Looking to travel New Zealand in a campervan but totally overwhelmed because of what campsites to choose? My list below is every site we stayed at on the North Island! 

Arataki CSC Overnight Parking Area (Auckland) – Low Cost Site – $16 per car. 

This was a great site to head to for the first day of picking our van up. It wasn’t far from Auckland as we wanted to go somewhere fairly close to get settled. It is a car park, but it was secure and quiet and there were quite a few campervans there which was nice. 

Earls Paradise (Whangapoua) – Low Cost Site – $20pp 

We had been hoping to do a freedom site here, but the site only had 3 spaces and they were full when we arrived. We wanted to stay in this area so we headed to Earls. It was a nice enough site, we were pretty much the only van there and so we paid and pitched up. The site does have a very rustic outdoor shower, but it does have hot water so this was worth it for us. Earl is a bit of a character too! 

Ocean Beach South End Reserve (Pauanui) – Freedom Site

This was our first freedom site and it was so lovely. Situated right on the beach, you can hear the waves from the camping area. Its a nice grassy space, it does have a limit of van numbers but we arrived later in the day and had plenty to choose from. There’s even a toilet block, which is super handy!

Hora Hora Domain (Maungatautari) – Freedom Site

This is a good site to stay at if you want to explore Hamilton and the surrounding area, or have a trip to Hobbiton. It is a quiet site, situated next to a lake which can be swum in and there are toilets too. We really enjoyed our stay here and ended up coming back after our day at Hobbiton because it was just such a nice site to stay in.

Reid’s Farm / Hipaptua Recreational Reserve (Taupo) – Freedom Site

I’ve stayed at this site twice, and both times it has been busy. It is one of the only freedom sites available this close to Taupo. It’s location is really handy for having an activity day in Taupo. I would suggest arriving here early, it can get really busy. You can access the river to swim and there is also a toilet block located on the lower level of the campsite. Previously, there were portaloo’s too, but I can take or leave those haha. If you do fancy a shower, there are public showers in Taupo Centre which were reasonably priced and very clean. 

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Whakapapa Holiday Park (Whakapapa) – Paid Site – $23pp for Unpowered Site

This site wasn’t in our original plan as we had intended to do the Tongariro crossing. However, as the weather was bad we wanted to stay in the area and see if it cleared up. We headed to Whakapapa as it is in the situated in the Tongariro National Park so the drive there and the scenery was incredible. If you can take a trip to this site, I would recommend as it was such a lovely place. It had a really good facilities block with a communal kitchen, multiple showers, hairdryers and even WIFI which was some of the best we had in the whole of New Zealand. If you can make it here, definitely do! 

Te Anga Road Scenic Lookout (Waitomo) – Freedom Site 

We needed a site close to the Waitomo Caves and this was a really good spot. It was only about a 20-30 minute drive to the caves from here. The site is a lay-by but it is popular for campervans, so we didn’t feel isolated and it’s situated up a windy road, so there is not a lot of passing traffic. The hedgerows were slightly over grown, but if you could see above them, then the view out was really nice too. We made use of the picnic benches and got settled. There are absolutely no toilets here, just as a note!

Urenui Beach Campsite (Urenui) – Paid Site – $20pp for Unpowered Site

This was our Christmas Campsite, located 30 minutes from New Plymouth in Taranaki. It wasn’t a site that I would recommend seeking out, but if you’re wanting to explore Taranaki – there are a lot of mountain hikes and trails to do, then this could be a good spot. It is paid, but they had washing machines, a kitchen, hot showers and it was situated right on the beach which is always good. There was WiFi but it was extra. 

Kiwi Camp / Tongariro National Park Village Park and Ride (Tongariro) – Freedom Site or LC Site

If you are thinking of completing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing then I would recommend this site. It is a Park n Ride carpark, so its a huge space, with lots of fellow campers and there are security lights so it is super safe. If you have a Kiwi Camp Cash token then there are also hot showers which were much appreciated the day of the crossing. You can also gain access to separate parking area with the token too. If you don’t have a token, you can still park here for free, use the toilets and there is a sink on the outside of the building too, which is great for teeth cleaning! I’ve popped a link to the Kiwi Cash website at the bottom of my blog too.

Cuba Street (Wellington) – Paid Site in the City Centre – $30 for 24 hours of parking. 

This was our most expensive parking, but we were parking right in the centre of the capital, so with that in mind it is actually quite reasonable. We arrived late afternoon as we had aimed to get one of the sites located near the water that were better reviewed on CamperMate. However, this site was actually perfect for us. Cuba Street is really central with bars, eateries and shops, which was where we exactly wanted to be. It’s tucked away down a side street, so there isn’t any passing traffic or wandering people, it was well lit and we were able to get a spot that we could tuck ourselves in, in the corner. We went off for an explore and came back to find another 3 or 4 camper vans next to us which was nice too. Of course this isn’t guaranteed, but compared to some of the more open sites, this one felt really secure. 

Camping Top Tips

Use CamperMate & Rankers. CamperMate has the best maps for water refills etc but Rankers has way more freedom sites as it’s a NZ app. Also can use it to find dump stations, public toilets, wifi spots etc. 

We used McDonald’s for WiFi as you can get unlimited WiFi if you make an account. Great for downloading movies, planning routes, checking campsites and booking activities etc but there’s lots of places with no signal. 

Google Maps – download offline because again, no signal. 

Check the next petrol stations – some towns don’t have them and sometimes they only accept kiwi bank cards. We were ok, but a couple of times I decided we should turn round and go back to get petrol. 

Shops – Pac’n’Save is great as it’s like a bulk buy shop. You also get vouchers to use at their petrol station. We also used The Warehouse or Bunnings for extra camping bits. 

Follow the Scenic Highways – Forgotten World Highway was one of the best (30km of unpaved road) but so fun to do. There’s loads and they give you the best views/roads.

Water – use CamperMate to find the water refill places. Potable water is drinking water. We filled up our van so we could use the tap but we also filled up 2 x 10L bottles which we got from pac n save. 

Get a Kiwi Tag – this isn’t essential but gives you access to showers with hot water and toilets! The token is $5 and can be found in most petrol stations. I’ve put a link to their website here https://www.kiwicamp.nz/how-it-works/ if you want to have a look at that! 

I really hope that the list of our South Island campsites has been helpful. I found it quite hard to navigate which site to choose here and there, so thought a slightly more comprehensive list may be better for route planning! Any questions, just leave me a message below or find me on Instagram: @hannahshildrake // @hans_travels_

Have you been to New Zealand? I’d love to know what you got up to, let me know below! 

lots of love,

Han x