Testimonials | Lakewood Lodge

“Dear Jeff, Adam, Rich and Team,
Thank you, sincerely, for your hard work, preparation and delivery of yet another phenomenal Lakewood Lodge experience. You all give so much of yourselves and it shows. The wonderful experiences and memories you create for young people (and staff) is outstanding. Thank you so much 😊”

“Hi there, I just wanted to reach out and say a huge thank you for the amazing weekend you gave my daughter (Elsie) and the Strive Group. Elsie came home raving about the great staff and especially how delicious the food was. She was the gluten free one and she and I really appreciate how you went out of your way to make her meals (despite zero notice). She said it was the best pasta she’s ever had. She loved everything about her weekend but said her other highlight (besides the food) was the awesome kayaking adventures/game. Thank you so much for the amazing experience and for looking after her so well!”

“This is a very late email to say Thank you so much – your camp arrangements and team are AMAZING.
Our students loved their time there and so did I 🙂
This is the students introduction to NZ and it becomes the pause before they go to their schools and homestays and school life . It’s a very good place and arrangement – they embrace it to – I have never seen Thai kids so free and happy.
Thank you Jeff and your team.”

“Hi Jeff, I would like to say once again, how much we enjoyed our time at Lakewood Lodge, it truly is the best camp I have been to in 30 years of teaching. Your team was outstanding, and were fabulous with our kids. Nancy was a superstar, managing all our different dietary requirements and the food was awesome! Adam was super supportive and kept the lines of communication open. He was great when we had a couple of medical issues as well- I really appreciated how calm and helpful he was.”

“Amazing place, we had a family Christmas there with 20 people & never felt like we were in each other’s way, really keen to go back.”

“Just thought I’d say thank you from Eleanor (Ella) she got back from camp today. She’s vegetarian and was so impressed by the array of food offered and allowing vegetarians to get first pick as well, often she struggles when others take the vege options leaving her hungry. So thank you! Also she enjoyed helping with the horses as this is her hobby. Cheers for a great well run, organised and fun camp team.”

“Hi Jeff, I would like to say once again, how much we enjoyed our time at Lakewood Lodge, it truly is the best camp I have been to in 30 years of teaching. Your team was outstanding, and were fabulous with our kids. Nancy was a superstar, managing all our different dietary requirements and the food was awesome! Adam was super supportive and kept the lines of communication open. He was great when we had a couple of medical issues as well- I really appreciated how calm and helpful he was.”

“Hi There, Just wanted to say what a fantastic camp for Wakaaranga School this week! I remember my school and sailing camps as a teen and Lakewood Lodge was a cut above. Very well organised, engaging and heaps for the kids to do. Behavior breeds behavior – the energy, enthusiasm and skills at mastering children shown by the staff/instructors were exceptional…and was reflected in how well the children responded to the activities. All children and parents alike would have experienced something new over the 4 day camp, Keep up the great work. Thanks again.”

“Hi Jeff, Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your fabulous team on a wonderful camp you did for our kids of Matua Ngaru School. Shyla loved every moment of it and hasn’t stopped talking about it. A special thanks to Nancy for her amazing delicious meals for Shyla and for catering for her We are very grateful for all your team did to accommodate her. Have a great restful weekend, thank you again.”

“Kia ora Jeff and all the team at Lakewood Lodge, We just wanted to send an email to say a huge thank you for the great time both Niwa and Awatea had this week! They thoroughly enjoyed their time and spoke very highly of all experiences. They have both come home seeming more mature, even amongst all the excited chatter telling us about the week 😂 Both are super keen to come back again and we are hopeful we can make that happen again!

“I just wanted to let you and the team know that Hartlyn, Emma and Jesse had such a great time at camp this past week. Thank you so much for the awesome experiences and adventures that I know they will treasure for a life time.”

“I hope everybody at Lakewood Lodge is in good health and enjoying themselves. Nimrit certainly had a fabulous time when she stayed there in the first week of school hols. I was a little concerned as this was her first time away from home but I don’t think she had any trouble settling in.

“I wanted to say a huge thank you to you guys. My daughter Sophie just returned from your 4 night holiday camp stay. She was so excited and had the best time!. Met many friends and enjoyed you sumptuous 7 meals a day 🙂 She’s never eaten so much! Really appreciated the early bird special you gave me with my last minute booking. Very friendly and accommodating chat with Jeff and of course the lovely Anja. I’d love it if you put this on your reviews. Amazing!!! ”

“Just wanted to say a massive thanks to all your staff for an amazing week my boys had!
They are fizzing and didn’t want to come home 🤣.”

“Our school had the privilege of attending Lakewood Lodge during a very trying time for our families and community. We were very impressed with the camp staff and the communication we received right up until the morning that we arrived at camp. The camp manager and staff were very reassuring at a time where parents and students were very apprehensive about our camp going ahead.

“I’m an agent in Tahiti, French Polynesia. I’ve been sending groups of students to Lakewood Lodge twice, or even three times a year, for the past 20 years. I send my students from ages 7yrs – 17yrs to learn English and experience a real Kiwi culture.

“We had a wonderful time at Lakewood Lodge. The food was very yummy and plenty of it. The Lodge was exceptionally clean, and the staff kept everything spotless. I loved all the activities specially the Flying Fox and the Horse games.”

“Dear staff, I would like to thank you for having us at Lakewood Lodge last week. I had an amazing week. My favourite activity was the climbing wall because it was a really hard thing to do and when you got to halfway it got a little scary. Some people made it to the top and rang the bell. I really loved your food and it was really yummy in my tummy. Thank you again for having us.”

“Hi Everyone, I would like to thank you for having me and my class at Lakewood Lodge last week. I had the best time I could ever have! My favourite activity was archery because I have a bow and arrow at my Dad’s house. I got 74 points and I tied with Mr Boddy. I came second best in the class. The food was better than school. I loved the Burma trail and the climbing wall is the biggest wall I have ever seen but I made it to the top. The staff were amazing. If I could stay there I would. Thanks for having me.”

“Awesome staff at Lakewood Lodge. Everyone is friendly and helpful. The instructors are incredibly good at what they do and with the students. You know when the staff have done a job well done when the kids remember their names!! Well done Lakewood staff.”

“All activities were age appropriate. Great staff. They were all very positive and took a genuine interest in the students. Lots of energy, enthusiasm, and compassion.”

“Hi I just want to express my huge thanks and congratulations to everyone at Lakewood Lodge! My daughter Ashley, spent week 2 of the school holidays at camp, and hasn’t stopped talking about it since she got home. She made some amazing friends, both kids and staff, you guys made it feel like a home away from home for her. You guys rock! I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again. Thanks again.”

“Great accommodation!! Ka Rawe Awesome Thank you!”

“I just want to pass on a huge thank you to you and the staff at Lakewood Lodge.
From the moment I went to collect the children, I was greeted with absolutely buzzing children, excited about the week that has been. The staff members were enthusiastic, and seemed connected to the children.

“Hi Jeff and the wonderful Lakewood team. Thank you all for looking after my granddaughter Indiana (Indy) last week. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would come back again.”

“Hi there, I just wanted to let you know that Ostara had the time of her life during her stay with you. Thank you very much she is still talking about all the things she did. We will definitely be wanting to do this again for her. The only thing that might need some attention was the showers, apparently they weren’t working properly, but on the other hand this could be an excuse for not washing properly! You know teenagers!
‘Once again thank you so much for looking after my daughter and hope to see you again in the near future.”

“My child came back from camp and absolutely loved it. The lodge was cosy and warm with a big fire! She tried new activities and made new friends.”

“I’m one of the teachers that attended camp last week. I’ve been in the game for 20 years and wanted to let you know that this is the best camp I have ever been on 😀😀

Tania was an excellent operations manager and set the tone with her induction speech, the activities were well run, the site is beautiful and well maintained and the aspect that stood out the most for me was your hardworking and positive staff. This freed us up to interact with our students.

Thanks so much.”

“Flying fox, kayaking, horse games, low ropes, archery, Burma trail spotlight and frisbee golf were all awesome and all went at the groups pace. Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great time participating. Accommodation was all clean and tidy and comfortable. The food was above expectations! The staff are lots of fun very friendly and engaging. Lakewood Lodge has the right health and safety priorities for their activities and for the Lodge in general. Keep up the good work! See you again next year.”

“All your activities were awesome. Meals were great! I am in the H& S industry so have observed the Lodge and your team is just brilliant in this regard. BTW Your staff are amazing, especially Anita, Matt, Harry and Kat. Really an asset to your business. Taylor was also an amazing Survival instructor. You have an excellent facility overall. Keep up the great work.”

“Our students loved camp and it has been an incredibly positive experience. Thank you.”

“Amazing children loved everyone and were so happy at all the different choices. Because of the variety it meant all students had a chance to shine.”

“A great range of activities. Loved survival and the mud run and emergency scenario was fantastic. All activities provided were of a good level of challenge and very well run. The food was great, a good amount of food available. More bowls would help to make serving easier as we ran out each time. Thank you for allowing access to the kitchen. The cooked breakfast for the adults was a great treat. Thank you for so many amazing memories. Our children were able to be themselves and enjoy their experience thanks to your wonderful, friendly, and supportive staff.”

My first comment would be: Thank you for organising a wonderful camp. Fantastic operation. Loved it!! Well done awesome team there.”

“All activities where very enjoyable to so. The kids had an awesome time and each instructor was very clear and professional about their health and safety which is important for each child. Above all an awesome effort from each staff member at Lakewood Lodge.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for an awesome week. As a parent I can tell that it is great value for money. It provides kids with unforgettable experiences, encourages them out of their comfort zones and teaches them important skills whilst being lots of fun. Thank you so much.”

“Survival was so much fun- all the kids and parents had such a great time!”

“So much fun! What a fantastic experience for the kids and great fun for the adults as well. Instructors were very safety conscious and made it fun and encouraged everyone to try everything. The night activities were a great challenge for the kids, and it was fantastic to see them get through it and challenge themselves!”

“Activities were awesome. Very enjoyable and gave the kids lots of experiences they would normally not have. The rooms are comfortable and clean. The food was good and tasty and prepared for the needs of the kids. No problems with dietary requirements. Staff were very impressive. Great with the kids and the parents. Patient, fun, friendly and well trained.”

“Hi, Michael has been telling me about the great time he had on your camp, he has made memories that he will cherish for decades, as I have from when I went to camp at intermediate 40 years ago. I wish I was there with him to enjoy all the banter and fun. Great work from a great team of people, and thanks for giving my son such great, safe experience. Thanks & take care.”