Really fabulous Campsite, between the lake & forest.

As mentioned, lots of lovely walks from here, the Bellbird & Fantail sites are best for being up close to the forest.

Reviewed about 1 month ago

Beautiful spot.

We paid for a site. Great toilets n token showers. Washer ($?) n dryer $3), we used dryer. camp kitchen was great - stove too n hot water tap, seating n tables n view. Was cold overnight. One of favourite spots we camped.

Reviewed 2 months ago

Serviced DOC site.

Large kitchen area with gas stove, toilets with token operated showers. Also a dump station and fresh water refill.

We stayed in a powered site, got the feeling that those are a bit more private than the unpowered ones. The location is amazing, many great trails from there. DOC visitor centre 5 minutes walking away. Might even hear kiwi calling in the night :-)

Reviewed 7 months ago

Awesome place with all the facilities you could need (cleans and well maintained), just make sure you get tokens for the showers from the visitors centre which we weren’t told about when we booked there

in person. Beautiful bird song but lots of sandflies.

Reviewed 9 months ago

Very nice campsite, awesome facilities, can was clothes and take a shower and have a shelterd spot where to cook.

Has drinking water which is always a plus. Some nice walks in the are and the position is perfect. Make sure to check out the eels in the lake just by pointing a torch to the water as suggested in a previous review. Only problem were the ridicolous amount of sandflies so be well prepared!

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

Superb location, fantastic facilities - not the usual bare necessities you might expect from DoC.

So one star? Well, that was thanks to appallingly incompetent management. First of all, it states you MUST make bookings. So we did, back in November. When we arrived, however, we found that someone was backed up so far they were blocking off half our site. We raised the issue with the camp host, but he didn't care as that person was there for the week and we were only staying the night. Ok. Fine. We can work around that.

Later that night, we heard an engine outside. The host was arranging with late strivers who didn't have a booking to make themselves at home on the front of our site. Given his earlier belligerence, we knew that any conversation would be unproductive.

It was hugely annoying as this was supposed to be a two site spot... but by the time we woke up, there was another vehicle shoved onto the front of our site. So, to recap, we had one party taking up a big portion of our (booked and paid for) site. Then two more vehicles were shoved onto the site at the camp host's instruction (without asking us, of course).

This sloppy attitude and disregard for the signposted and widely publicised rules was upsetting and ruined our stay. I would discourage anyone from paying $21 per person for a powered site and suggest that they head to a professionally managed campground instead. At least there you know that when you wake up in the morning there won't be random people sprawled out on the site that you thought you paid for to enjoy to yourself.

Shameful stuff, DoC. You do such great work, but you need to get the administration of this place under control. It makes a mockery of the whole system.

Reviewed almost 8 years ago

Really fabulous Campsite, between the lake & forest.

As mentioned, lots of lovely walks from here, the Bellbird & Fantail sites are best for being up close to the forest.

Reviewed about 1 month ago

Beautiful spot.

We paid for a site. Great toilets n token showers. Washer ($?) n dryer $3), we used dryer. camp kitchen was great - stove too n hot water tap, seating n tables n view. Was cold overnight. One of favourite spots we camped.

Reviewed 2 months ago

Serviced DOC site.

Large kitchen area with gas stove, toilets with token operated showers. Also a dump station and fresh water refill.

We stayed in a powered site, got the feeling that those are a bit more private than the unpowered ones. The location is amazing, many great trails from there. DOC visitor centre 5 minutes walking away. Might even hear kiwi calling in the night :-)

Reviewed 7 months ago

Awesome place with all the facilities you could need (cleans and well maintained), just make sure you get tokens for the showers from the visitors centre which we weren’t told about when we booked there

in person. Beautiful bird song but lots of sandflies.

Reviewed 9 months ago

Very nice campsite, awesome facilities, can was clothes and take a shower and have a shelterd spot where to cook.

Has drinking water which is always a plus. Some nice walks in the are and the position is perfect. Make sure to check out the eels in the lake just by pointing a torch to the water as suggested in a previous review. Only problem were the ridicolous amount of sandflies so be well prepared!

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

Beautiful campground with lots of room available.

Hot water and gas stove available for free. Showers that cost $1 and laundry on-site. Amazing views of the lake and surrounding mountains, would highly highly recommend!

Reviewed about 2 years ago

Great place to stay!

Showers 2 dollars, powered and non pwrd places. Great place to cook and eat, hot (boiling) and fresh water. Hose to water up your campervan, washing machines and hand/hair dryers. Highly recommended, check in 10 am and out 11/12am. Sandflies level: 4/10.

Reviewed almost 4 years ago

Beautiful location right by Lake Rotoiti.

Campsite well set up with kitchen facilities, toilets and hot showers (token system, $1 per token for 6 mins of hot water). We stayed in a powered site for $23 per adult. Non powered sites were $20 pp.

If arriving before 4.30pm, register at the DOC office about 200m before the lake on the right-hand side. You can buy tokens for the showers there too. If coming after hours, there's an onsite host (but they can't give you a campsite until after the DOC office closes).

As others have said, plenty of sandflys about so bring repellent.

Lake 100m away from campsite, where you can swim, hire canoes, get a water taxi and there's a playground for kids.

Campsite has rubbish and recycling bins and a dump station.

Saw some American tourists feeding eels off the jetty.. which I'm glad I only saw after I'd had a swim!

Reviewed almost 5 years ago

A great DOC site, lake Rotoiti is just beautiful.

We were delayed arriving due to bad weather so missed checking in at the visitor center. The camp hosts were then not around until later & had no shower tokens on them. We managed to park up in the right area with our tent as per our booking email though.

The new toilets are fab, didn’t use the showers due to no tokens.

Be warned, the sand flies are a pain!!

Reviewed about 5 years ago

Our favourite DoC campsite from our NZ visit.

This was a surprise find, so near the town of St Arnaud. Flat campsites, with power. Kitchen with a great lake view. Clean modern toilets. We visited in September and found the showers locked, and a laundry with no machines but the DoC ranger explained these are available in high season. Some easy walks start from the camp, including one that leads back to the town. Shine a torch from the jetty in the lake after dark to bring out the long finned eels. Crystal clear water you can see the trout! Lots of birdsong in the morning, and an owl at night. While it didn't snow while we were here there was a good cover on the mountains that surround the lake, and clouds rolled in after dark that made the whole scene surreal. Check out the displays at the DoC office - lots of info there on walks, wildlife, history and the management plan for the area. The DoC ranger was incredibly helpful. We were fortunate enough to find a water taxi active on the day we arrived, and took a tour up to see Whiskey falls and the head of the lake which we recommend.

Reviewed about 7 years ago

Arrived late and got a little lost in the dark, didn't get a chance to use all the facilities but seemed very well maintained.

BUT, the walks and scenery here in the morning are incredible. Worth every penny, make sure you get up early and enjoy the Mirror Lake.

Reviewed over 7 years ago

Superb location, fantastic facilities - not the usual bare necessities you might expect from DoC.

So one star? Well, that was thanks to appallingly incompetent management. First of all, it states you MUST make bookings. So we did, back in November. When we arrived, however, we found that someone was backed up so far they were blocking off half our site. We raised the issue with the camp host, but he didn't care as that person was there for the week and we were only staying the night. Ok. Fine. We can work around that.

Later that night, we heard an engine outside. The host was arranging with late strivers who didn't have a booking to make themselves at home on the front of our site. Given his earlier belligerence, we knew that any conversation would be unproductive.

It was hugely annoying as this was supposed to be a two site spot... but by the time we woke up, there was another vehicle shoved onto the front of our site. So, to recap, we had one party taking up a big portion of our (booked and paid for) site. Then two more vehicles were shoved onto the site at the camp host's instruction (without asking us, of course).

This sloppy attitude and disregard for the signposted and widely publicised rules was upsetting and ruined our stay. I would discourage anyone from paying $21 per person for a powered site and suggest that they head to a professionally managed campground instead. At least there you know that when you wake up in the morning there won't be random people sprawled out on the site that you thought you paid for to enjoy to yourself.

Shameful stuff, DoC. You do such great work, but you need to get the administration of this place under control. It makes a mockery of the whole system.

Reviewed almost 8 years ago

The campsite is great in itself.

Great views, great facilities. BUT: can't enjoy the campsite because of thousands of sandflies!

Reviewed about 9 years ago

Marked 6 only due to the price and lack of facilities in winter.

This site is in a great location, right next to the lake but sheltered by the forest. Stunning location in winter.

Reviewed over 9 years ago