FAQ

Location

Whereabouts are you located? 

• Gentle Annie is 50km north of Westport. Half-way between Westport and Karamea on the northern West Coast. 

Where is/are the nearest towns? 

• Westport 50km south and Karamea 50km north 

What is the access road like to the Gentle Annie Property? 

• After you turn onto De Malmanches Rd from State Highway 67, you drive along a 3.5km gravel road which is owned and maintained by the Buller District Council. It is narrow in some places, and we recommend you drive slowly and carefully, and are prepared to stop. We have trucks, buses, camper vans and towing vehicles of all sizes access the property with ease. 

How far away is the Cowshed from the 

• Riverview Home and Rata Lodge? ~500m 
• Rimu House? ~1.5km 
• Cabbage Tree Cottage? ~ 1.3km 
• Beach Cabin? ~1.1km

Food and Dinner 

Where can we eat dinner? 

• Seddonville Tavern, Mokihinui Pub n Grub, Ngakawau Tavern 
• Or, choose to use the Wood-fired pizza oven at the Cowshed. It takes 2.5hours to come to a good cooking temperature once lit. You can bring your own pizza ingredients, or buy from the Cowshed. 

Where’s the nearest shop for supplies? 

• Seddonville Tavern has a small shop around the back selling eggs, bread and milk, as well as some other staples. Further away there is Ngakawau Dairy. 
• There are two supermarkets in Westport (New World and Fresh Choice) and one 4-square supermarket in Karamea. 

Do you sell ice? 

• Yes, during the Summer for $6/bag. Please note we have limited fridge and freezer space, so we recommend you bring your own chiller. 

Are we allowed to light the pizza oven? 

• You are welcome to use the wood-fired pizza oven in the courtyard. Please collect driftwood from the beach. It takes ~2.5hours to reach cooking temperature. You can either bring your own ingredients, or buy bases, paste, cheese and salami from the Cowshed (during Summer and Spring only).

Pets 

Are we allowed to bring our dog(s) to the camping ground?

• Yes, your dog is welcome as long as you keep them with you at all times, clean up after them, and are mindful of the native birdlife on the property, and that there are often other dogs and young children in the camping ground.

Are we allowed to bring our dog(s) to the holiday homes? 

• Yes, your dog is welcome inside of the holiday homes for a $20 one-off charge/stay. It is expected that you will keep them with you at all times, keep them off the indoor furniture, and clean up after them, and are mindful of the native birdlife on the property.

Where are the nearest walking and biking tracks? Are they dog friendly?

• Please see our “Activities” tab for an outline of all of the walks and biking tracks in the local and larger area. There are some dog-friendly walks, and the whole Gentle Annie property is dog-friendly.

Wifi and Cellphone Reception 

Do your holiday homes have WiFi? 

• No, individual holiday homes don’t have WiFi. However, the Cowshed building has free WiFi (no password) and is open at all times for guests to access.

What is the cellphone reception like at the holiday homes? 

• Each holiday home has some cellphone reception, which is stronger in some areas of the houses than others.  

BBQs 

Do your holiday homes have BBQs? 

• Yes, all have a weber gas BBQ. 

Do we have to bring our own gas? 

• No, gas is provided. 

Linen 

What linen do we need to bring? 

• Sheets, towels and pillowcases. If you’d prefer to hire this, it is $20/bed/stay. There are mattress protectors, duvets, duvet covers and pillows with protectors in each home, and there are dish cloths, tea-towels, hand-towels and bath mats provided.

Bookings

Do I need to make a booking for camping? 

• For Summer – Yes, bookings are essential. 
• For School Holidays – Yes, bookings are recommended
• For Statutory Holiday weekends – most weekends bookings are not required, but we do recommend booking to avoid any potential disappointment. 
• For Autumn, Winter, Spring – No, you can just turn up and find a site (Powered or unpowered) and then check in with us in the morning between 9am-10am, unless you want a very specific Powered site, then we recommend you book. 

NZMCA Members

How do I get the NZMCA CampSaver discounted rates for camping? 

• You can just turn up and find a site (Powered or unpowered) and then check in with us in the morning between 9am-10am, unless you want a very specific Powered site, then we recommend you book for one adult, and pay any difference on arrival if you have two guests.

Fishing

How good is the fishing? 

• Gentle Annie Beach is a good surf-casting fishing spot, where people can catch Red Snapper, Rig and Kahawai. In front of the three beachside holiday homes is where most people go. 

• You can catch Kahawai in the river mouth with a silver lure (which we sell at the Cowshed)

Can anyone whitebait at the river mouth? 

• Yes, while there are privately owned whitebait stands further upstream, anyone is allowed to whitebait with a scoop net at the river mouth. Ensure you stand back approx 10m from the person ahead of you, and that you walk slowly, and keep your place in the line to avoid any confusion.

Rubbish 

Do we have to take our own rubbish away with us when we leave?

• Please bring as little rubbish and recycling with you as possible, and take as much of your own rubbish and recycling away with you. Rubbish and recycling is not collected and takes a considerable amount of time and expense to transport to Westport. Therefore any rubbish or recycling that you take with you is helpful and appreciated. There is a free recycling centre at the rubbish dump in Westport.

Do you have a dump station?

• We now have a dump station for black and grey wastewater available for your convenience. $10 per 20 litres/black water for non-NZMCA members. If you're an NZMCA member please give a donation. (The cost for this helps cover the very expensive removal process of the black water to the Westport Sewage Treatment Plant).  There is no charge for disposing of greywater. 

Beach and River

Is the beach safe for swimming? 

• As with any beach on the West Coast, the waves can be larger and unpredictable, as well as there is a strong undercurrent off the shore. While very experienced surfers take on the challenge, we don’t recommend swimming for those less experienced, or children.

Is the river safe for swimming? 

• There are a couple of calm swimming spots further upstream of the river mouth, that are suitable for swimming. Of course this depends on river flows at the time, and the experience of the swimmer. 

Are we allowed to light a fire on the beach? 

• Yes. Please make sure you put it out sufficiently before you leave, and please don’t burn any rubbish.

Kayaks and Bikes

Do you hire kayaks? 

• No, we don’t hire out kayaks to guests. We recommend you bring your own with you, as the Mokihinui river is beautiful to explore from a kayak. 

Do you hire bikes? 

• No, but there are a couple of bike hire options in Westport. Buller Adventures and Habitat Sports. 

Vehicle Relocation

Where to you recommend for Vehicle Relocation for the Old Ghost Rd and Heaphy Tracks? 

• Buller Adventures (based in Westport) or HikenBike Shuttles (based in Seddonville). 

• Both of these will also pick you up and drop you off at Gentle Annie itself. 

• In some cases, you can leave your car at Gentle Annie for while you are out on the tracks. 

Camping 

Do you allow long-term campers? 

• Yes, in some cases we allow people to stay for longer times in their caravans and motorhomes at an agreed upon rate. Talk with Jesse 0274188587 to find out more.

What are your kitchen facilities like for campers? 

• We have a small basic kitchen for campers. We recommend you bring and use your own cooking gear to save waiting (most important in the Summer when we are the busiest). 

What are your bathroom and laundry facilities like? 

• We have a beautiful amenities building, with 5 coin-operated showers, 5 bathrooms, and urinals, as well as coin-operated laundry. We also have two other recently renovated showers and 4 other toilets. In Peak Season we set up 2 portable toilets in the camping ground too.

Cancellation Policies

Cancellation Policy Camping Ground

To secure your booking, we require full payment at the time of booking.

Camping Cancellation Policy	Cancellation fee
More than 90 days before the arrival date	$15
More than 14, but fewer than 90 days before the arrival date	50% of booking cost less 2% bank fee
14 days or less before the arrival date	100% of booking cost less 2% bank fee

* Note: $15 is the minimum cancellation fee. No refund will be given where the full booking price is less than $15.

Contact us regarding procedures for change of dates for camping and what fees may apply.

Holiday Homes, Treehouse, Cheeky Weka Cabin and Elsie the Caravan

To secure your booking, we require full payment at the time of booking. As we are a small family business, any cancellation will affect us significantly. Consequently, we adhere to a strict cancellation policy. We will make every effort to rebook accommodation, however, in cases where we are unable to do so, we will charge the following:

All cancellations are subject to a $20 administration fee.

Cancellations within 90 days of the arrival date: 25% forfeit of the total booking price less 2% credit card bank fee. 

Cancellations within 30 days of the arrival date: 100% forfeit of the total booking price less 2% credit card bank fee. 

This is the same for a reduction in the number of nights stayed. 

We do appreciate that unexpected changes to travel plans may occur, however our bookings are generally made months in advance, and we find it much harder to rebook closer to the time, especially over the Peak Season, Summer Season and Statutory Holiday weekends. 

If we are able to rebook, or partially book some dates of your cancellation, we will be able to refund a deposit accordingly.