Mangatutu Hot Springs Campsite
Kaweka Forest Park
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Mangatutu Hot Springs Campsite
This is a popular camping, picnic and fishing spot, and a starting point for tramping, hunting or day walks up the Mohaka River and into the Kaweka Forest Park.
A free, basic campsite with its own hot springs nestled within native bush.
What's the catch?!
We suppose the 1 hour gravel access road would be it - Unsuited to large campervans and caravans.
Relax at the nearby thermal springs or go tramping, fishing, swimming or rafting. Hunt sika and red deer in the park. The river offers rainbow and brown trout.
Getting There:
Getting to Makahu Road
Makahu Road is 75 km north-west of Napier. From Napier follow Puketitiri Road for 40 km before turning right into Pakaututu Road. Makahu Road is 9 km on the left.
At the very end of the road, 500 metres from the Mangatutu Hot Springs and camping area, is "The Gums" parking area and shelter. The tracks to Te Puia Lodge and Mangatainoka Hot Springs begin here.
The trip involves about 1 hr of travel on unsealed gravel roads. There is a river ford on Makahu Road 7.5 km from the road end – heavy rain and snow melt can affect the water level.
Makahu Road is steep and narrow in places. It may be slippery when wet. Take extra caution driving this road.
The road is not suitable for caravans or campervans.
Check with Hasting's District Council for road closures.
Notices
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Makahu Road closure
Makahu Road will be closed to all traffic from the Middle Hill car park to Mangatutu Hot Springs Campsite/Te Puia Lodge car park, from Monday 2 December 2024 to Friday 20 December 2024 the between 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, Mondays to Fridays. Contractor will be onsite completing road repairs.
The road will be open during the weekend (from 4:30 pm Friday to 7:30 am Monday).
Park users are asked to plan accordingly to minimise disruption to their travel plans.
This closure is necessary to ensure the works are completed as fast as possible and for contractor safety. Any vehicles progressing through closed signs can expect to be turned back. You will potentially need to reverse for some distance or face lengthy delays.
First published on 29 November 2024. -
Kaweka Forest Park access
- Comet Road is open to 4WD vehicles only due to loose metal.
- Helicopter access - open.
- Kaweka Road is open. Some large potholes are present. Drive with care to maintain the road structure.
- Lotkow Road is open to 4WD vehicles only. The river crossings are regularly changing, check them before crossing, drive with caution.
- Lakes carpark is accessible via Kuripapango road. The previous access Castle Rock road is now closed due to ongoing forestry operations.
- Lawrence Carpark access road: Forestry operations will be occurring from the 15 of January for a maximum of 6 weeks, during which time the road will be closed. Access to Blowhard Bush will remain open.
The Lawrence swing bridge has been removed. The last 600 m of the road is steep and not recommended for 2WD vehicles. - Mackintosh carpark is currently closed due to ongoing forestry operations. A new parking location can be located at a skid site near the closed gate (end of Kuripapango road), this will add on 500m walking to reach the start of the track.
- Whittle road. Be aware of trucks using the quarry. Give them right of way where possible.
We have not physically checked all tracks and assets within the park. There may be unknown storm damage. Be prepared to turn back and report issues to napier@doc.govt.nz. Known damage is reported on each web page with site-specific information.
First published on 10 March 2023. Last reviewed on 10 December 2024.
DOC Campsite Pricing
Mangatutu Hot Springs Campsite is categorised as a DOC Basic Campsite. The following pricing indicates usual pricing.
DOC Basic Campsite
Basic campsites have very limited facilities so you need to be fully self-sufficient. There are basic toilets and water may be from a water tank that is untreated, stream or lake. Untreated water should be boiled before use to ensure it's safe. Access may be by road or boat.
| Feature | Value | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Unpowered Site | Adult | $0.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $0.00 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 Hawkes BayCentral government organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Hawkes Bay ▷ Napier |
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Basic Camping
Reviews
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0.5/5
I travelled from Auckland down the East Coast, one of my places that I wanted to visit was the hot pools.
After driving over 500km I was met by a muddy section of road only 3km from my destination that was impossible to get through in my campervan. So disappointing 😞
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4.0/5
Amazing campsite that is well worth a visit.
A bit of a bumpy road to get in that would be better suited to a 4WD but did see a couple of other car types there that made it in.
Free, clean hot pools with a brilliant view. Little nooks along the path to camp in for a more private site. One of the most incredible rivers I have ever seen, however quite hard to get down to at the moment. Can tell there used to be a better path but rain has washed away a lot of the steps and both routes down from the campsite (the marked one and then another sneaky one about 3 mins long down from the right of the hot pools) are now quite tricky and can’t really be classed as access to running stream water easily. Wouldn’t want to carry anything up or down (water containers, dishes) as need your hands to hold on to things going down, but once your down it is a beautiful spot to swim in.
Will definetely go back.
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5.0/5
This was one of my most favorite spot.
Quiet. Not busy on the week days in February when we were there. Clean. Primitive but nice. Pit toilet. Water is from a stream. Have to boil or filter yourself.
Camp host was very nice.
The river is a 5 min walk from the campsite. But it is quite a steep hill. The hot tubs are 2 min walk from the campsite with a some what steep hill but better than the walk to the river.
MOST important is the drive into campsite. The road from Napier is curvy and long. Then you drive on a gravel road for 30 mins which feels like an hour. At which point you are on a single lane steep hills and tight turns a supreme caution is necessary or else you could die or be seriously injured. When your on this road the cliff is probably 600-800 feet down.
Be sure if you are uncomfortably driving on non paved wilderness roads this may not be for you. They road is well maintained in my opinion. I made it in a Toyota Estima no problem. I saw a Nissan Versa and Audi station wagon. I never bottomed out or hit any part of the frame.
But beautiful spot. Possibly one of my most loved.
Also beware of the bugs at dusk to night time.
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3.0/5
Be warned there is a Ford about 5km before the campsite which had red indicators saying do not cross.
I walked it and it really didn't seem doable without a 4x4 so we couldn't get to the site although we`d done a 90 min d-tour to get to it. Shame as I'm sure it is a great place to camp. There were were signs all the way there suggesting the road was open so there could certainly be better advice here!
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4.5/5
I definitely recommend this place!
I definitely recommend this place! Nice space to camp, some tables for picnic, and hot pools! Besides the toilet is quite nice (ample) compering to the typical tiny camping toilets. Just maybe quite crowded in peak seasons.
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5.0/5
One of the best spots so far in the North Island.
Many New Zealanders. Not many tourists. Nice camp warden. Clean toilet, with the smell of citrus. And beautiful hot pools. To cool down you can climb down to the river and jump in.
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1.5/5
Great spot to relax.
I have been coming to this spot for over 15 years and previously you would not find another person at the pools. Now there is always people there and some times very crowded. Tourist and others are leaving large amounts of rubbish there and not cleaning up. Don't waste your time driving over rutted rocky gravel road just to sit in this hot pool.
If how ever you going to actually do some hiking / tramping or hunting / fishing it is a good spot to start from. BUT PICK UP YOUR RUBBISH.
Also have seen a few cars broken into while people sitting in the hot pools and with no cell phone signal you may be stranded if you break down.
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4.0/5
Nice place with natural hot pool!
Remember there are more campsites if you go on driving after you see the campsite sign. And more sites within the bushes as well. Bring your own coal for the BBQ. No drinking water or tap water.
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5.0/5
One of the best spots for free.
Toilet facilities, BBQs views over native bush and the mighty Mohaka and to top it off great maintained easy to access hot pools, also over looking native bush.
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0.5/5
I travelled from Auckland down the East Coast, one of my places that I wanted to visit was the hot pools.
After driving over 500km I was met by a muddy section of road only 3km from my destination that was impossible to get through in my campervan. So disappointing 😞
-
4.0/5
Amazing campsite that is well worth a visit.
A bit of a bumpy road to get in that would be better suited to a 4WD but did see a couple of other car types there that made it in.
Free, clean hot pools with a brilliant view. Little nooks along the path to camp in for a more private site. One of the most incredible rivers I have ever seen, however quite hard to get down to at the moment. Can tell there used to be a better path but rain has washed away a lot of the steps and both routes down from the campsite (the marked one and then another sneaky one about 3 mins long down from the right of the hot pools) are now quite tricky and can’t really be classed as access to running stream water easily. Wouldn’t want to carry anything up or down (water containers, dishes) as need your hands to hold on to things going down, but once your down it is a beautiful spot to swim in.
Will definetely go back.
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5.0/5
This was one of my most favorite spot.
Quiet. Not busy on the week days in February when we were there. Clean. Primitive but nice. Pit toilet. Water is from a stream. Have to boil or filter yourself.
Camp host was very nice.
The river is a 5 min walk from the campsite. But it is quite a steep hill. The hot tubs are 2 min walk from the campsite with a some what steep hill but better than the walk to the river.
MOST important is the drive into campsite. The road from Napier is curvy and long. Then you drive on a gravel road for 30 mins which feels like an hour. At which point you are on a single lane steep hills and tight turns a supreme caution is necessary or else you could die or be seriously injured. When your on this road the cliff is probably 600-800 feet down.
Be sure if you are uncomfortably driving on non paved wilderness roads this may not be for you. They road is well maintained in my opinion. I made it in a Toyota Estima no problem. I saw a Nissan Versa and Audi station wagon. I never bottomed out or hit any part of the frame.
But beautiful spot. Possibly one of my most loved.
Also beware of the bugs at dusk to night time.
-
3.0/5
Be warned there is a Ford about 5km before the campsite which had red indicators saying do not cross.
I walked it and it really didn't seem doable without a 4x4 so we couldn't get to the site although we`d done a 90 min d-tour to get to it. Shame as I'm sure it is a great place to camp. There were were signs all the way there suggesting the road was open so there could certainly be better advice here!
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4.5/5
I definitely recommend this place!
I definitely recommend this place! Nice space to camp, some tables for picnic, and hot pools! Besides the toilet is quite nice (ample) compering to the typical tiny camping toilets. Just maybe quite crowded in peak seasons.
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5.0/5
One of the best spots so far in the North Island.
Many New Zealanders. Not many tourists. Nice camp warden. Clean toilet, with the smell of citrus. And beautiful hot pools. To cool down you can climb down to the river and jump in.
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1.5/5
Great spot to relax.
I have been coming to this spot for over 15 years and previously you would not find another person at the pools. Now there is always people there and some times very crowded. Tourist and others are leaving large amounts of rubbish there and not cleaning up. Don't waste your time driving over rutted rocky gravel road just to sit in this hot pool.
If how ever you going to actually do some hiking / tramping or hunting / fishing it is a good spot to start from. BUT PICK UP YOUR RUBBISH.
Also have seen a few cars broken into while people sitting in the hot pools and with no cell phone signal you may be stranded if you break down.
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4.0/5
Nice place with natural hot pool!
Remember there are more campsites if you go on driving after you see the campsite sign. And more sites within the bushes as well. Bring your own coal for the BBQ. No drinking water or tap water.
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5.0/5
One of the best spots for free.
Toilet facilities, BBQs views over native bush and the mighty Mohaka and to top it off great maintained easy to access hot pools, also over looking native bush.
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5.0/5
It was awesome to relax in the natural hot springs with a beautiful view of the mountains.
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5.0/5
This was an amazing experience.
the road to get there is daunting at best but well worth the perseverance. nice and private camping spots and the hot springs were excellent (just like the pic!). the river was the best part and worth the climb down, the most peaceful place on earth. fully recommend this spot!
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