Newhaven Holiday Park

At Newhaven Holiday Park, you get to camp right by a wild Catlins beach—Surat Bay—with the chance to see rare New Zealand sea lions. This family-run holiday park has such a lovely feel to it. There are cosy little cabins and some awesome spots to park a campervan or pitch a tent—site #1, in particular, is a primo ocean-view camping spot! From camp, it takes just a minute to walk to beautiful Surat Bay Beach, a 3 km stretch of sand. The beach here is easiest to walk on at low tide, but beware of those sea lions—they’re territorial and can give beach-goers quite the scare! If you spot any sea lions, give them a wide berth. This campground also makes a good base for exploring some Catlins destinations a bit further afield, including Nugget Point & the Jack’s Blowhole Track.