The road to the campsite is terrible, it's washed out by water with a lot of deep holes, and plenty of cattle stops on the way.

There were sandflies. Facilities are closed and the only toilets were mostly very full, portable plastic ones like in festivals. Untreated water on the site, picnic area with sinks of which some have broken drain.

View is nice, distance from main road made it a quiet place with a lot of space for parking or camping. Nevertheless if not on the campsite pass, I wouldn't say it's worth it.

Reviewed 26 days ago

Good place for a night.

You can park on the beach or under the trees. Many people swam, but I found 20-ish still not warm enough, especially when the wind kicked up. The hike around the back was nice for families. 30-40 min and not too much elevation change. This was my 1st camping experience in NZ. I can’t say it’s quite as good as I’m used to (campfires, dense mountain forest, less bugs), but I still had a nice, relaxing time.

Reviewed 8 months ago

Amazing view and scenerie.

The spot is perfect and has a lot of space for campers.

Portable toilettes are clean.

Almost no sandflies.

Site is easily accessible for campervans via gravel road.

Reviewed over 1 year ago

Le meilleur spot DOC de tout notre periple.

Vue sur le lac incroyable, il y a des spots pour se garer juste au bord et avoir la sensation d'être seuls au monde sans pour autant gêner la vie des autres campeurs plus hauts sur la pelouse.

Baignades savoureuses.

Seul "hic", les toilettes portables un peu pleins avant vidange. Mais pas impossible pour autant. Sinon j'aurais mis un 10. Je recommande ce spot sans aucune hésitation.

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

So sunny and calm here!

Good cell service, toilets aren’t open atm but portaloos available. Bring your bug spray and a camp chair :)

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

The road to the campsite is terrible, it's washed out by water with a lot of deep holes, and plenty of cattle stops on the way.

There were sandflies. Facilities are closed and the only toilets were mostly very full, portable plastic ones like in festivals. Untreated water on the site, picnic area with sinks of which some have broken drain.

View is nice, distance from main road made it a quiet place with a lot of space for parking or camping. Nevertheless if not on the campsite pass, I wouldn't say it's worth it.

Reviewed 26 days ago

Good place for a night.

You can park on the beach or under the trees. Many people swam, but I found 20-ish still not warm enough, especially when the wind kicked up. The hike around the back was nice for families. 30-40 min and not too much elevation change. This was my 1st camping experience in NZ. I can’t say it’s quite as good as I’m used to (campfires, dense mountain forest, less bugs), but I still had a nice, relaxing time.

Reviewed 8 months ago

It’s an interesting unsaved road into this campsite but fine for our escapecampervan.

We’d been warned of some cows but didn’t come across any. The beach is perfect for skimming stones. We only did the short forest walk and not the steep climb to the tree lines. A few bugs, some persistent bees.

Reviewed over 1 year ago

Absolutely loved the view here, and swimming in the lake was wonderful.

Was only there one night - pretty windy on the afternoon I arrived, but calmed down before dusk. Some plum trees on the edge of the campground near the lake (about to fruit when I was there). Toilets were clean but getting fairly full. No issues with sandflies.

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

Great location, thought it’s a 6km drive down an unsealed road so you may want to bear that in mind.

Views from the lakeshore are fantastic though the toilets weren’t working when we visited and were replaced with portaloos. Sandflies not as bad as other campsites but still present in greater numbers than you’d like. It’s also very popular which detracts from the charm slightly - try to visit when it’s not rammed.

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

So sunny and calm here!

Good cell service, toilets aren’t open atm but portaloos available. Bring your bug spray and a camp chair :)

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

Place was good!

Beautiful views and Sunset is amazing. Nice place to stay. Sand flies are everywhere, so remember to take precautions.

Reviewed almost 3 years ago

This site is stunning.

I could have stayed for 3 days. If your hesitating, stay here. Its a little tricky to find but once your on the gravel track just stay on it.

Reviewed over 3 years ago

A hidden gem.

Worth the drive. We had a camper van and the road was no trouble at all. We had a lake front park. Facilities typical of DOC. Very reasonable rate to stay. Lake was beautiful. Stunning place to stay. Sand flies were not too much of a problem if you take precautions!

Reviewed almost 4 years ago

Great campsite right on Lake Hawea - we were there by ourselves early Aug 2020.

It’s easy to miss the road into this DoC site as its not well signposted and referenced only as Kidds Bush reserve on an old “camping prohibited” sign - as Hwy 6 heading east drops down to Lake Hawea look for Meads Rd signpost. Gravel road through farmland and several cattle grates but no gates to open/close.

Reviewed about 4 years ago and experienced in August 2020

Beautiful scenery, great view and not too packed.

Toilets were very clean and toilet paper was available.

Bring some mosquito repellent.

Reviewed over 4 years ago

Really great view of the lake - very few sandflies but some larger houseflies with annoying buzzing.

Lovely clean flush toilets. No drinking water. I could have stayed here for a week, just lying around by the lake, swimming, kayaking, relaxing. Ideal for families. I had good 4G and cell reception.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago

It's a few kilometres down a bit of a bumpy road but totally and utterly worth it.

Visited Nov 19 - $8 per person (no powered sites)

What an incredible location. The views were absolutely amazing.

Also, there are proper flushing, clean toilets and sinks for washing up.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago