As I said earlier, I've been coming here for years - the first time, I was 10 days old. It's been at least a yearly thing since - my brother and I have grown up here.
Not much has changed over the years. The bathrooms have been renovated, and new unisex toilets and showers have added at the end of the toilet block. This is pretty cool - there are only 4 toilets and 3 showers in the girls' bathroom, and often, there is a line for showers. It's also good because when they're closed for cleaning in the middle of the day, you now have somewhere else to go.
The playground has changed a bit too - when we first started coming, it was bank with a slide going down in, swings and a trampoline. Now, they have this fancy thing:
Yeah, that is Lisa and Maggie Simpson you can see. There's a slide, a firemans pole (which was actually blocked off not long after it was built because some kid fell down), a rope ladder (to the right) and a rope with knots in it you're supposed to climb (but for which I never had enough arm strength :( ). There are also swings and a trampoline, but it's now dug into the ground - no more bouncing kids off the side!
This is the BBQ area. It's right next to the kitchen, and it's quite sheltered. We've had dinner here countless times.
When we first started coming here, were 2 or 3 cabins across from the playground (you can see one in the background of the pic of the playground). Now there are probably about 15 cabins. Over the years, some of the campsites have been subdivided and reshuffled as well, but we always get the same campsites. We're far enough away from the kitchen/bathroom area that we don't get the noise from that, and we're also away from where most people with young kids stay. We're far enough from the road that the road noise is reduced, and the site has a good view, and good sun, and good drainage. And it's very very flat. Arguably the best part about De Bretts is being so close to the Hot Springs. It's mineral water that is naturally (thermally) heated. There is also a day spa there which do fab hot mud and hot stone massages.
The downside to the hot springs is that they're down a hill. It's a pretty walk, but you have to walk back UP after you're all relaxed and tired.
The walk is worth it though!There's a chlorinated hydroslide, that goes "superfast", AND it's shaped like a dragon. Awesome. There's a chlorinated outdoor kids play area (by the yellow umbrella).
There are two connected chlorinated spa pools (both colder than the mineral pools), and (behind them in the pic) a chlorinated kids pool that's cold.
There are two mineral pools. The top one is hot - usually between 40 and 44C. The green of the water is a pretty accurate representation of what the pools look like.
The water is magical - it's a little bit oily, but very very dense with minerals. It's the best thing ever for curing sunburn, once you get over that initial pain of getting in the pool.
The hot pool at the top overflows over this waterfall into the cooler pool, which is usually around 36 - 38C.
The waterfall is over to the left of the picture.
The water is piped straight out of the ground, goes into a simple filtration system, then through two of these cooling ponds. When they're turned on, water gets shot through the air to be cooled before it drains into the top (hot) pool.
I'll try to remember to take a photo of them working tomorrow; it's pretty cool.
Anyway, that's pretty much De Bretts! If you're ever looking for somewhere to stay in Taupo, and you want to go camping, I would recommend De Bretts. Sites 73 and 74 and 75 are good camping sites, so ask for them!
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