Kawatiri Beach Reserve – Westport
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Kawatiri Beach Reserve – Westport
Welcome to the Kawatiri Beach Reserve
The Kawatiri Beach Reserve is the result of thousands of hours of volunteer labour from Westport residents.
We want you to enjoy this place as much as we do, so rather than leave no trace, please leave it better for the
us and the 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.
You can do your part to help keep this place beautiful by:
Keeping your stay to a maximum of 2 nights
Using the toilet and rubbish bins provided. If the bins are full, please take your rubbish to another bin
elsewhere to prevent the local birdlife from spreading your rubbish far and wide
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. Please ensure any bonfire sites are clear of rubbish before you leave
them.
Rubbish bins for disposal are available in Punakaiki, Westport, Hector, Karamea and Reefton.
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 |
DOC West CoastCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Westport |
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Categories |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Freedom Camping
Nearby
Reviews
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3.0/5
Spot ok.
Just one long drop toilet and its smell really bad. Nice beach and walks around. You can see Wekas, so cute.
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5.0/5
Great spot very Close to the beach.
No sandflies! Just one toilet, but cleaned every day (thanks!). A Lot of lovely wekas around. No Limit of Cars and a nice Camping feeling. Just the lokals are driving in there like crazy! don't let your kids run around on the gravel Road...
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3.5/5
A very popular spot.
We got the last of 30 spots at around 8pm. Well marked but fairly close to neighbours. Driftwood beach 5 minutes walk. Quite a bit of local traffic to beach with a few noisy ones. Would definitely stay again if in the area.
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4.5/5
Good spot.
I agree to some of previous mentioned but would like to provide personal opinion on some matters:
“WEKA” looks like a brown chicken or kiwi, google it.
They are very friendly and harmless I would think, but just like seagulls this cheeky bastard like to beg for food. They got closer to our van but just that. They are always around waiting if some food drops or something is close enough for them to take it.
Toilet: just ONE! And the smell can be disgusting if people forget to close the toilet, it is a long drop so close it after it. Easyass.
The beach is sand based but plenty of wood around and some people make bondfire.
There are 30 spots to stay overnight, there’s a map at the beginning so everything is very clear for you to find the right spot.
For me it looked like a dirty beach, but after some hours I just saw it as nature being not that pretty hehehe!
Anyways, hope this helps.
Pd:
Wekas weren’t loud in the morning or anything. Good nice sleep.
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4.0/5
Beautiful spot - sheltered from the wind by the tall shrubs.
Can enjoy a beach walk or sunrise or sunset easily. Would be nicer if it was a flush toilet but the toilet was very clean. Shower a short drive away at the aquatic center.
-
0.5/5
Great spot, good toilet.
Someone has dumped roosters there and they start crowing at 4am!!! They need to be removed!
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4.5/5
Great spot, spent 2 nights here.
Marked bays for each camper, close to the beach with great sunsets. Only 1 toilet so there can be a queue, but it was clean. Wekas hopping in and out of vans so hold on tight to your food
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4.5/5
good der Camping site with a longdrop.
Toilette was clean and not too smelly.
only 30 sites and is quite popular, gets full very quickly.
-
4.0/5
Right next to the beach.
Toilet on site was clean but smelly if people didn’t close the lid - not very useful on a humid afternoon/evening.
Cockerel on site to wake everyone up.
The beach had bluebottle jellyfish so couldn’t swim.
Otherwise a nice spot, felt safe although it got very busy after 6pm.
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5.0/5
One of my favourite free sites, chill vibes, really close to the beach, lovely wekas and most importantly not too many sandflies!
The toilet is clean and sometimes smelly but really depends on the guests closing the lid.
Pretty basic but waking up with coffee on the beach and a quick dip is priceless
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4.5/5
A nice, free camping area.
Toilet was clean but a bit smelly. Comes with a free alarm clockrell! Felt very safe here.
-
5.0/5
Just what I like in a Freedom camping spot.
Very clean longdrop, outdoor picnic table under shelter, the only noise are the crashing waves, parking surrounded by native plants.
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3.0/5
Spot ok.
Just one long drop toilet and its smell really bad. Nice beach and walks around. You can see Wekas, so cute.
-
5.0/5
Great spot very Close to the beach.
No sandflies! Just one toilet, but cleaned every day (thanks!). A Lot of lovely wekas around. No Limit of Cars and a nice Camping feeling. Just the lokals are driving in there like crazy! don't let your kids run around on the gravel Road...
-
3.5/5
A very popular spot.
We got the last of 30 spots at around 8pm. Well marked but fairly close to neighbours. Driftwood beach 5 minutes walk. Quite a bit of local traffic to beach with a few noisy ones. Would definitely stay again if in the area.
-
4.5/5
Good spot.
I agree to some of previous mentioned but would like to provide personal opinion on some matters:
“WEKA” looks like a brown chicken or kiwi, google it.
They are very friendly and harmless I would think, but just like seagulls this cheeky bastard like to beg for food. They got closer to our van but just that. They are always around waiting if some food drops or something is close enough for them to take it.
Toilet: just ONE! And the smell can be disgusting if people forget to close the toilet, it is a long drop so close it after it. Easyass.
The beach is sand based but plenty of wood around and some people make bondfire.
There are 30 spots to stay overnight, there’s a map at the beginning so everything is very clear for you to find the right spot.
For me it looked like a dirty beach, but after some hours I just saw it as nature being not that pretty hehehe!
Anyways, hope this helps.
Pd:
Wekas weren’t loud in the morning or anything. Good nice sleep.
-
4.0/5
Beautiful spot - sheltered from the wind by the tall shrubs.
Can enjoy a beach walk or sunrise or sunset easily. Would be nicer if it was a flush toilet but the toilet was very clean. Shower a short drive away at the aquatic center.
-
0.5/5
Great spot, good toilet.
Someone has dumped roosters there and they start crowing at 4am!!! They need to be removed!
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0.5/5
This is a perfect example of how freedom campers are not the problem.
Locals of the area have zero respect for the beach and surrounding area. Look in any bush and you'll find dozens of empty bottles, washing machines. Deodorant cans that have been lit. Piles of household waste. This isn't isolated to this freedom camping spot. This is the whole of this coastline going all the way up into deniston. A shame that such unevolved people are let to free roam.
One star for good toilets.
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0.5/5
Nice place other than the 2 fires that must have been intentionally lit.
Wasn’t the first night this had happened either
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4.5/5
Great spot, spent 2 nights here.
Marked bays for each camper, close to the beach with great sunsets. Only 1 toilet so there can be a queue, but it was clean. Wekas hopping in and out of vans so hold on tight to your food
-
4.5/5
good der Camping site with a longdrop.
Toilette was clean and not too smelly.
only 30 sites and is quite popular, gets full very quickly.
-
4.0/5
Right next to the beach.
Toilet on site was clean but smelly if people didn’t close the lid - not very useful on a humid afternoon/evening.
Cockerel on site to wake everyone up.
The beach had bluebottle jellyfish so couldn’t swim.
Otherwise a nice spot, felt safe although it got very busy after 6pm.
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5.0/5
One of my favourite free sites, chill vibes, really close to the beach, lovely wekas and most importantly not too many sandflies!
The toilet is clean and sometimes smelly but really depends on the guests closing the lid.
Pretty basic but waking up with coffee on the beach and a quick dip is priceless
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4.5/5
A nice, free camping area.
Toilet was clean but a bit smelly. Comes with a free alarm clockrell! Felt very safe here.
-
5.0/5
Just what I like in a Freedom camping spot.
Very clean longdrop, outdoor picnic table under shelter, the only noise are the crashing waves, parking surrounded by native plants.
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4.0/5
Nice spot next to the beach .
Very busy. Would recommend getting in early as it was packed when we arrived at around 6:30. Toilets are clean and close. There’s two parking spots. One to the right and one to the left. Was a few loud vehicles driving fast a bit later on at night but didn’t phase us. Would definitely come back again.
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5.0/5
Beautiful spot with lots of places to park up.
The toilet is a long drop but it was very clean and not smelly. Stunning beach and nice views all around.
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5.0/5
This spot was wonderful.
It's right on a great beach for swimming which is also perfect to take little ones to. Would highly recommend if you're in the area. This is somewhere we would love to come back to!
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4.5/5
This was a fantastic place to stay.
Not quite flat but pretty close to it. Very close to the beach. Rooster was annoying in the morning though.
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4.5/5
Lovely wee spot with numbered sites, right next to the beach.
A covered picnic area and clean modern long drop are beside it. It's very close to. Westport it's also nice and sheltered from the wind.
As other reviews mentioned there are plenty of Weka about as well as a few bantum roosters keen on crumbs. It's also a dog friendly beach so great for some pupper snugs if your missing your own!
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1.5/5
Toilets available, stinky but clean.
Close to beach but sheltered from the wind, which was nice. There was a lot of noise throughout the night from locals doing skids and doughnuts. One of them kicked our van in the night. The police had to be called when they started trashing an abandoned car.
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4.0/5
This was great for one night.
The toilet was ok it just seems like the people that are using it don't have anything to clean with after. But apart from that it is a great place to stay and we were grateful for it. The road in is a bit pot holey so drive slowly. Being greeted by the 7 wekas and a couple of roosters in the morning was quite lovely.
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3.0/5
Nice spot at the beach.
Quite busy with both campers as well as locals visiting the beach, but it turned quiet after around 10pm.
We didn't use the public toilet because the smell was simply unbearable. Seriously, it was already super strong before even opening the door, and enough to make us gag when we opened the door. Worst smelling long-drop toilet we've ever encountered, (and we've encountered many). Thankfully we had our own chemical toilet to fall back on.
There was also a rooster who was *very* determined to get into our van. We had to shoo it out twice, and then had to keep the doors closed. That's how determined it was. It was funny at first, but then became a little annoying.
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5.0/5
No complaints from me!
Close to town, next to beach. There's a toilet and shaded area. No drinking water so bring your own. Stayed 2 nights and would've stayed longer.
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3.5/5
For me, a nice place to stay one night.
Hard to cook outside in January, nice view, sand flying all over, nice toilets and something small to wash your hands/face. Rubbish bins and a small open shelter to seat. 5 min drive from town. Sandflies level: 4/10.
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4.5/5
Great spot next to the beach ..snapped some fantastic sunset photos!
Plenty of marked parking spots. 2 clean toilets and small covered seating area. FYI Lots of traffic too and from the beach, people walking dogs and visiting the easily accessed beach into the night and first thing in the morn, be watchful if you have littlies crossing over to use the loos. Overall great experience here
-Cape Reinga to Bluff
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3.5/5
nice place on gravel for about 25-30 cars.
even some places for big RV's if you come on time.
there is alot of wind, so outside cooking was less fun but okay.
right next to the beach.
toilets 7/10. they were clean for being drop toilets.
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4.5/5
Great free camping, complete with free bathrooms.
There are a couple of big lots with numbered spaces, I’m not sure how many but it had to be about 40. I got there mid-afternoon and didn’t have trouble getting a spot. By later in the evening it seemed to be pretty full. Within 200 yards of the ocean, with a very funky beach covered in driftwood.