Papatowai Campsite
Catlins coastal area
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Papatowai Campsite
This is a standard campsite in the Coastal Otago area on the Catlins coast is nestled in the bush. It has easy access to the beautiful beach and estuary at Papatowai, and there are short walks nearby.
This campsite at Papatowai on the Catlins coast is nestled in the bush. It has easy access to the beautiful beach and estuary, and there are short walks nearby.
DOC Campsite Pricing
Papatowai Campsite is categorised as a DOC Standard Campsite. The following pricing indicates usual pricing. Prices vary for some campsites and may include seasonal pricing. Visit the DOC website for exact pricing.
DOC Standard Campsite
Standard campsites have a more limited range of facilities and services than Serviced campsites. These campsites have toilets, a water supply that could be treated or untreated tap water, or from a stream or lake, and vehicle or boat access. Bring your own soap for washing hands. Untreated water should be boiled before use to ensure it's safe. Wood BBQs and fireplaces, cold showers, picnic tables, a cooking shelter and rubbish bins may be provided; this will vary from site to site.
| Feature | Value | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Unpowered Site | Adult | $10.00 to $15.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $5.00 to $7.50 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 |
Dunedin DOC Visitor CentreLocal government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Papatowai |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Basic Camping
Google Maps
Reviews
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Clean campsite with toilets / cooking space.
RosieW -
Not much shadow despite plenty of bushes.
Karina Gratz -
Big open campsite on the grass.
Carol Brislane -
Amazing spot.
CB -
Great spot super close to the beach.
Jesse Leake
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We stayed over Labour Weekend for 1 night, and we'd love to come back at another time.
On this occasion, we knew there was no running water in the area after the storm, but because the DOC website said non-flush toilets we thought they would be long drops. However, they are flush toilets and so they were unusable on this particular weekend, which was unfortunate. It would be good for the details online to be updated.
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Quiet place.
Lots of grass. We were afraid that there would be a problem with the departure after the rain, but you have to be a little clever and find a less wet area. There are also a few gravel spots. Clean toilets. Kitchen available without equipment. No signal, but there is free wifi at the shop at the entrance to the campsite.
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Large grassy pretty flat site where you decide where to pitch.
Green but no views. Short walk to estuary direct from the site .Basic toilet block with cold water and only one of the loos had any paper left. No potable water or bins. The cafe is nice but closes for food at 3.30. The gypsy automata museum.us5 mins walk away and is brilliant. Worth paying the 10$ to see all the exhibits. Very nice bush walk along old possumers track just over the bridge, returning via beach and old coach road track. Took us about 1.5 hours lots of sandflies so we didn't sit outside the van but then again we're puny English. The ozzies and new Zealanders did. Didn't see the sea lions😔
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Wide-open grassy campground, family friendly, easy access to the beach, nice facilities, a little store, and good vibes!
Wonderful, safe, friendly spot!
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Great spot super close to the beach.
We tent camped here during a very stormy night and found that there was some surprisingly good bush to protect from the wind. The sights are mostly grass and despite arriving late we were able to find a nice private spot to pitch our tent. Also has a cook shelter, water that needs boiling, and toilets. The convenience store and restaurant at the entrance to the campsite was amazing
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Great little place.
Clean basic kitchen for washing up dishes. No cooking facility. Easy access to estuary. Peaceful.
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After being at Purakaunui Bay for a few nights we headed 20 minutes south to Papatowai.
The campground is fabulous. Really nice little pockets of level, sheltered ground. We pick a corner site so our doggies wouldn’t go mental when people walked past. The easy stroll to the estuary and out to the ocean was fantastic. The toilet/kitchen block was clean. A bonus having a store and food truck onsite. Have to be my new fav place for the moment.
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Has the best Longdrop loo ever!!
I know! But it’s great. Worth a visit just for that experience!
Also lovely quiet site in a great estuary setting.
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Amazing spot.
Plenty of room to camp and flushable toilets and an indoor cooking area. The river is right next to you and at low/mid tide the ocean beach is accessible. Listen for sea lions!
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Real nice clean camping with flush toilets and nice grassy spots to set up a tent.
It is quite small and seemed very popular so be on time. We got one of the last available spots arriving at 6pm. Great base for discovering the Catlins area. Gas pump up front if your low on gas and even a campsite store that has everything you might need. 10/10 would recommend staying here.
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Fabulous spot elephant seals lolloung about and stunning calm even rolling waves when i was there.
Clean longdrop toilet
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Clean campsite with toilets / cooking space.
Access to estuary and beach from the campsite very much enjoyed. There is a corner store at the entrance to the campsite - a rare sight in the Catlins area. (Wasn't open in sep.22 off season)
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Not the place to go for a quiet New Years.
Packed in like sardines, very unpleasant for a solo female traveler. Heaps of out of control uni students. Fireworks going off right next to my camper for two hours. Obviously a free for all, do as you like site. If everyone had paid, DOC would have done well but I find it hard to believe they allow fireworks at their sites.
Beautiful surroundings and beach.
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This is a fantastic basic campsite with flushing loos and a kitchen area plus shelter for BYO BBQ.
All were cleaned daily by friendly DOC staff. We had a flat site with trees surrounding that gave some privacy and shelter from the wind. There is no potable water so come prepared. Payment options include online or cash onsite at the registration booth.
Don't come thinking you can buy supplies as it's not currently open and the owner indicated she isn't planning on reopening it in the immediate future. However, you can by fuel using card facility.
Highly recommend a visit to the lost gypsy and coffee cart which are a short walk away as well as the estuary and beach/forest walks.
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Great stop off on way through Catlin's.
The campsite has good amenities for a DOC site (proper flushing toilets etc) including a kitchen space and a few benches around the grounds. The local village has a few stores and cafe which are normally open during peak periods.
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Nice and quiet site, out the way.
Was there at start of season, with a few people just arriving to settle for a few days, but with the space available everyone was very spread out. Good basic facilities, toilets and indoor seating area.
Nice beach to walk along, with track directly down from campsite. Had fun wandering through village spotting all the home made postboxes.
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Lovely, green grassy spot.
Plenty of spaces but some sloping sites - finding a flat spot would be difficult in busy periods. We were there in shoulder season so it was only us and about 3 others! Facilities pretty old but clean. General store and fuel at entrance and short walks to beach nearby.
Only $8 per person - can’t complain!
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one of the best doc sites we have eher seen.
lot of space and really good facilities. a cooking shelter ja available. 8$ per person is ok and much better than the scenic docs without everything
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We stayed over Labour Weekend for 1 night, and we'd love to come back at another time.
On this occasion, we knew there was no running water in the area after the storm, but because the DOC website said non-flush toilets we thought they would be long drops. However, they are flush toilets and so they were unusable on this particular weekend, which was unfortunate. It would be good for the details online to be updated.
-
Quiet place.
Lots of grass. We were afraid that there would be a problem with the departure after the rain, but you have to be a little clever and find a less wet area. There are also a few gravel spots. Clean toilets. Kitchen available without equipment. No signal, but there is free wifi at the shop at the entrance to the campsite.
-
Large grassy pretty flat site where you decide where to pitch.
Green but no views. Short walk to estuary direct from the site .Basic toilet block with cold water and only one of the loos had any paper left. No potable water or bins. The cafe is nice but closes for food at 3.30. The gypsy automata museum.us5 mins walk away and is brilliant. Worth paying the 10$ to see all the exhibits. Very nice bush walk along old possumers track just over the bridge, returning via beach and old coach road track. Took us about 1.5 hours lots of sandflies so we didn't sit outside the van but then again we're puny English. The ozzies and new Zealanders did. Didn't see the sea lions😔
-
Wide-open grassy campground, family friendly, easy access to the beach, nice facilities, a little store, and good vibes!
Wonderful, safe, friendly spot!
-
Great spot super close to the beach.
We tent camped here during a very stormy night and found that there was some surprisingly good bush to protect from the wind. The sights are mostly grass and despite arriving late we were able to find a nice private spot to pitch our tent. Also has a cook shelter, water that needs boiling, and toilets. The convenience store and restaurant at the entrance to the campsite was amazing
-
Great little place.
Clean basic kitchen for washing up dishes. No cooking facility. Easy access to estuary. Peaceful.
-
After being at Purakaunui Bay for a few nights we headed 20 minutes south to Papatowai.
The campground is fabulous. Really nice little pockets of level, sheltered ground. We pick a corner site so our doggies wouldn’t go mental when people walked past. The easy stroll to the estuary and out to the ocean was fantastic. The toilet/kitchen block was clean. A bonus having a store and food truck onsite. Have to be my new fav place for the moment.
-
Has the best Longdrop loo ever!!
I know! But it’s great. Worth a visit just for that experience!
Also lovely quiet site in a great estuary setting.
-
Amazing spot.
Plenty of room to camp and flushable toilets and an indoor cooking area. The river is right next to you and at low/mid tide the ocean beach is accessible. Listen for sea lions!
-
Real nice clean camping with flush toilets and nice grassy spots to set up a tent.
It is quite small and seemed very popular so be on time. We got one of the last available spots arriving at 6pm. Great base for discovering the Catlins area. Gas pump up front if your low on gas and even a campsite store that has everything you might need. 10/10 would recommend staying here.
-
Fabulous spot elephant seals lolloung about and stunning calm even rolling waves when i was there.
Clean longdrop toilet
-
Clean campsite with toilets / cooking space.
Access to estuary and beach from the campsite very much enjoyed. There is a corner store at the entrance to the campsite - a rare sight in the Catlins area. (Wasn't open in sep.22 off season)
-
Not the place to go for a quiet New Years.
Packed in like sardines, very unpleasant for a solo female traveler. Heaps of out of control uni students. Fireworks going off right next to my camper for two hours. Obviously a free for all, do as you like site. If everyone had paid, DOC would have done well but I find it hard to believe they allow fireworks at their sites.
Beautiful surroundings and beach.
-
This is a fantastic basic campsite with flushing loos and a kitchen area plus shelter for BYO BBQ.
All were cleaned daily by friendly DOC staff. We had a flat site with trees surrounding that gave some privacy and shelter from the wind. There is no potable water so come prepared. Payment options include online or cash onsite at the registration booth.
Don't come thinking you can buy supplies as it's not currently open and the owner indicated she isn't planning on reopening it in the immediate future. However, you can by fuel using card facility.
Highly recommend a visit to the lost gypsy and coffee cart which are a short walk away as well as the estuary and beach/forest walks.
-
Great stop off on way through Catlin's.
The campsite has good amenities for a DOC site (proper flushing toilets etc) including a kitchen space and a few benches around the grounds. The local village has a few stores and cafe which are normally open during peak periods.
-
Nice and quiet site, out the way.
Was there at start of season, with a few people just arriving to settle for a few days, but with the space available everyone was very spread out. Good basic facilities, toilets and indoor seating area.
Nice beach to walk along, with track directly down from campsite. Had fun wandering through village spotting all the home made postboxes.
-
Lovely, green grassy spot.
Plenty of spaces but some sloping sites - finding a flat spot would be difficult in busy periods. We were there in shoulder season so it was only us and about 3 others! Facilities pretty old but clean. General store and fuel at entrance and short walks to beach nearby.
Only $8 per person - can’t complain!
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one of the best doc sites we have eher seen.
lot of space and really good facilities. a cooking shelter ja available. 8$ per person is ok and much better than the scenic docs without everything
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Reasonably priced campsite, $8 per person, plenty of flush toilets, you can disregard the previous comment about being pit toilets.
Running water with nice roomy washing up facilities. Nice, green, grassy spots. Not too many lights.
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Great site with epic beaches views and the best smelling drop toilet I might have ever encountered.
Only downside were all the people who showed up late with their blinding headlights and then left without paying. Shame on them. If you want to enjoy a nice beach with nice toilets please pay the measly $8.