Timber Yard Point Lakeside Domain Camping Area
Lake Ellesmere
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Timber Yard Point Lakeside Domain Camping Area
Lake Ellesmere is New Zealand's fifth largest lake and has a huge biodiversity of birdlife. The lake is actually a lagoon covering 20,000 hectares and is a mix of fresh and salt water. The lake is surprisingly unknown and under used as a recreational resource. It is an awesome place for fishing, bird watching, walking, mountain biking and all types of water sports.
This site is the habitat of the Mayfly, which at different times of the year swarm in very large numbers.
They are not mosquitoes, nor do they bite or sting.
There are boat ramps and lake access all around the lake as well as a couple of camping/ picnic areas.
This is a designated freedom camping area supported by the Selwyn District Council. The Timber Yard Point Lakeside Domain can be found at Timber Yard Road, just off the Lake Road.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
Selwyn District CouncilCouncil organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch |
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Categories |
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Operating Season And Hours |
Year round. Open 24 hrs/day. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Basic Camping
Bird Watching
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
Technically free, although there is a donations box for those keeping the toilets clean.
For a free spot it's pretty great. Excellent clean flush toilets. Cold outdoor shower and cold water faucet available for personal hygiene. Plenty of space. Only downside is the mayflies but they ain't so bad.
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5.0/5
Perfect!
Spacious campground with beautiful views, very quiet. Clean toilets, an outdoor shower and a sink to wash dishes.
Don’t forget to leave a donation in the box!
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4.5/5
During the week, we stayed, and it was quiet.
What a super location
Only 5 other vehicles.
Lots of space near lake edge.
What a sunset and what a sunrise.
Awesome indeed.
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5.0/5
What a great place, nice clean toilets, even has a cold shower Huge lake which I got the paddle board out on Loads of room to park up
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4.5/5
This camp spot is much nice than the photos.
There are hundreds of spots here, we have a beautiful view of the sunset and lake. Toilet facility is fine and lots of area for kids to run, not much else so all in all it’s a fantastic spot for a free camp.
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5.0/5
Our first overnight trip away in our new camper.
I have to give Timber Yard Point a rating of 10 as I cannot fault it.
A beautiful setting, flat ground, plenty of space, quiet (at the time of our visit, I imagine it comes to life during the summer holidays!), clean flushing toilets, a cold shower, and it's all free.
We were on the south side of the grounds and well protected from the wind by the trees. Phone reception was a bit patchy where we were set up. Stunning sunset and sunrise over the lake!
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5.0/5
Lovely and quiet freedom campsite with loads of spaces.
We stayed here after picking up our camper van from Christchurch airport. There are toilets, sink and big trash bins. Great start to our holidays!
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3.5/5
Great place, lots of mosquitoes in the summer, plenty of space for vehicles.
Bathrooms with flush toilets and shower (!!) really great, yet shower cold water only.
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5.0/5
Very lovely spot!
Lots of space! And clean flush toilet - very nice!
It’s a great view too and flat so good for camping
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0.5/5
Travelled in September and it was absolutely full of mayflies.
Barely able to see infront of you due to the hundreds of thousands of bugs. Would NOT recommend at all unless you're coming to park only and have an internal kitchen, toilet, etc. Opened the door once to get in and out and dozens of bugs swarmed inside in seconds. Left soon after as we had a kitchenette outside only.
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2.5/5
Bzzzzzt.
Mayflies.
All the mayflies.
Seriously, there are mayflies.
They're not annoying until they're annoying, which is immediately. They don't bite, but they do make the sound of a thousand crazy chainsaws as you're trying to sleep.
In terms of facilities, plenty of space here for campers, a big grassy area with decent toilets (albeit full of mayflies). Also a big sink (full of mayflies) and a shower (cold and mayfly only).
Lovely spot, would stay again, but not in mayfly season ;)
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5.0/5
Technically free, although there is a donations box for those keeping the toilets clean.
For a free spot it's pretty great. Excellent clean flush toilets. Cold outdoor shower and cold water faucet available for personal hygiene. Plenty of space. Only downside is the mayflies but they ain't so bad.
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5.0/5
Perfect!
Spacious campground with beautiful views, very quiet. Clean toilets, an outdoor shower and a sink to wash dishes.
Don’t forget to leave a donation in the box!
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4.5/5
During the week, we stayed, and it was quiet.
What a super location
Only 5 other vehicles.
Lots of space near lake edge.
What a sunset and what a sunrise.
Awesome indeed.
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5.0/5
What a great place, nice clean toilets, even has a cold shower Huge lake which I got the paddle board out on Loads of room to park up
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4.5/5
This camp spot is much nice than the photos.
There are hundreds of spots here, we have a beautiful view of the sunset and lake. Toilet facility is fine and lots of area for kids to run, not much else so all in all it’s a fantastic spot for a free camp.
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5.0/5
Our first overnight trip away in our new camper.
I have to give Timber Yard Point a rating of 10 as I cannot fault it.
A beautiful setting, flat ground, plenty of space, quiet (at the time of our visit, I imagine it comes to life during the summer holidays!), clean flushing toilets, a cold shower, and it's all free.
We were on the south side of the grounds and well protected from the wind by the trees. Phone reception was a bit patchy where we were set up. Stunning sunset and sunrise over the lake!
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5.0/5
Lovely and quiet freedom campsite with loads of spaces.
We stayed here after picking up our camper van from Christchurch airport. There are toilets, sink and big trash bins. Great start to our holidays!
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3.5/5
Great place, lots of mosquitoes in the summer, plenty of space for vehicles.
Bathrooms with flush toilets and shower (!!) really great, yet shower cold water only.
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5.0/5
Very lovely spot!
Lots of space! And clean flush toilet - very nice!
It’s a great view too and flat so good for camping
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4.5/5
Honestly one of the best free campsites in all of New Zealand.
Lots of space, even good places to put your tent if you want to protect it from the wind. Very clean toilets, running water, rubbish bins, a cold shower… everything you need. Yes, there are many Mayflies (hence the 9/10), but at least they don’t bite and weren’t super annoying (we stayed there in November, it might be different in other months). Lovely view of the lake, you can’t swim in it tho
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0.5/5
Travelled in September and it was absolutely full of mayflies.
Barely able to see infront of you due to the hundreds of thousands of bugs. Would NOT recommend at all unless you're coming to park only and have an internal kitchen, toilet, etc. Opened the door once to get in and out and dozens of bugs swarmed inside in seconds. Left soon after as we had a kitchenette outside only.
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4.5/5
This place was a hidden gem if you like peace and quiet, we came in May 2023, loads of flies which is expected they don’t bite so don’t panic, great toilet block, fairly new I think, cold water but outside
shower and sink for washing up, toilets clean and had soap and paper, right next to water so be careful if it’s due to rain a lot, we walked all round to see if ground was waterlogged so knew to park further in , lots of people turning up but loads of room to park still.
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2.5/5
Bzzzzzt.
Mayflies.
All the mayflies.
Seriously, there are mayflies.
They're not annoying until they're annoying, which is immediately. They don't bite, but they do make the sound of a thousand crazy chainsaws as you're trying to sleep.
In terms of facilities, plenty of space here for campers, a big grassy area with decent toilets (albeit full of mayflies). Also a big sink (full of mayflies) and a shower (cold and mayfly only).
Lovely spot, would stay again, but not in mayfly season ;)
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3.5/5
Great free place just outside the city!
Clean flushing toilets and a sink with tap for washing dishes.
Marks off for sheer number of mayflies, they don’t bite but so annoying that we decided to cook inside. Make sure to bring your mosquito netting and minimise opening your doors.
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3.5/5
A good stay if heading towards Christchurch, free with nice facilities, a nice lake although no swimming
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4.5/5
Lovely place to stay.
Lawns mown and park rite next to water edge. But bring mosquitos spray tho
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2.5/5
Toilets are new.
Large area so easy to find a spot. There is a lot of what seem to be permanent set ups. The lake is toxic. We’re a few young people flying around on motorbikes and go karts. Didn’t enjoy
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3.0/5
Campgrounds are good, open fields with epic wind protection if needed.
The lake is contaminated with algae so you’re not actually meant to swim, don’t drive out here if you wanna dip! Nice toilets and very helpful ranger lady :) mayflys are everywhere but don’t bite so all sweet. The no swimming brings it down from a 8 to a 6
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4.0/5
Great place to get started out of the city.
Lots of space and atmos for all. Gorgeous sunset. No mozzies here -they are mayflies and don't bite!
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1.0/5
Massive place on the lake with great views.
We decided not to stay though, after driving around the site to look for a space, our camper was absolutely covered in huge mosquitoes, opted to go to Chamberlain's Ford instead which was definitely a good choice.
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4.0/5
Great place to park up for the night.
Good toilet facilities, picturesque lake for sunrise. Large space suitable for all vehicles. Points are off for the 100s thousands of midges!
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4.5/5
We spent 2 nights there.
Good spot nearby the lake. Lots of space. It was very windy, so no sandflies. We used the cold outdoor shower
beside the toilets one sunny morning. Would definitely return.
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4.0/5
Good free spot.
Large with lots of parking options, very close to lake. Flush toilets and outside cold shower.
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0.5/5
Beautiful place beset with mosquitos.
We arrived at 6pmish, and moved twice to find a spot without swarms of them. We had our van fully closed including all vents, but they were still finding their way in. We waited an hour to make sure the ones which kept on turning up didn’t get in from when we turned the gas on. But a new mozzie kept on appearing every 2-3 minutes. When we opened our blinds to drive away (finally at 9pm) we could not see through the windshield they were so dense. No wonder they were finding ways to get in. Perhaps a great place but not at the start of April...
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3.5/5
Nice campsite by the lake, large and quiet with clean flushing loos.
Mostly grassy so could get a bit boggy in the rain but was dry when we were there. Close to Christchurch if you have a flight the next day or have just flown in.
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3.5/5
Large area beside the lake, plenty of spaces and wind breaks planted to hide behind.
Which was needed when we were there due to the weather not being so great.
Toilets clean and as described, though we were in self-contained van so didn’t matter so much.
We only stopped here as an easy/close location after flying into Christchurch and collecting van that afternoon. Suited what we needed for a night stop-over perfectly.
Can imagine would be quite nice in good weather.
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4.5/5
Decent place to spend a night or two.
Plenty of space and the bathrooms were clean. The lake is pretty and there are some interesting birds to watch and listen to. Trees for hammocks and clean water on site. Seems like the road can be a place for tuner car kids to do burnouts and drive recklessly but if you're away from the road you'll be fine. Not sure how common that is.