Rakaia Gorge Camping Ground
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Rakaia Gorge Camping Ground
What a view!!! This place really takes the cake. This campsite is run by the Rakaia Gorge Society and is frequented by the more mature crowd who stay here for the long haul over summer. Summer camping from Mid Oct to 25th April each year, all facilities are open including showers. Fee is $15pp per night, children under 10 are free. Caretakers live on site during Summer. Winter camping is from 26th April through to mid October. Fee at that time is $10pp per night, children under 10 free. All facilities apart from the public toilets are closed. Parking during Winter Camping is from Site 1 through to Site 10. No caretakers during Winter.
Details
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Organisation |
Rakaia Gorge SocietyCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Methven |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Basic Camping
Dump Station
Nearby
Reviews
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4.5/5
Brilliant spot, nice welcome from Brett and Denise.
Simple but clean facilities. Proper camping.
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4.5/5
Arrived in September (so out of season - no showers) however, very clean drop toilets, felt super safe, amazing views, gorge stunning, and best of all a purpose made bench for star gazing with star gazing
info! Would recommend having a hot drink and sitting out in sleeping bag to enjoy!
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1.0/5
Came here June 2024 desperate to use their showers other users had mentioned.
Half the campsite was closed due to the Winter season and unfortunately it was the half with the showers in! Toilets were ok but I left in search of somewhere else to scrub up.
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4.0/5
We were here mid april on a sunday night and it was pretty quiet.
Friendly host (only accepts cash!) and very nice campsite with beautiful view. One thing we haven’t read in any reviews: the toiletbuilding has no lights, so bring a torch/head light!
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5.0/5
Amazing views, very clean facilities stayed 3 nights 14, 15 and 16 March 2024 Camp managers very helpful and knowledgeable would stay again best location we have had on our 69 day South Island trip
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5.0/5
Awesome spot - cannot recommend it enough!
Unreal views and some nice and secluded sites tucked away in the bushes. $15 a night per person including hot showers. Nice track down to the river for a swim!
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4.5/5
Great place to stay.
$15pp per night as of Feb 2024. The views are amazing, the camp is so well maintained and taken care of. Extremely friendly and dogs are free. The toilet facilities were so clean and great. Will definitely going back.
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5.0/5
Very happy with this campground!
Well priced at $30 for two in our motorhome. Spectacular views and really well presented bathrooms and cooking area. Thanks heaps to the Society for making the facility available to the public!
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5.0/5
Great site.
No electric hook up but really good value and stunning views. Lovely hot showers too.
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4.0/5
Nice place, clean toilets, good facilities and the owners understood the need for and facilitated in finding a good spot for our little tent due to the harsh winds when we were there.
Visited one night, lots of long stay older people. Rakaia gorge tramping track starts right across the bridge from the campground. Big plus
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5.0/5
This was our last stop before catching a flight from Christchurch and it was perfect.
The view was stunning, the caretaker was so helpful and everything was spotless and well maintained. Be aware this is cash only
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4.5/5
Brilliant spot, nice welcome from Brett and Denise.
Simple but clean facilities. Proper camping.
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4.5/5
Arrived in September (so out of season - no showers) however, very clean drop toilets, felt super safe, amazing views, gorge stunning, and best of all a purpose made bench for star gazing with star gazing
info! Would recommend having a hot drink and sitting out in sleeping bag to enjoy!
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1.0/5
Came here June 2024 desperate to use their showers other users had mentioned.
Half the campsite was closed due to the Winter season and unfortunately it was the half with the showers in! Toilets were ok but I left in search of somewhere else to scrub up.
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4.0/5
We were here mid april on a sunday night and it was pretty quiet.
Friendly host (only accepts cash!) and very nice campsite with beautiful view. One thing we haven’t read in any reviews: the toiletbuilding has no lights, so bring a torch/head light!
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5.0/5
Amazing views, very clean facilities stayed 3 nights 14, 15 and 16 March 2024 Camp managers very helpful and knowledgeable would stay again best location we have had on our 69 day South Island trip
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5.0/5
Awesome spot - cannot recommend it enough!
Unreal views and some nice and secluded sites tucked away in the bushes. $15 a night per person including hot showers. Nice track down to the river for a swim!
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4.5/5
Great place to stay.
$15pp per night as of Feb 2024. The views are amazing, the camp is so well maintained and taken care of. Extremely friendly and dogs are free. The toilet facilities were so clean and great. Will definitely going back.
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0.5/5
Greeted by an extremely rude, aggressive lady yelling at us asking what we were doing.
We had only hopped out of the motorhome & walked a couple of metres to the park gate to look how busy it was. She yelled can't we read that we need to go to the camp manager 1st (her). We immediately left...very disappointing as we have stayed here before & it was lovely
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5.0/5
Very happy with this campground!
Well priced at $30 for two in our motorhome. Spectacular views and really well presented bathrooms and cooking area. Thanks heaps to the Society for making the facility available to the public!
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5.0/5
Great site.
No electric hook up but really good value and stunning views. Lovely hot showers too.
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4.0/5
Nice place, clean toilets, good facilities and the owners understood the need for and facilitated in finding a good spot for our little tent due to the harsh winds when we were there.
Visited one night, lots of long stay older people. Rakaia gorge tramping track starts right across the bridge from the campground. Big plus
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5.0/5
This was our last stop before catching a flight from Christchurch and it was perfect.
The view was stunning, the caretaker was so helpful and everything was spotless and well maintained. Be aware this is cash only
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4.0/5
Stayed one night after picking up camper from Christchurch.
Lovely spot with super clean toilets. Only the winter area was available but plenty of room for about 10 vans. Honestly box for camp fees so bring correct change! $15 per adult.
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3.5/5
For anyone who can get a decent site this is a really pretty spot.
Unfortunately due, I think, to our arrival at 8.30pm we were told all sites were gone and were given a site backing onto the main road. I pretty much counted vehicles through all night as am a light sleeper. A walk around the camp in the morning revealed some much more preferable, and empty, sites. The stargazing as mentioned by others is literally out of this world - just beautiful. There are superb river views for those who are lucky enough to get one of those spots. Not sure how you get one of those as looks like a lot of empty caravans taking space up as well and some permanents living there. It's a bit hit and miss by the sounds of it when reading other reviews.
It's now $15 per person.
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0.5/5
We didn’t stay, the lady at the front was very rude.
They don’t take card and there’s no where close to get cash out.
Drove 15min Methven camp ground and the lady was so nice. Very nice camp ground, showers, clean kitchen. Worth the drive!!
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5.0/5
An incredible place to disconnect from your phone and enjoy the view of the river, the beautiful grounds, clean hot showers and the people your traveling with.
What more do you need. If you happen to take a midnight stroll take the time to look up, the night stars are amazing.
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5.0/5
OMGosh what a find.
Beautiful site. Well done to an amazing community effort. We stayed out of season, but it was immaculatly kept.
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5.0/5
Most fabulous place looking out over the gorge.
Beautiful kept site. Really clean toilet block and hot showers. Rubbish area. Kitchen area for cleaning dishes. Felt very safe. Would come again any day.
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5.0/5
Great site, clean flush toilets, warm showers, outdoor sheltered kitchen, great views, water available, space for larger campers, would be happy to return, well done to the community for supporting this
site.
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4.5/5
We stayed here 1 night in Sep, outside their regular open season.
Most of the campground and the showers were closed. But the toilets were tidy and there were hardly any other campers around, a very nice quiet spot. There are some nice river walks nearby and great star gazing
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3.0/5
The gorge and this site looked amazing but it is currently closed to travelling campervans to protect the elderly regulars from the Corona virus.
Sadly we had to move on.
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5.0/5
Very nice place with great views of the river.
Sites along the river are not marked, but the friendly host showed us where to park for the best views. The bathroom and shower facilities are very functional.
It is a short walk to the start of several trailheads, as well as the bank of the river.
We were very happy to stay here and would recommend it.
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5.0/5
Beautiful campsite and views.
Plenty of mature planting to break the site up and give you some shade. All the basics are covered with attention to detail and hot showers are included. There are no powered pitches and there wasn't enough water to to up tanks when we were there, so just plan accordingly. For a quiet site in a beautiful natural setting its great.
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4.5/5
Wow, what a lovely little find this was.
Had spent entirely too long playing down by the river and enjoying the nearby walks along the gorge. Was looking for somewhere to hole up for the night and saw this place almost a stone’s throw away. Parked up not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by what we found.
Is it basic, yes – of course it is at this price point. But it has toilets, running water and the setting is hard to beat. Our two little ones loved running around the grounds and the short walk down to the river and back up along the gorge was a bit of a gem.
If you’re looking for a no-fills place to stay for a night or two, out of the way in a secluded location, then for the price this place is hard to beat. Would have been tempted to have stayed for longer if during the warmer summer months.
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5.0/5
Perfect location next to the river in a well maintained landscaped park.
Warm welcome and clean facilities. Great for the gorge walk. Recommended quiet site.
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5.0/5
This was our first place we stayed at on our trip and did not disappoint.
Payed $10 per person per night (we only stayed one) into the honesty box. Toilets nice and close. There was no lights in there so just make sure you take a torch or your phone.
Very short walk down to the gorge and there is heaps of other walks around the camp ground. Just gorgeous
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4.0/5
Lovely place to stop and spend the night.
Main park had not opened when we stayed but still a good flat area to park. Beautiful sunny morning looking out over the river with breakfast. Kids love the rock down by the river. Many thrown in and a few cairns built. $10 per person very reasonable. Thanks
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4.5/5
$10 per person per night.
This was an outstanding campsite. We visited in winter, so the main campsite was closed (including the free hot showers and the laundry facilities). We had access to a small grassy part of the campsite and flushing toilets. Very nice, and would highly recommend. The views and small walk to the Gorge was well worth it.
