Monkey Island, Orepuki
Overnight Campervan Parking and Walk
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Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
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Nau mai, haere mai
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Information
Monkey Island, Orepuki
Freedom campers are allowed to stay for up to 28 days per calendar year.
Monkey Island can be reached by foot at a low tide, and offers good views of the beach and distant mountains.
Be a good camper - keep your patch tidy, respect other users of the area, look after the resident flora and fauna (especially any monkeys) and enjoy!
Note - beware the hungry sandfly on on this coast; choose your weapon and keep it handy.
This is a council designated campsite.
http://www.southlanddc.govt.nz/my-southland/freedom-camping/
Walking Track
Timing
You can only cross to Monkey Island at low tide.
Access
Monkey Island is signposted between Colac Bay and Orepuki. Continue 1 km to the roadend where there are toilets and picnic benches by a small beach.
Track
You can only cross to Monkey Island at low tide.
A short stepped climb leads to a viewing platform.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
Southland District CouncilCouncil organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Tuatapere |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Freedom Camping
Walking
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
Really nice spot.
The island is cute and sunset is stunning. Quite a lot of space for campervans. Long drop toilets and rubbish.
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5.0/5
Great views, clean toilets, very quite, terrific for star gazing.
The only possible fault is that the bathrooms are lit with an external strip light that is very bright at night. Just avoid looking at it if you’re trying to admire the stars.
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5.0/5
One of our favourite spots to camp.
Clean loos, plenty of space but it does get busy. We snorkeled in the lagoon and saw some sea slugs, massive sea stars and collected mussels for tea. The sea here was calm enough to swim in and is very clear.
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5.0/5
Great location by a nice beach with great views.
Sunday night and about 6 vans here so plenty of space.
Two long drop toilet blocks at each end
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4.5/5
Mad spot here at monkey island.
A little gusty and rainy but otherwise mint as. Monkey island lookout at low tide is a neat little walk. Good people and fine company. Not to far from Orepuki tavern and beach cafe. Each with their helpful local knowledge and abundant tastes foryou to enjoy. Keep an eye out for seals. Will stay again.
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5.0/5
Awesome spot.
Beautiful view of the sea. Heaps of space. 4 toilets in total. Was fairly busy when we arrived at 6:45pm still plenty of space however. Will definitely come back.
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5.0/5
Such a great spot for beginner surfers!
Only downside is it’s popular so can be busy. We stayed twice, two weeks a part in January. First time was quieter and magical, second time much busier and we had a neighbour light a fire 3m from us and smoked us out of our camper (fires not permitted FYI).
- Toilets super clean long drops, cleaned daily in summer.
- No fresh water, bring what you need.
- Rubbish & recycling on site, although clearly most ppl suck at recycling or reading as the recycling bin was full of crap.
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4.5/5
One of the best free campsites I've visited in the country.
The camp site is nestled behind some low dunes, which help to protect tents from the wind. Toilets are well maintained and even have lights, which is a nice touch. The beach is lovely for a walk, and the island is neat to explore on low tide. If we had more time we would have stayed longer. Because of how popular it is it can be hard to find a spot during peak camping time.
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5.0/5
Really nice spot.
The island is cute and sunset is stunning. Quite a lot of space for campervans. Long drop toilets and rubbish.
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5.0/5
Great views, clean toilets, very quite, terrific for star gazing.
The only possible fault is that the bathrooms are lit with an external strip light that is very bright at night. Just avoid looking at it if you’re trying to admire the stars.
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5.0/5
One of our favourite spots to camp.
Clean loos, plenty of space but it does get busy. We snorkeled in the lagoon and saw some sea slugs, massive sea stars and collected mussels for tea. The sea here was calm enough to swim in and is very clear.
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5.0/5
Great location by a nice beach with great views.
Sunday night and about 6 vans here so plenty of space.
Two long drop toilet blocks at each end
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4.5/5
Mad spot here at monkey island.
A little gusty and rainy but otherwise mint as. Monkey island lookout at low tide is a neat little walk. Good people and fine company. Not to far from Orepuki tavern and beach cafe. Each with their helpful local knowledge and abundant tastes foryou to enjoy. Keep an eye out for seals. Will stay again.
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5.0/5
Awesome spot.
Beautiful view of the sea. Heaps of space. 4 toilets in total. Was fairly busy when we arrived at 6:45pm still plenty of space however. Will definitely come back.
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5.0/5
Such a great spot for beginner surfers!
Only downside is it’s popular so can be busy. We stayed twice, two weeks a part in January. First time was quieter and magical, second time much busier and we had a neighbour light a fire 3m from us and smoked us out of our camper (fires not permitted FYI).
- Toilets super clean long drops, cleaned daily in summer.
- No fresh water, bring what you need.
- Rubbish & recycling on site, although clearly most ppl suck at recycling or reading as the recycling bin was full of crap.
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4.5/5
One of the best free campsites I've visited in the country.
The camp site is nestled behind some low dunes, which help to protect tents from the wind. Toilets are well maintained and even have lights, which is a nice touch. The beach is lovely for a walk, and the island is neat to explore on low tide. If we had more time we would have stayed longer. Because of how popular it is it can be hard to find a spot during peak camping time.
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4.5/5
A great place to stay.
Clean toilets too. If you are into kai moana there is plenty (mussels, paua) and have a go at fishing, you may catch something. The weather was great so there was quite a few parked up. Well done Southland.
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3.5/5
Basic campground with two drop toilets but good for a night or two to save on camping fees.
There are a few grassy nooks which suit two small vans or a big van and some tents otherwise the majority of parking is in a gravel lot. This place is packed most of the time so best to get there earlier in the afternoon.
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2.0/5
Very nice beach but very full car park type campsite.
When we stayed some local youths (non-campers) arrived very late and parked very close to us in their cars. They had a big bonfire, lots of very loud music played out of car speakers and lots of drinking. They then lit bangers and fireworks near to our vehicle and we had to move because of this. If you want to sleep then avoid here! We were parked in one of the grassy spaces as you come in so probably better to be next to lots of other cars in the main section for safety.
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4.0/5
Very nice spot with lovely beach.
Drop toilets were the cleanest I’ve ever seen, thanks to a friendly lady who came to maintain them. Crowded. I was annoyed to see someone had left a wad of toilet paper on the ground and had clearly peed there. For God’s sake, use the toilet! It’s not rocket science! Not too windy and no sand flies.
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5.0/5
What a spectacle!
We reversed to the dune to have a great view of the beach from our dining area. The weather was rainy and windy with intermittent sunshine for a very scenic evening. Visiting the island at low tide was also fun.
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4.5/5
Loved it!
Good for kids. When the tide is low, you can walk to Monkey Island and the view is stunning. It has sandflies but for me it wasn’t a issue however, keep you insects repellent near! It was difficult to sleep with the noise of the waves, people singing on the beach, and a strange noise coming from a farm ( it looked like a machine??? Cows???). The toilets was clean, but early in the morning it was smelly. Soon came a friendly lady to clean.
PS: respect our environment! Use the toilets!
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4.5/5
Beautiful free campsite right next to the beach.
Be aware of strong winds, though. We ended up not staying the night because our tent got almost blown away (even though we had found a protected spot behind the flax). Went to another site 15 minutes inland, where the wind was no problem at all. Wouldn't recommend it for tenting except on a real quiet day.
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3.5/5
ok if its not blowing, it can almost blow your vehicle over, only annoying thing is people not slowing down when driving on shingle road
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3.5/5
Stayed here one night in a tent.
It's a basic free campsite. There's a picnic table and shelter -- we greatly appreciated the shelter for cooking as it was blowing a gale and raining on and off. There is a tap, however the (rain?) water was the colour of tea so we didn't use it!
It's a picturesque spot and as we arrived at low tide we enjoyed exploring Monkey Island. Obviously we were not the only ones enjoying it as the campsite was pretty full up by nightfall.
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4.0/5
Lovely spot by the bay.
Can stroll to Monkey Island and beach is beautiful. Site stretches alongside the bay so if you’re further away toilets are a little walk but no bother.
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4.0/5
Good spot!
2 long drop toilets, both clean. Nice beach for a short morning stroll with that first cuppa.
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4.0/5
Great Freedom Camping spot.
Very nice location directly by the beach and the ocean. Two drop toilets.
Even in autumn quite a number of people and vehicles present, so get here early especially in the main tourist season. Stunning view of the ocean and the small monkey island. It's a really great place to stay and camp with the sound of the ocean.
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4.5/5
Nice spot right beside the ocean, but protected from the wind.
Clean long drop toilets (2x) and big rubbish bins. Just 700m gravel road to the side. Awesome sunset.
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4.0/5
A beautiful spot, very popular and not that big so everyone is side by side.
Gorgeous sunset. Toilets stank so your eyes hurt by evening after a sunny day.
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4.5/5
Different beach camping.
A bit hippie but nice. Taps, but not drinkable water. Very charming!
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4.0/5
Busy place but we found a spot for the night.
Set up our table and chairs in a small raised bluff beside where our camper was parked so stunning views of sunset. Very clean and well attended toilet. Dolphins swam by in the Southern Ocean in the morning. Quite a nice spot.
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5.0/5
Two drop toilets and a shelter for washing/cooking etc.
Amazing beach views. Plenty of space but it seemed to be a popular spot. Facilities to throw rubbish. Definitely our favourite freedom camping at the half way point in our trip! Had a really nice vibe and a great sunset. Well signposted.
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5.0/5
Really lovely spot right on the beach front with loads of space for camping and campervans.
Bit of a gravel track off the road but worth it. Clean drop toilets too!
