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When your family wants all of the comforts of home, our parks motels are the ideal choice.
Our ensuite units look over the park like grounds and are a comfortable choice for a couple or single.
If you want affordability and space - our elderly fisherman's cottage is like a little house.
These little cabins have either a queen bed or one set of bunks. They are affordable accommodation when you are on a budget.
Why not come camping or caravanning with us? We have 77 powered sites to choose from. Our powered sites are very sheltered and most of them are separated by 2m hedges. You will have water to the majority of sites.
Welcome to New Zealand's most comprehensive database of freely available camping information. This is the only travel map of its kind in NZ.
Glenn and Sandy welcome you to Rakaia River Holiday Park, located beside the Rakaia River, one of the best salmon fishing rivers in New Zealand.
MORE THAN JUST GREAT FISHING
100% New Zealand Owned & Operated
We are sure to have something to fit your requirements and budget with our range of accommodation facilities that include - Park Motels, Fisherman's Cottage, Backpacker Cabins and Powered & Tent Sites. You will enjoy our sheltered powered sites and tent sites set amongst the trees.
You will find us only 40 minutes drive South of Christchurch, 20 minutes to Ashburton and 35 minutes to the Mt Hutt Ski area. In only 30 minutes you can drive to 5 beautiful and challenging golf courses. There are also a number of interesting nature walks in the area.
If its fishing you are after - there are salmon and trout in the river and Kawhai, cod and other sea fishing only 20 minutes drive away. Our central location is an ideal base from which to explore the wonderful and varied Ashburton District, and our friendly relaxed environment assures you of a restful holiday in our sheltered riverside location.
Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
Rakaia River Holiday ParkCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Ashburton |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
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Websites |
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Feature | Value | Info |
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Overnight Camping Site Cost |
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Overnight Camping Site CostWhat is the approximate per-person cost to camp or park your vehicle overnight? Premium Camping Top quality facilities, powered sites and hot showers can be expected. Price is per person per night, based on a powered site for two people. |
Overnight Stay Rules |
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Overnight Stay RulesWhat are the accommodation rules for overnight stays at this campsite? Camping and any vehicle You are permitted to stay overnight and camp (with a tent) or in any vehicle. |
Payment Requirement |
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Payment RequirementIs there a cost for this experience or is it free? Paid access/participation The experience costs money to access or take part in. |
Dump Station |
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Dump StationDump stations allow the safe disposal of sewage and greywater from self-contained vehicles. Does this site have a dump station? Dump station available There is a dump station available at this location for the safe emptying and disposal of waste water from recreational vehicles. |
Booking Required |
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Booking RequiredIs it necessary to book a campsite in advance in order to stay overnight? Booking is Required Staying overnight requires booking a site in advance. |
Powered Sites |
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Powered SitesDoes this establishment have powered sites? Powered sites available This campsite offers powered sites to hook into an electricity supply. 77 |
Cabins |
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CabinsDoes this holiday park have a cabin (no kitchen or en suite)? Cabins available This location offers cabins for rental accommodation. 3 |
Self Contained Units |
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Self Contained UnitsDoes this holiday park have self contained units? Self-contained units available This location offers self-contained units for rental accommodation. 1 |
Park Motels |
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Park MotelsDoes this holiday park have park motels? Park motels available This location offers park motels for rental accommodation. 5 |
On Site Caravans |
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On Site CaravansDoes this holiday park offer on-site caravans as accommodation? On-site caravans available This location offers on-site caravans for rental accommodation. 3 |
Non-powered Sites |
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Non-powered SitesDoes this holiday park offer non-powered sites? Non-powered sites available This site offers non-powered camp sites. 30 |
Dogs |
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DogsDoes this establishment allow dogs? Dogs allowed The location allows dogs. There may be conditions that may be met eg. dogs must be on a leash. By arrangement |
Rubbish Disposal |
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Rubbish DisposalWhat facilities are provided for the disposal of household rubbish? Trash (large bags) This location provides the facility to dispose of large bags of household rubbish. Mixed Recycling (plastic, cans, glass) This location provides the facility to dispose of recyclable household items. Generally this includes small plastic, glass and metal items. Compost (organic waste) This location provides the facility to dispose of biodegradable household rubbish so that it can be composted and recycled as organic compost. Generally this includes kitchen scraps such as vegetables, fruits and meats. |
✓ Great value accommodation
✓ Friendly hosts
✓ Plenty of activities for kids
✓ Convenient location
✓ Sheltered from the wind
𐄂 Noise from main road
𐄂 Only powered sites available
Great value cabin- nice and cosy.
Great campsites, plenty of space.
Sehr freundliches Personal.
Lovely quiet camping ground.
Cosy and roomy caravan park.
Rating | Count | Percentage | |
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10/10 | 10 |
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24% |
9/10 | 14 |
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34% |
8/10 | 7 |
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17% |
7/10 | 5 |
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12% |
6/10 | 1 |
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2% |
5/10 | 0 |
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0% |
4/10 | 1 |
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2% |
3/10 | 1 |
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2% |
2/10 | 1 |
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2% |
1/10 | 1 |
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2% |
4.5/5
Great value cabin- nice and cosy.
Facililities fine. Protected from the wind by lots of trees.
Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in March 2023
Customer
5.0/5
Sehr freundliches Personal.
Angenehme Lage saubere Toiletten
Reviewed over 1 year ago
Customer
4.5/5
Cosy and roomy caravan park.
Near the main road, so noise, a small issue. Lots of activity for the children - trampoline / jumping pillow / swimming pool / kids play area/ mini golf/ open grass area. Also a TV/pool/Foosball games room. All sites powered $46 a night. Friendly hosts. Kitchen stocked with all utensils you require. Local pub has curtesy bus.
Reviewed almost 2 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Lovely quiet camping ground.
$20 each non powered site. Showers are free and hot with good pressure. Kitchen has everything. Clean and tidy, totally recommend.
Reviewed almost 4 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Lovely place, friendly owners, clean facilities, hot showers with good pressure.
Thanks 😀
Reviewed about 4 years ago
Customer
5.0/5
During the difficult times of the COVID lockdown, Sandy and Glenn have looked after us so well!
They even gave us a bottle of wine and some ice creams for our ten year wedding anniversary! Great people and a beautiful location by the river with all the facilities you need.
Reviewed over 4 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Very Nice spot and friendly welcome.
Free WiFi everything clean and a heater in the shower 😃
Yes you can hear the road a bit but it is not As loud As described by others
Reviewed over 4 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Excellent friendly service both on phone and in person, good little cabin for the night, and all facilities close by.
Pool was a welcome surprise after a 26 degree day, and the ablutions block was clean and modern. Felt very comfortable here, would def dtay again.
Reviewed over 5 years ago
Customer
4.0/5
well equiped and modern kitchen and bathroom.
lot of fun at the pool.
unpowered site for 2p one Night 42$ - very expensive
Reviewed over 5 years ago and experienced in January 2019
Customer
0.5/5
I was not impressed by the professionalism of the managers.
I had been forewarned about this place however we visited regardless and it turns out it was a mistake. One of the managers was overheard being extremely rude to another visitor, which is pretty disgraceful.
Reviewed over 6 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Great value cabin- nice and cosy.
Facililities fine. Protected from the wind by lots of trees.
Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in March 2023
Customer
5.0/5
Sehr freundliches Personal.
Angenehme Lage saubere Toiletten
Reviewed over 1 year ago
Customer
4.5/5
Cosy and roomy caravan park.
Near the main road, so noise, a small issue. Lots of activity for the children - trampoline / jumping pillow / swimming pool / kids play area/ mini golf/ open grass area. Also a TV/pool/Foosball games room. All sites powered $46 a night. Friendly hosts. Kitchen stocked with all utensils you require. Local pub has curtesy bus.
Reviewed almost 2 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Lovely quiet camping ground.
$20 each non powered site. Showers are free and hot with good pressure. Kitchen has everything. Clean and tidy, totally recommend.
Reviewed almost 4 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Lovely place, friendly owners, clean facilities, hot showers with good pressure.
Thanks 😀
Reviewed about 4 years ago
Customer
5.0/5
During the difficult times of the COVID lockdown, Sandy and Glenn have looked after us so well!
They even gave us a bottle of wine and some ice creams for our ten year wedding anniversary! Great people and a beautiful location by the river with all the facilities you need.
Reviewed over 4 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Very Nice spot and friendly welcome.
Free WiFi everything clean and a heater in the shower 😃
Yes you can hear the road a bit but it is not As loud As described by others
Reviewed over 4 years ago
Customer
4.0/5
well equiped and modern kitchen and bathroom.
lot of fun at the pool.
unpowered site for 2p one Night 42$ - very expensive
Reviewed over 5 years ago and experienced in January 2019
Customer
4.5/5
Excellent friendly service both on phone and in person, good little cabin for the night, and all facilities close by.
Pool was a welcome surprise after a 26 degree day, and the ablutions block was clean and modern. Felt very comfortable here, would def dtay again.
Reviewed over 5 years ago
Customer
3.5/5
Was a nice campsite with powered sites separated by bushes for a bit of privacy for a change.
The kids play area was old but I loved taking the kids on some old fashioned play equipment that I grew up with
Reviewed almost 6 years ago
Customer
5.0/5
A superb park which offers lots of facilities that other parks in New Zealand doesn't offer in the parks we stayed in.
The chilled games room offers a TV, library, games, music and a fab snooker table in which I beat my daughter at 3 games, haha, a music centre and quiet reading.
There's a crazy golf onsight, a swimming pool (which was closed obviously, too cold) , walks to the river, laundry facilities (including rotary dryers and pegs).
The toilets and showers were very clean and before taking a shower we were able to put the heater on so we weren't cold when coming out.
There are bins & recycling bins.
A BRILLIANT kitchen and seating area and we were so so pleased that we were able to leave our unopened foods, toiletries etc for other guests to use. NO other park offered this. Such a good idea. Rakaia Park was our last night in our camper.
I would definitely recommend Rakaia Park
Reviewed about 6 years ago
Customer
Great to read your wonderful review and so glad you enjoyed your stay here. We hope to see you again one day!!!
Sandy and Glenn
Representative
3.5/5
Nice little country park, bush settings for sites some with hedge dividers.
Able to just go and chose our own site. Camp kitchen very clean and adequately stocked .
Lounge area a bit tired looking and smelled damp, but we did use it.
Nice wooded camping areas to back of park where walks are to the river.
Toilets and showered dated but this doesn't matter as they were clean and tidy. Dump point very accessible and staff very helpful and welcoming
$40 per powered site for 2 people reasonable.
Reviewed over 6 years ago
Customer
0.5/5
I was not impressed by the professionalism of the managers.
I had been forewarned about this place however we visited regardless and it turns out it was a mistake. One of the managers was overheard being extremely rude to another visitor, which is pretty disgraceful.
Reviewed over 6 years ago
Customer
4.0/5
Nice set up, very clean, billiard table, pool, mini golf, you can get some fishing lures in the office for a reasonable price.
Friendly staff, Santa came on his quad in Xmas day. Paid 60NZD for a basic double cabin.
Reviewed almost 7 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Brilliant site $40 for 2 adults on a powered site, excellent facilities hot free showers with a heater in each cubicle, laundry washing lines swimming pool and really nice children's play area.
WiFi the the best so far $5 for 1GB. We would stay longer if it wasn't pouring with rain.
Reviewed over 7 years ago
Customer
5.0/5
I have no idea why anyone would mention noise in this holiday park.
I had to listen hard to hear the train and the highway noise was minimal. It was very quiet. Lots of trees and good facilities. This park works for me.
Reviewed over 7 years ago
Customer
4.0/5
Good place for our van after arrival on Christchurch Airport.
Nice place in the woods, good facilities. Bit noisy from the road. Free shower.
Reviewed over 7 years ago
Customer
3.0/5
GOOD: Tidy site, with clean facilities.
Nice shaded sites if you want them. Good play facilities for kids, two play areas (one for little ones, one for bigger kids), badminton/volleyball net set-up in grassed area.
BAD: Quite a bit of road and rail noise from the main road, continuing through the night. Despite the good play facilities for kids, the site is not really suitable for small children because the boundary between the site and the main road (State Highway 1) is not fenced (a moments inattention could be disastrous). Also, there seems to be a lot of quad-bikes resident at this site, travelling to a from the river for fishing, also not great for little ones.
Reviewed over 7 years ago
Customer
3.5/5
Playground for kids, mini golf, clean pool and 12 min walk to the river.
Putting on activities for families each day of this new year period . Tent sites are mainly in under the trees, furthest but still short walk from amenities. Only down side is the noise from the railway and the main road- very noisy when going to sleep but once you're asleep not a bother unless you're a light sleeper.
Reviewed almost 8 years ago
Customer
1.5/5
Nice tidy place to stay but had lots of road noise, almost 1.5km through unmarked walking tracks to river.
Local pubs friendly but food mainly frozen then deep fried.
Reviewed almost 8 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
This was our first camp we stopped at.
We arrived really late but the man at the reception was really nice. The sites are clean, private and spacious. Toilets were OK, I loved the little heater in the shower since it was really cold that night. The kitchen was small but sufficient. Overall a great experience.
Reviewed over 8 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Spent our night here before heading to Christchurch, good value.
Clean and well equipped kitchen, pots and (fresh) herbs provided for free, high hedge provides privacy, parked our vehicle in the woods waking up to birds chirping, clean toilet, free hot shower, good water pressure, hair dyer provided with no charge, free wifi available in the cafe next door.
Reviewed almost 9 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Lovely warm welcome at reception.
We turned up and were given the choice of anywhere in the camp site. Toilets and showers are lovely and clean and the showers even have their own heaters so you're not left cold and wet after getting out of a lovely hot shower! They have a pool which I can't comment on as we never used it. Overall lovely friendly site to stay. :-)
Reviewed almost 9 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Arrived in the dark, owners were very helpful and kind, walked us to our site.
Site was right by washrooms which wasn't an issue for us. Kitchen and washroom very tidy and 2m hedges around our site offers a lot of privacy. Quiet park to stay at this time of year and would visit again if visiting Christchurch!
Reviewed about 9 years ago
Customer
2.0/5
Our last camp night and very disappointing.
Powered sites in very bad position, hosts seem to think location to toilets is what you want, not views!
Nice newish hosts, very friendly but need to attend to a few things. Seem to have a lot of long term caravans there.
Toilets and showers very clean and fresh, although swimming pool was really dirty and covered in dead flies.
Walk to river marked on map but after you go through woods No further signs , need to sort that out. Went passed gorgeous camp area in woods with powered sites , but we were told there was only the area we were sent to , rather strange?
Felt a bit tired and needing some TLC
Reviewed over 9 years ago
Customer
We were very disappointed to receive this review. We have worked long hours, and really hard, to maintain a high standard here, and with so many positive comments and reviews we thought we were succeeding . As new owners we "are attending to a few things" but these can only be done as time, budgeting and weather conditions allow. The camp itself is more than 60 years old, so the powered sites are where they have been all that time, individually hedged and private. Some things we can't change. The swimming pool is filtered every night, and vacuumed every morning. By the end of the day of course there is always some "stuff" in the water, but covered in dead flies. ??????? If we are not working to capacity with our powered site our guests are always given an option as to where they want to go, perhaps this was misunderstood. In a whole year this is the first time we have learned of people being unable to find their way to the river. We are sorry if your experience wasn't what you expected.
Sandy and Glenn
Representative
4.5/5
Glenn & Sandy are the new managers and this is one of the nicer places we have stayed on our trip.
Amenities are very clean. The communal kitchen has everything (Even a TV!). There is a recreation room to play pool, do a puzzle or play a board game, there is a pool, a MASSIVE playground that even is adults had fun playing on and a giant chess board. My only problem was that the sun was pelting down on us playing chess therefore a shade would have been amazing.
Reviewed almost 10 years ago
Customer
5.0/5
Friendly hosts, spacious grounds with amenities close by and clean and tidy.
Reviewed over 10 years ago
Customer
4.5/5
Great campsites, plenty of space.
Reviewed over 10 years ago and experienced in February 2014
Customer
4.0/5
Good customer service, we stayed 1 night and arrived very late at night.
Reviewed over 10 years ago
Customer
1.0/5
The unit was ok.
We stayed three nights and had to buy our own toilet paper. The oven was a mess with food still in it. Toilet wasn't clean and we were really disappointed with the service of the new managers :(
Reviewed over 10 years ago
Customer
We have gone through our bookings and can find anyone by that name. We only had one motel booked out for three nights around that time. This client left the unit in such a mess we were unable to re let it for 24 hours while the carpet was drying. One of the group came back that afternoon to collect some property they had left and we mentioned the state of the unit. We assume this comment prompted this poor review.
If they had run out of toilet paper why not ask for some more. Our office is right next door to the units and is open a lot longer than the local shops.
We would be very disappointed if there was food left in the oven. It is part of the cleaners’ job to check this area. Again why would you not mention things to us at the time so we can rectify them? The toilet would have been clean as we check the cleaning after the cleaners have finished.
We are just new to the industry and we feel we go out of our way to be very helpful and friendly.
Sandy and Glenn
Representative