Fox River Freedom Camping Area
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Fox River Freedom Camping Area
Welcome to Fox River/Potikohua
Our community consider ourselves fortunate to be kaitiaki / guardians of this pristine forest, river and ocean
environment. We want you to enjoy our place as much as we do, so rather than leave no trace, please leave it
better for the locals and visitors that will follow in your footsteps.
Throughout the beautiful Buller / Kawatiri District freedom camping areas like this one are provided to assist in
the preservation of our stunning coast and inland forest areas. Please use these sites and their facilities to
protect the environment for those who live here, our visitors, and future generations to come.
Only those travelling in a CERTIFIED SELF CONTAINED CAMPER (in accordance with NZS 5465:2001) can freedom camp in the Buller District.
That means the vehicle has to be equipped with a minimum three day capacity toilet and grey-water storage facility.
Even then, freedom camping is encouraged for no more than two consecutive nights in one place and a maximum of nine nights per calendar month.
You can do your part to help keep this place beautiful by:
Keeping your stay to a maximum of 2 nights
Using the toilets provided
Not washing directly in the river. If you need water for washing please collect it from the river, and
dispose of in your vehicle waste system
Only staying overnight in the designated area, as shown on the map
Respecting those you share the site with. Please keep noise to a minimum, and your gear well
contained
Keeping access ways clear for other users
Calling 111 in the event of a fire. Open fires are prohibited at this site.
Rubbish bins for disposal are available in Punakaiki, Westport, Hector, Karamea and Reefton. If the
bins are full, please take your rubbish elsewhere as the local birdlife love to spread bags of rubbish
around.
Dump stations are available on The Esplanade in Westport, The Strand in Reefton and at the Cobden
Bridge in Greymouth.
For more information about freedom camping in the Buller District please head to
http://bullerdc.govt.nz/freedom-camping-in-buller. Enjoy your stay and thank you for respecting our
environment.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
Buller District CouncilCouncil organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Punakaiki |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Directions Westport Office |
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Coordinates |
Freedom Camping
Nearby
Reviews
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2.0/5
Sandflies!!!
🫨🫨🫨😩😩😩😩
Facilities were ok, a lot of space. There was a coffee truck in the morning.
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4.5/5
Lots of space here, there were about 20 vans here by the end of the night with maybe room for a few more.
The tent next door has wifi but it doesn’t quite stretch into the car park (pw - pleasecleanup). Just across the road from a beautiful beach. 2 toilets but had no soap when we were there. No drinking water. Would be a 10/10 free camping spot if not for the amount of sandflies.
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4.5/5
Simple but nice campsite.
We didn't do any, but it seems to also be a starting point for some beautiful hikes.
Tent does have wifi, you need to be a bit closer (password: pleasecleanup).
Toilets were clean, no lights during the night. In the morning the water ran out I guess, so couldn't wash hands after toilet use.
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4.0/5
Really nice spot, directly at the river.
Gets really busy, especialy in the morning when the coffee seller is there. A lot of day hikers coming and going, so more of a parking than Camping over the day. Bad as sandflies!
Toilets where okay , Just in the morning there was a really bad Ammoniak smell , couldnt breathe at all , toilet was Not usable. But there a two of them...
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4.0/5
Nice gravel campsite with droptoilets, which are clean and tidy.
Take your insect repellent because of the sandflies! It's next to a creek and close to the beach, so perfect to take a stroll.
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4.5/5
Got here a little late and left early, and it was raining the whole time so I didn't get to explore the nearby beaches or hiking tracks, but it's a nice spacious carpark in what seemed like a gorgeous
area. Toilets were pretty clean and there weren't nearly as many sandflies as I expected. I also just about had phone signal with it jumping between 1 and 0 bars.
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4.5/5
Great location.
On the beach and river. Little Sunday market in the adjoining car park. But arrive early to get a spot as it's a busy one. Also only 2 toilets and no drinking water we could find.
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3.5/5
Place is okay, nice market right next to it where you can sit when its rainibg.
Wifi password is pleasecleanup
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5.0/5
Sehr schöner geräumiger Parkplatz, keine maximale Anzahl an Campern.
Am Abend sind einige Sandflys unterwegs. Es regnete die ganze Nacht sehr stark, Vorsicht! Bei anhaltendem Regen kann der Parkplatz überflutet werden.
Am Morgen kam ein mobiler Kaffeewagen vorbei, der dort laut der Aussage des Inhabers täglich halt macht. Ein super Spot an der Westküste!
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4.5/5
Lovely surroundings by the river.
Insect repellant is a must have since they are so many sandflies. They are toilets but no water. Nice market on a Sunday with coffee and food. There is also a big walk starting from this place.
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2.0/5
Sandflies!!!
🫨🫨🫨😩😩😩😩
Facilities were ok, a lot of space. There was a coffee truck in the morning.
-
4.5/5
Lots of space here, there were about 20 vans here by the end of the night with maybe room for a few more.
The tent next door has wifi but it doesn’t quite stretch into the car park (pw - pleasecleanup). Just across the road from a beautiful beach. 2 toilets but had no soap when we were there. No drinking water. Would be a 10/10 free camping spot if not for the amount of sandflies.
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4.5/5
Simple but nice campsite.
We didn't do any, but it seems to also be a starting point for some beautiful hikes.
Tent does have wifi, you need to be a bit closer (password: pleasecleanup).
Toilets were clean, no lights during the night. In the morning the water ran out I guess, so couldn't wash hands after toilet use.
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4.0/5
Really nice spot, directly at the river.
Gets really busy, especialy in the morning when the coffee seller is there. A lot of day hikers coming and going, so more of a parking than Camping over the day. Bad as sandflies!
Toilets where okay , Just in the morning there was a really bad Ammoniak smell , couldnt breathe at all , toilet was Not usable. But there a two of them...
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4.0/5
Nice gravel campsite with droptoilets, which are clean and tidy.
Take your insect repellent because of the sandflies! It's next to a creek and close to the beach, so perfect to take a stroll.
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4.5/5
Got here a little late and left early, and it was raining the whole time so I didn't get to explore the nearby beaches or hiking tracks, but it's a nice spacious carpark in what seemed like a gorgeous
area. Toilets were pretty clean and there weren't nearly as many sandflies as I expected. I also just about had phone signal with it jumping between 1 and 0 bars.
-
4.5/5
Great location.
On the beach and river. Little Sunday market in the adjoining car park. But arrive early to get a spot as it's a busy one. Also only 2 toilets and no drinking water we could find.
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3.5/5
Place is okay, nice market right next to it where you can sit when its rainibg.
Wifi password is pleasecleanup
-
5.0/5
Sehr schöner geräumiger Parkplatz, keine maximale Anzahl an Campern.
Am Abend sind einige Sandflys unterwegs. Es regnete die ganze Nacht sehr stark, Vorsicht! Bei anhaltendem Regen kann der Parkplatz überflutet werden.
Am Morgen kam ein mobiler Kaffeewagen vorbei, der dort laut der Aussage des Inhabers täglich halt macht. Ein super Spot an der Westküste!
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4.5/5
Lovely surroundings by the river.
Insect repellant is a must have since they are so many sandflies. They are toilets but no water. Nice market on a Sunday with coffee and food. There is also a big walk starting from this place.
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4.0/5
Very nice scenery around.
There's the beach and river in walking distance which is nice for a stroll especially because the reception is very on and off. Mostly quiet except we were here on a Wednesday night and the market area next door had loud music at night but stopped at a reasonable time. There are sandflies also.
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4.0/5
A very basic but functional campsite.
Drop toilets are modern and very clean. Beach access is across the street. Another plus: coffee and snacks provided by local every morning, very sweet!
Only two things that bothered me:
- Wi-Fi didn’t work
- drop toilets are dark at night so you have to take your own light
Other than that very good!
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4.0/5
Very cute spot, nice view and positioned close to some of the best lansdscapes I've seen.
Basic site with a long drop toilet.
Mingle with the locals on Wednesday nights, theh are very welcoming and a lot of fun
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5.0/5
Just excellent, and a real gem.
Bathrooms are great, parking is abundant, and tenting is allowed.
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5.0/5
Great place to stay on the river .
They have markets here every weekend on a Sunday. Coffee Van, and shop and a bar inside were markets are held
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5.0/5
Awesome spot.
Quiet and sheltered. Local guy Andy comes in about 9.30am each day with his coffee and food truck accompanied by Peanut his friendly dog. Nice walking track up to The Ballroom, 5 1/2 hours return with 8 river crossings each way. Clean toilets and not a lot of sandflies.
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3.5/5
Nice little spot next to the river.
Free wifi always a bonus. Gravel carpark which was pretty flooded with the heavy rain. Very short walk to very clean toilets but they were long drops :/ quiet spot. Except on Wednesdays when the little pub next door has open mic night. We had bonus fireworks set off in the rain as well.
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4.0/5
A fairly sheltered gravel car park beside the river across the road from the beach.
Excellent toilets and free wifi. Nice walks up the river or along the beach. A great nights stay.
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5.0/5
Free WiFi, clean bathrooms.
Beautiful beach and sunset. Amazing community of folks that stopped through. Knowledgeable and friendly host with coffee cart.
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5.0/5
Great spot by the river & beach.
Coffee cart with a great local who gave amazing advice.
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2.5/5
Very very crowded Freedom camp so get there really early as many people had to give up trying to find a spot.
It’s a car park and we camped along the fence. 2 clean long drop toilets and convenient for black water rafting from Charleston (which was amazing). The Sunday market next to the campsite was fun, full of local artisans.
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2.5/5
Basic gravel "car park" - No facilities.
Short walk to a lovely, deserted beach
The biggest problem was the large number of sandflies - our first encounter....
The old Fox River Bridge has been restored and pedestrian access is possible. I believe the old road tunnel is at the far end, but the sandflies prevented me from venturing that far!
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3.5/5
No facilities but fine for a stopover and very handy for the excellent Fox River walk.
Bring a torch for the cave at the end, well worth it!
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