Awhitu Environmental Camp is a campground on Regional Park Brook Road on the Āwhitu Peninsula in Franklin, holding a 5.0 rating from four reviews, with groups praising the facilities, the food and the easy access to the beach and walking tracks. Good campgrounds earn their reputation on the basics: hot showers that work, a clean kitchen or dining shelter, and level, sheltered ground for tents. For group stays — schools, clubs, workplace retreats — it pays to ask what is included before you book, as camps of this kind often share kitchens and dining halls and may be catered or self-catered. Regulars to the peninsula also pack for changeable weather, since west-facing coasts like Āwhitu's can swing from calm to wind and rain in a day. Tucked beside the regional park with the beach and walks close by, this is a quiet corner of Franklin made for group camps and easy weekend escapes.