WideEyedWanderer
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Invercargill ▷
Boat Harbour Road, Fortrose township
2.5/5
NO FACILITIES WHATSOEVER.
Reviews mentioning toilets are talking about Moray Terrace down the road. This is a grassy rutted area at the end of the gravel road to the golf course on the cliff above the bay. If there is any wind at all it will be 10x worse here. Very much free-for-all with finding a spot, there is probably room for 5 vans to be level. A very "at your own risk" camping spot but at least it won't be crowded.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Invercargill ▷
Moray Terrace
3.5/5
Convenient access directly off the main road, but practically no one driving past this far out so noise isn't an issue.
Clean enough pit toilets but they did run out of paper the night we stayed. Rubbish bins were overflowing. No potable water. Windy enough to rock the van since there's no barrier between the camping area and the bay, but when it calmed down the sandflies swarmed. 30-40 vans all told, which was close to capacity and some started forming a second line in the middle of the grass area. If everyone had pulled end-on to the shore, that probably wouldn't have been necessary. Small rocky beach along the bay. The evening we were there some local fishermen went out and caught a netful of herring in the bay and were passing them out to anyone who wanted to cook them for supper. In the morning a large bus of schoolchildren pulled up and the peaceful time was over. All in all, can't complain for a free site, but it could have been much nicer.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Warrington Reserve
3.0/5
Plenty of space on the grass (the self-contained canvas seemed to spill over quite a ways into the "camping" area).
Permanent toilets at the front in the gravel "non-self-contained" area and two portaloos near the rear which were heavily used but relatively clean. Probably 30-40 groups there in late February, it was fairly full but not packed. Not everyone was quiet & respectful, there was loud music until late. The beach is nice and easy to access and there is a sea lion who raises a pup there every summer, though we didn't see her. Very easy to access from the main highway through town and well signed. Not our first choice, but an easy free place to stay the night.
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Waikawa Recreation Reserve
4.5/5
Cozy area beside the bay tucked up against the forest.
Fairly flat with a few mud puddles. 20 vans by the end made a full house, some lined up along the entrance road. Everyone was respectful but we were all parked close enough to hear several conversations. Nice flush toilets and potable water (rainwater) available behind the hall. Highly recommend exploring the forest path that starts just behind the fence separating the parking area from the field, there are informational signs about various native tree species and the short loop (if you take your first left after a bit) is very nice to stretch your legs after a day of driving. The bay is mostly mud at low tide but fills up nicely at high tide. Not many options for food or fuel nearby so take care of that on your way over (we recommend The Whistling Frog up by McLean Falls). The spot can get windy, which you should hope for because otherwise the sandflies are unbearable.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Dunedin ▷
Long Beach Domain
5.0/5
Beautiful spot.
Anywhere on the grass to the left of the playground/parking area seems fair game, including a second smaller area behind/to the left of the toilets, which are spacious, fairly clean, and flush. The was only one other campervan there the night we stayed in late February, probably because of how remote it is. It is possible to access Long Beach on sealed roads but they are very steep, narrow, and winding and it takes at least 15ish minutes. A sunrise walk on the beach is a must, the camping area is nicely situated behind a row of large pines and a sand dune from the beach so less windy than many spots but you can't directly view the water from your van.