Whatamango Bay Campsite
Picton
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Whatamango Bay Campsite
Camp beside the beach and go fishing, explore and enjoy the peace only 15-minute drive away from the Picton ferry.
Windy roads lead to Whatamango Bay, a massive grassy camping area right on the water's edge. You can find a few more private spots in amongst the flax bushes, otherwise it's all pretty open. There is a little creek running through the site, please note there is a total fire ban at this site and no rubbish bins so carry everything out with you.
The judder bars leading in are easily missed, you have been warned!
DOC Campsite Pricing
Whatamango Bay Campsite is categorised as a DOC Standard Campsite. The following pricing indicates usual pricing. Prices vary for some campsites and may include seasonal pricing. Visit the DOC website for exact pricing.
DOC Standard Campsite
Standard campsites have a more limited range of facilities and services than Serviced campsites. These campsites have toilets, a water supply that could be treated or untreated tap water, or from a stream or lake, and vehicle or boat access. Bring your own soap for washing hands. Untreated water should be boiled before use to ensure it's safe. Wood BBQs and fireplaces, cold showers, picnic tables, a cooking shelter and rubbish bins may be provided; this will vary from site to site.
| Feature | Value | Value |
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| Unpowered Site | Adult | $10.00 to $15.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $5.00 to $7.50 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Infant | $0.00 per night |
Adults are 18+ years, children are 5-17 years, infants are 0-4 years.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC MarlboroughCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
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Basic Camping
Reviews
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5.0/5
Beautiful!
Second time we’ve stayed here in the past 3 years of our tours and it rained again ha! Didn’t matter though, beautifully quiet and serene. Two others here last night, full phone/TV signal if you need it. Quite bogged right now, so definitely check the ground before drive on it, also take it easy on the road in. DOC campsite pass works here. Just lovely! FB: Tasman Travels
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4.0/5
$20 for 2 people, nice spot by the water.
Had clean flushing toilets and a washing up sink.
Be wary if staying after it has rained a lot… we arrived in the dark and got stuck in the mud. Luckily some nearby campers helped us out and we survive to tell the tale. Parked close to the gravel track after that which was fine.
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4.5/5
Great spot.
Friendly doc volunteer checking reservations. Creek is beautiful and fresh. Wind can pick up pretty intense overnight. Sites near toilet didn't seem to be affected, those close to "boat ramp" (just an opening to launch kayaks etc) were windy. Even tucked up on opposite side of trees to the water, we had pretty intense wind throughout night
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4.0/5
We got off the ferry and drove out to this campsite 20 minutes drive on a winding Road in hindsight we would have rather gone south as we were heading to Christchurch rather than tracking back but it was
a lovely place to stay clean toilets nice view of the ocean anyway
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3.5/5
Beautiful scenic spot, bay dries to mud at low tides, toilets are good, a wide variety of sites to either nestle into or pitch up at with trees and shrubbery.
Probably suffers from being close to Picton, so can get abused, had 6 x of the rooftop-tent-4wd-crew arrive at 1am and wake up the whole site. Scenic spot in the sounds.
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4.0/5
Great spot near Picton.
Arrived late after the evening ferry. Woke up to rain but very impressed with the spot. Lots of shelter with trees. The toilets were clean. Recommend the 20min drive, it's worth it!
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0.5/5
Beautiful spot however I had a similar experience to another reviewer...the DOC lady woke me up at 7am by aggressively slaming her hand on all four windows of my van then started shaking it...for 5 minutes
. Never once said anything to identify herself or what she was after. Just slaming violently. Was scared to go outside. Totally unnecessary considering considering I didnt have any change for the $20 and was hoping to catch her anyway in the morning to sort out payment...very rude and no common sense / benefit of the doubt for those who are genuinely trying to pay. Would be useful to have a credit card slip on the payment ticket. Or to come round at a more reasonable hour (ie 8am) and politely introduce herself in order to sort out payment.
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4.5/5
Clean bathrooms, nice views over the water, great place to stop and camp near Picton.
We stayed two nights and had a great time.
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4.5/5
A great site to stay when you arrive of the ferry in picton.
Its a 15 min drive from the ferry.
There a lot of places to put up your tent or park your caravan. The view over the lake is nice and there are a lot of Tui's going wild on the plants. Beware to pay your fees because there are frequent check ups.
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4.5/5
Nice big campsite with plenty of options to pitch/park.
Wasn't too busy on the one night we stayed. Water quality good for drinking, toilets clean (but no lights) and wasn't particularly windy. Lots of native birds about and nice views of the water. Partner noted noise from the road and seabirds but I didn't find these a problem. Great site for the price.
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3.5/5
Great for last night stop over as long as you don't mind windy road, though not much traffic.Very quiet when we stayed.
Beautiful location next to the Sound. Good bird watching. 8dolls pp was quite expensive for facilities offered - public toilet and water tap. Provision of showers would help a lot. Portakabin would do, gas to power and slot to pay.No power on site, but not a problem.
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5.0/5
Beautiful!
Second time we’ve stayed here in the past 3 years of our tours and it rained again ha! Didn’t matter though, beautifully quiet and serene. Two others here last night, full phone/TV signal if you need it. Quite bogged right now, so definitely check the ground before drive on it, also take it easy on the road in. DOC campsite pass works here. Just lovely! FB: Tasman Travels
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4.0/5
$20 for 2 people, nice spot by the water.
Had clean flushing toilets and a washing up sink.
Be wary if staying after it has rained a lot… we arrived in the dark and got stuck in the mud. Luckily some nearby campers helped us out and we survive to tell the tale. Parked close to the gravel track after that which was fine.
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4.5/5
Great spot.
Friendly doc volunteer checking reservations. Creek is beautiful and fresh. Wind can pick up pretty intense overnight. Sites near toilet didn't seem to be affected, those close to "boat ramp" (just an opening to launch kayaks etc) were windy. Even tucked up on opposite side of trees to the water, we had pretty intense wind throughout night
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4.0/5
We got off the ferry and drove out to this campsite 20 minutes drive on a winding Road in hindsight we would have rather gone south as we were heading to Christchurch rather than tracking back but it was
a lovely place to stay clean toilets nice view of the ocean anyway
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3.5/5
Beautiful scenic spot, bay dries to mud at low tides, toilets are good, a wide variety of sites to either nestle into or pitch up at with trees and shrubbery.
Probably suffers from being close to Picton, so can get abused, had 6 x of the rooftop-tent-4wd-crew arrive at 1am and wake up the whole site. Scenic spot in the sounds.
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4.0/5
Great spot near Picton.
Arrived late after the evening ferry. Woke up to rain but very impressed with the spot. Lots of shelter with trees. The toilets were clean. Recommend the 20min drive, it's worth it!
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0.5/5
Beautiful spot however I had a similar experience to another reviewer...the DOC lady woke me up at 7am by aggressively slaming her hand on all four windows of my van then started shaking it...for 5 minutes
. Never once said anything to identify herself or what she was after. Just slaming violently. Was scared to go outside. Totally unnecessary considering considering I didnt have any change for the $20 and was hoping to catch her anyway in the morning to sort out payment...very rude and no common sense / benefit of the doubt for those who are genuinely trying to pay. Would be useful to have a credit card slip on the payment ticket. Or to come round at a more reasonable hour (ie 8am) and politely introduce herself in order to sort out payment.
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4.5/5
Clean bathrooms, nice views over the water, great place to stop and camp near Picton.
We stayed two nights and had a great time.
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4.5/5
A great site to stay when you arrive of the ferry in picton.
Its a 15 min drive from the ferry.
There a lot of places to put up your tent or park your caravan. The view over the lake is nice and there are a lot of Tui's going wild on the plants. Beware to pay your fees because there are frequent check ups.
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3.0/5
This looks like it would be a lovely site in the summer.
However, when driving into it in October I thought I was the only person until I happened upon a little corner where two startled people exchanging stuff between their car windows were located. Back in the States I would have said I had stumbled across a drug deal. And just like there I promptly left. So very sketchy vibes in the early spring and I would be hesitant to stay there alone.
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4.5/5
Nice big campsite with plenty of options to pitch/park.
Wasn't too busy on the one night we stayed. Water quality good for drinking, toilets clean (but no lights) and wasn't particularly windy. Lots of native birds about and nice views of the water. Partner noted noise from the road and seabirds but I didn't find these a problem. Great site for the price.
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3.5/5
Great for last night stop over as long as you don't mind windy road, though not much traffic.Very quiet when we stayed.
Beautiful location next to the Sound. Good bird watching. 8dolls pp was quite expensive for facilities offered - public toilet and water tap. Provision of showers would help a lot. Portakabin would do, gas to power and slot to pay.No power on site, but not a problem.
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5.0/5
Whatamango Bay DOC camp is a big camping area with lots of sheltered corners to park in.
It has a good water supply and flush toilets. The DOC overseer did a walk around in the late afternoon and again very early in the morning which explains the absence of freedom camper mess. The road from Waikawa is sealed but it is winding and very narrow in places. The tide goes out a long way and the beach frontage isn't particularly attractive but there's easy water access for kayaks and dinghys. Yes, Whatamango bay is a wind funnel and needs to be treated accordingly.
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3.0/5
Stayed 10 nights in a large group, as a base to access the sounds.
Very popular as a one night stop for Ferry passengers.
Positives: Cheap & Large campground, Firm ground for anchoring tents, Flush toilet, Bird call from Tui, Bellbird & Morepork, Views.
Negatives: Can get extremely windy as valley funnels wind from South & the Bay funnels wind from the North.
Toilet urinal blocked, no lights in toilet block, water taps around the campground ran dry as fed from tank, portaloos overfull, toilet block not maintained well. Needs more bush planting for shelter.
Overall we enjoyed our stay despite a bit of bad weather.
I disagree that DOC has done a good job here though. They receive a hefty amount of $ from travellers every night yet simple things like lighting in toilets isn’t in place??
We were asked for change from a $20 note ($16 for two) many times by travellers...so my suggestion is make it $10 night per camper and reinvest significantly; Connect the campground taps to the stream pump, tidy the toilets, consider hot water for toilet block sink & taps, do more planting. Perhaps even a small kids area?
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5.0/5
What you'd hope for from a low cost DOC site.
Nice open area next to the sound with a bit of bush for privacy. Very flat, flush toilets, wonderfully peaceful, close to Picton.
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4.5/5
Very spacious campground.
Close to the ferry. Well maintained. Clean toilet, drinkable water. One of the best DOC campground for $8pp we have seen so far. Thank you DOC.
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4.5/5
DOC site, with 2 flushable toilets.
About a 15-20min drive out of Picton. Little alcoves to drive into for shelter from the wind and plenty of space for everyone as this place is huge! Also picnic tables scattered around. The views are amazing and it was hard to find in the dark but just after the bridge on the left hand side turn in. It was definitely worth the drive.
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4.5/5
A beautiful DOC campground.
We stayed here for 2 nights. It is only 20 minutes drive to Picton. The campground is at the lake and the view is amazing. It has only toilets (no showers) and they were clean. There is a lot of space near the lake or more shelter places. A great spot!
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4.5/5
Great camp spot, beautiful views, tranquil and tucked away off the main road.
We had a very unfortunate experience where a group of young boys drove in during the night and were drinking, taking drugs and making lots of noise in their car. It was a bit scary to wake up to at midnight and they left a lot of rubbish. I would hate this to turn anyone off the campsite though, hopefully it was a one-time occurrence only as we reported the number plate to the police.
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5.0/5
Quiet location, about 30 minutes away from the ferry terminal.
Self-service payment booth at the entrance is easy to miss. Great view. Great place to stop before or after the ferry.
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3.5/5
Nice, spacious campsite, only two others there in early July.
Flushing clean toilets, no showers. Good starting point off ferry. Lovely views of Marlborough sounds. You can fill water bottles up in Picton centre at water fountain by toilets as no water supply at camp.
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4.5/5
Very spacious camp ground with a views of the bay or sheltered spot in the trees available if you prefer.
The campsite is pitch black - not a single light. No drinking water available. There are some picnic tables but no shelter for cooking. Flushing toilet was clean. We missed the turn into the site (it's on the right, directly after the bridge). I would not recommend this site for anyone towing a caravan as the road is thin and windy. $6 per adult per night. I recommend this site and would return again.
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4.5/5
Very nice place, almost completely empty at the end of April.
We had breakfast with the ducks and had access to clean facilities and a beautiful view. Very reasonable price. The road quite tricky for campervans, but it's worth it!
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3.5/5
Basic campsite, with flush toilets at one end.
Pretty and quiet with nice views of the bay. Lovely, 20 minute drive from Picton.
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3.5/5
Nice view but noisy when trucks and cars pass nearby.
It was good to have sites protected from the wind. Clean .
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4.5/5
What a nice and peaceful campsite, ideal before or after the ferry ride to Wellington as its a short ride from Picton.
Be sure to pay before you pitch camp, or the lady in the yellow jacket will find you! Toilet facilities are clean and the site well maintained.
