so lots of space. I was along the tree line which runs along the dunes. It’s a great wind break. I loved falling asleep listening to the sound of the waves.
It rained really hard during the night but my site never had any issues with getting water logged. The site never had much grass. It was more exposed ground so it got a bit muddy. But not excessive.
The shower was a bit odd. Make sure you ask someone to insert the coin for you as the timer starts 2 min as soon as the coin goes in.
Nice flushing toilets.
Highly recommend.
After setting up camp, I later met Pip, Edwin’s wife who was also really friendly and easy to talk to. They both shared great info of the surrounding areas and things I should try do and see. They were the nicest site managers I’ve met.
As far as a DOC camp ground goes, it’s a great location. My tent site was bigger than I’m used to, so lots of space. I was along the tree line which runs along the dunes. It’s a great wind break. I loved falling asleep listening to the sound of the waves.
It rained really hard during the night but my site never had any issues with getting water logged. The site never had much grass. It was more exposed ground so it got a bit muddy. But not excessive.
The shower was a bit odd. Make sure you ask someone to insert the coin for you as the timer starts 2 min as soon as the coin goes in.
Nice flushing toilets.
Highly recommend.
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip: Get someone to put the shower coin in for you.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nice place. Had flush toilets and was really clean. Water pressure was good. Had beautiful white sandy beach but the waves were quite rough so it wasn’t ideal for kids to swim in. Have paid showers ($1 for 2mins) there but we just used our shower bags so didn’t have to pay anything. There’s shops across the road.
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Date of stay: April 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip: Get someone to place coins while you’re in the shower cause the water starts straight away....
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great Doc campsite. Clean flushing toilet. Peaceful unpowered campsite. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. Also near a waterway with Pukeko wandering around.
Totally recommend to others. $8 per adult and $4 per child.
Totally recommend to others. $8 per adult and $4 per child.
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We planned to stay at this camp for a couple of nights, but when we arrived, we were confronted by a very unfriendly, rude and unpleasant ‘camp manager’. When she told us in a rather unwelcoming way that we could only stay if we booked in online, we felt rather uncomfortable to stay. Surely, a DOC camp should be bookable onsite, especially since not everyone is online or has mobile data while travelling.
During our quick look around, we found the access road had large pot holes, and we were rather surprised to see rubbish at various places around the camp, especially considering the camp charges an extra $2 fee for ‘rubbish’ (no matter if any rubbish was deposited or not). The camp was clearly not at all up to the standard of other (basic) DOC camps. We decided not to stay. We lodged a complaint with DOC and hope they can do something about this currently unacceptable situation.
During our quick look around, we found the access road had large pot holes, and we were rather surprised to see rubbish at various places around the camp, especially considering the camp charges an extra $2 fee for ‘rubbish’ (no matter if any rubbish was deposited or not). The camp was clearly not at all up to the standard of other (basic) DOC camps. We decided not to stay. We lodged a complaint with DOC and hope they can do something about this currently unacceptable situation.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We just spent 5 nights here in our motorhome. The camp is right next to the beautiful beach behind some sand dunes and a 4 minute walk over the road to Matata township, which means there is road noise. We had a bit of an odd stay to be honest. The hosts, on arrival were quite stand off-ish and then, they would like keep randomly staring at us, or if someone was stuck at the gate, due to a gate code error, they would just stare at them? They would jump on the mower at 5pm on a beautiful evening, like last Friday, when everyone is sitting outside having a drink or dinner, and they would start cleaning the facilities and then leave them for like an hour closed, very bizarre. It’s almost as if they didn’t want to be there. Just weird. Enjoyed our time, but wouldn’t stay again.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My boyfriend and I got "welcomed" with the most horrible and awful AWFUL lady who not only fully shouted at us to go "walking speed" when we're doing 5k...but also didn't even give us a chance to explain ourselves and when we tried to, she was so horrible to us that it upset both of us so much that we kept reflecting on it throughout our trip because this lady really really should not be in this industry to talk to people like that. Especially if we were new to camping like this and didn't know what the "rules" are. Imagine if we were another race and couldn't understand English??? We were horrified with how she treated us and we promptly went to find another camp ground who gave us much much better service. Honestly she was so so rude, arrogant, horrid and beastly. Would not recommend going there ever.
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Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I decided to stay at the camp on Friday night as we had been there the yr before and loved it. We wernt even out of our van, and this disgusting woman came up and had a go. We wernt sure of the check in times, and we're 45mins late. This was absolutely fine as we didn't know. But her attitude was appalling to us and treated us like we had done something terribly wrong. We were more than happy to give our money to Pikowai camp up the road, and will never ever return.
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is the official complaint that is send to easternbop@doc.govt.nz and doc.govt.nz on the 2nd of February 2021. Unfortunately, we haven't received any feedback or acknowledgement yet from DOC.
Case:
29/01:
-We arrived at the Matatā DOC Campsite around 4pm and checked in at the reception desk. A very friendly Matata DOC Campsite employee called 'X' checked us in, we paid for 2 nights and she allocated us at campsite nr 37.
-We drove to campsite nr 37 and it turned out that this site had a slope. We had a look and decided to go back to Campsite employee X to ask if it was possible to have a different campsite with no slope to install our tent.
-We drove back to the reception and Campsite employee X already greeted us. ( She was really friendly) We asked her if it was possible to change the campsite nr. She had to think for a few minutes and said to us that we could move to campsite nr 37A, which was a flat campsite. She confirmed and mentioned that she would switch another reservation. We thanked her and were happy to hear this.
-We drove back to campsite 37A to install our tent and unpack. While we were looking where to place the tent a woman, (we didn't see her before) was walking towards us.
-Without an introduction, out of nowhere she started talking very angry and loud to us and screamed 'WHY IS CAMPSITE NR 37 NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?' Both of us were surprised and in shock and asked her who she was and what the problem was. Now she started screaming and pointing with her fingers in our face ''WHY IS CAMPSITE NR 37 NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?' She was furious. We told her in a very calm and polite way that we never said that campsite nr 37 was not good enough for us, we just asked if it was possible to switch and told her that Campsite employee X helped us out and that Campsite employee X confirmed it was ok for us to move to campsite nr 37A. She then told us she was the Manager of Campsite employee X, so the Matatā DOC campsite manager.
In front of other camping guests she continued screaming and accusing us of things we never said. There was so much anger coming out of this woman, she looked already furious when she walked toward us. We kept calm but she didn't even listen what we had to say. She kept raging and being rude to us. She then left and walked back to the reception.
-Me and my partner were absolutely in shock about what just happened. A neighbor who was setting up a tent next to our car said ''Yes, we know, she is always like this'.
Being treated so disrespectfully without any good reason is not acceptable and me and my partner decided to not stay at this campsite so we went back to the reception.
- When we arrived at the reception, we mentioned that we do not accept to be treated this way and don't accept being humiliated or treated with disrespect without any reason. I asked the name of the DOC Campsite manager and it turned out her name is 'R'. 'R' refused to give her lastname. We asked for our money back for the 2 nights we paid just 30 minutes earlier and 'R' answered ' In our conditions it says NO REFUND' .... She refused to give our money back and started pointing with her fingers right in our faces again. Campsite employee X asked her to put down her fingers. Without a refund we left.
-We decided to leave this campsite and both were in shock of what just happened. We drove 5 hours to travel all the way to this campsite so we were tired. We had to find a new campsite to stay which was a challenge because of the long weekend.
We have stayed in many DOC Campsites and we enjoyed every one of it, the experience at the Matatā DOC Campsite was horrendous.
Why is DOC appointing such a furious, disrespectful (non-hospitable) person as a DOC Campsite Manager at this place?
Case:
29/01:
-We arrived at the Matatā DOC Campsite around 4pm and checked in at the reception desk. A very friendly Matata DOC Campsite employee called 'X' checked us in, we paid for 2 nights and she allocated us at campsite nr 37.
-We drove to campsite nr 37 and it turned out that this site had a slope. We had a look and decided to go back to Campsite employee X to ask if it was possible to have a different campsite with no slope to install our tent.
-We drove back to the reception and Campsite employee X already greeted us. ( She was really friendly) We asked her if it was possible to change the campsite nr. She had to think for a few minutes and said to us that we could move to campsite nr 37A, which was a flat campsite. She confirmed and mentioned that she would switch another reservation. We thanked her and were happy to hear this.
-We drove back to campsite 37A to install our tent and unpack. While we were looking where to place the tent a woman, (we didn't see her before) was walking towards us.
-Without an introduction, out of nowhere she started talking very angry and loud to us and screamed 'WHY IS CAMPSITE NR 37 NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?' Both of us were surprised and in shock and asked her who she was and what the problem was. Now she started screaming and pointing with her fingers in our face ''WHY IS CAMPSITE NR 37 NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?' She was furious. We told her in a very calm and polite way that we never said that campsite nr 37 was not good enough for us, we just asked if it was possible to switch and told her that Campsite employee X helped us out and that Campsite employee X confirmed it was ok for us to move to campsite nr 37A. She then told us she was the Manager of Campsite employee X, so the Matatā DOC campsite manager.
In front of other camping guests she continued screaming and accusing us of things we never said. There was so much anger coming out of this woman, she looked already furious when she walked toward us. We kept calm but she didn't even listen what we had to say. She kept raging and being rude to us. She then left and walked back to the reception.
-Me and my partner were absolutely in shock about what just happened. A neighbor who was setting up a tent next to our car said ''Yes, we know, she is always like this'.
Being treated so disrespectfully without any good reason is not acceptable and me and my partner decided to not stay at this campsite so we went back to the reception.
- When we arrived at the reception, we mentioned that we do not accept to be treated this way and don't accept being humiliated or treated with disrespect without any reason. I asked the name of the DOC Campsite manager and it turned out her name is 'R'. 'R' refused to give her lastname. We asked for our money back for the 2 nights we paid just 30 minutes earlier and 'R' answered ' In our conditions it says NO REFUND' .... She refused to give our money back and started pointing with her fingers right in our faces again. Campsite employee X asked her to put down her fingers. Without a refund we left.
-We decided to leave this campsite and both were in shock of what just happened. We drove 5 hours to travel all the way to this campsite so we were tired. We had to find a new campsite to stay which was a challenge because of the long weekend.
We have stayed in many DOC Campsites and we enjoyed every one of it, the experience at the Matatā DOC Campsite was horrendous.
Why is DOC appointing such a furious, disrespectful (non-hospitable) person as a DOC Campsite Manager at this place?
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Date of stay: January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lady at the front desk was awful and and shouted at us from the get go.drove up at less then 5km taking in sights was shouted at, told to park off the road and pay at office, parked on field and had her calling us blind and stupid and continued to shout at us when we apologised,as we hadn't been there, told us find another spot as we didn't listen to her, after being verbally abused we left willingly and vowed to never return to such a place. Everyone else there looked terrified and on edge. Highly recommended. As for the experience can't say due to not actually staying.
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Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
campsite is basic, all sites are non powered, showers there is only one and for Christmas weekend when the camp is full is not enough. the managers are friendly, the sites are large, the camp is on the leeward side of a sand dune and across a causeway of the sleepy town of Matata. you are about 20 minutes from a more bustling and touristy town of Whakatane where you charter fishing, tours of Whale Island and White Island, both lovely. The beach at Matata is not tropical and a bunch of Man-o-war washed up a few days we were there. the fish and chips in town were AWESOME and cheap. 20$NZ for 4 fillets and a lot of fries.
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Date of stay: December 2017Trip type: Travelled with family
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: it is a government sponsored campsite. there are no ameneties such as pools and tennis courts but...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
"Drinkable running water taps throughout the site Limited shady spots Beach access NO open flames (butane cans/ gas grills OK) NO pets "Read full review
"Get someone to place coins while you’re in the shower cause the water starts straight away. Change dollars for coins at the office."Read full review
"it is a government sponsored campsite. there are no ameneties such as pools and tennis courts but beach is uncrowded and right there"Read full review
LOCATION
New ZealandNorth IslandBay of Plenty RegionWhakatāne
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Frequently Asked Questions about DOC Matata Campsite
Which popular attractions are close to DOC Matata Campsite?
Nearby attractions include Ohope Beach (6.6 km), Julians Berry Farm & Café (4.1 km), and Mataatua: The House That Came Home (3.6 km).
What are some restaurants close to DOC Matata Campsite?
Conveniently located restaurants include Cafe Awa, Kopeo Indian Restaurant, Bar & Takeaway, and Roquette Restaurant & Bar.
Are there any historical sites close to DOC Matata Campsite?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Te Papaka (3.2 km).