Te Puru Holiday Park is a family holiday park on Thames Coast Road at Te Puru, on the road into the Coromandel Peninsula, and its character trams set it apart. The park began in the early 1940s as Boomerang Motor Camp, and the first trams arrived in 1957. A local logger brought one tram carriage back from the Peninsula after taking timber to Auckland, and some of the trams are still held by the families who first took them. Accommodation runs from these character trams to modern caravans, with campervan sites as well. The website describes the park as a base for active families, nature lovers, watersports and fishing.
The park has a Pohutukawa at its far end that the website says is worth a look at any time of year. The website adds that it is rumoured to be one of the oldest in New Zealand, and that the adjoining reserve has another Pohutukawa of historical significance. The website says the park is a welcoming and family-oriented place, and that everything needed for a holiday is on site. Our pick in Te Puru for a family stay with a tram to sleep in.