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Dune Lakes Lodge - Retreat & Horses

Hosted by Rosemary

20 guests max

🌿 Dune Lakes Retreat & Horse Inspired Learning Centre is nestled on the wild and beautiful South Kaipara Head Peninsula, just 60 minutes from Auckland CBD. This peaceful sanctuary is set among rolling sand dunes, native bush, and Lake Kereta — a stunning freshwater dune lake. Campers can choose from a variety of sites — some tucked into quiet corners close to the stunning wetland and others open with wide skies and shimmering lake views. Whether you’d like to wake up close to the water for a swim, or camp higher up with sweeping vistas, there’s a spot for every mood. The Kaipara South Head is an ancient sand barrier separating the vast Kaipara Harbour from the Tasman Sea. Between the dunes lie inter-dune hollows, filled by groundwater to form freshwater lakes like Lake Kereta and the larger Lake Ototoa. ✨ To the West lies the wild coastline and 65 km stretch of Muriwai/Rangatira Beach, with breathtaking sunsets over the Tasman Sea. ✨ To the East is the sheltered Kaipara Harbour — the largest harbour in the Southern Hemisphere — a pristine environment and vital feeding ground for orca, dolphins, and countless migratory birds. Birdwatchers may spot godwits, knots, turnstones, plovers, curlews, fairy terns, and more. Shelly Beach, shaded by grand old pōhutukawa, offers swimming, a playground, and wharf access to the harbour. ✨ To the North lies the lagoon at the peninsula’s tip — a calm refuge for swans, ducks, pukeko, paradise shelduck, kingfisher, fantail, warbler, and silvereye. This retreat is also home to a thriving herd of free-roaming horses at the Horse Inspired Learning Centre, where guests can experience mindful, non-riding interactions. Their presence adds to the deep stillness of the land. Expect birdsong at sunrise, the chorus of frogs at dusk, and starry skies at night. Facilities include excellent water quality, toilets, and showers, making it simple and comfortable to immerse yourself in nature. A place to rest, reflect, and reconnect — where land, water, wildlife, and quiet beauty meet.Pitch your tent, park your camper or enjoy our bunk or studio accommodation. Enjoy the calm, peaceful, therapeutic ambience of our free-roaming horses, friendly dogs, wild peacocks and the occasional deer. The Victorian villa is adjacent to the beautiful Lake Kereta, adjoining Woodhill Forest which stands on ancient sand hills covering an area of 12,500 hectares planted predominately with radiata pine. There are plenty of picnic areas, lookouts, trails, walks, lakes, and orienteering. A wide track around the lake enables visitors to traverse the changing patterns of wetland vegetation in the dune lake system, the vista broken here and there by the bordering manuka and kanuka trees.

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Dune Lakes

Vacation rental · Sleeps 20

Pitch your tent, park your camper or enjoy our bunk or studio accommodation. Enjoy the calm, peaceful, therapeutic ambience of our free-roaming horses, friendly dogs, wild peacocks and the occasional deer. The Victorian villa is adjacent to the beautiful Lake Kereta, adjoining Woodhill Forest which stands on ancient sand hills covering an area of 12,500 hectares planted predominately with radiata pine. There are plenty of picnic areas, lookouts, trails, walks, lakes, and orienteering. A wide track around the lake enables visitors to traverse the changing patterns of wetland vegetation in the dune lake system, the vista broken here and there by the bordering manuka and kanuka trees.

No campfires

Toilet

Potable water

Pets allowed

Showers

Picnic table

from

NZ$50

/ night

for NaN guests

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Location

New ZealandTo respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking

Hosted by Rosemary W.

Joined in September 2023

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New Zealand

Hipcamp acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.