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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Motueka ▷
McLeans Recreation Area and Overnight Campervan Parking
3.5/5
Free for vehicles.
Large area covered with lots of trees. Very nice river next to it. Close to highway, so a bit of noise, but wasn't an issue. If you arrive in the dark DO NOT head straight towards river after turning off of hi-way without 4-wheel drive, it was very muddy and I almost made that mistake! Only a couple other vehicles in April. Long drop toilet was fairly old and one of the least nice in our NZ trip. We are also certain that the Camping NZ app had marked this place in the wrong location. The actual campground was a few Kms south and on the other side of the hi-way from the marked location on the app. So if arriving late, be aware of that! Nice campground!
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Makarora ▷
Boundary Creek Campsite
4.0/5
$6pp.
Just south of Haast Pass hi-way closure point. Lots of space with more private spots. Nice toilets. Tap for drinking water. Couldn't see much of the lake (or campground for that matter) as it was pretty stormy, wind really picked up over the lake in the night. Decent site.
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Palmerston North ▷
Ashhurst Domain
4.0/5
$7.50pp.
Easy to find in Ashhurst. Very nice toilets with free cold shower and cheap-ish option for hot shower. Boiling water dispenser, outlet for charging small devices. Next to cemetery. Quiet and fairly private spot. Not busy in April. Nice surrounding park as well.
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North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Porirua ▷
Ngāti Toa
3.5/5
Free.
Stayed here 3 nights. Basic flushable toilet facility. Right next to rugby field with frequent pactices, so if you go to bed early be prepared to have field lights on! Closest free site to Wellington with toilet, which is why we stayed here with our non-SC van. Just off the highway to Wellington. Fairly full in April so you may want to arrive early.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Totara Campsite
4.0/5
$6pp.
Large site on the way to Milford. Basic and clean long drop toilets. Next to river to use water for whatever (it's very cold on your head if you shower with it!). Only place that allows fires I believe, but bring your own wood! We were able to get a little fire going with some if the deadfall, but it was quite damp and made it difficult.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Gillespies Beach Campsite
3.5/5
Free.
Gorgeous view in both directions; ocean one way and Mount Cook the other on a clear day. Parking lot with nearby walks. Neat stone beach to walk on. Very busy in April. Lots of sand flies. Clean and basic long drop toilets. Fairly long and windy drive from hi-way but not too bad. Good spot for free for vehicles.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Tongariro / National Park Village ▷
Mangahuia Campsite
4.0/5
$6pp, not $4 as stated.
Still a good deal. Lots of private spots, nicely kept longdrop toilets and sinks. Trees all around and a stream we didn't get to see. Under 30 minutes drive to northern most pickup point for Mount Tongariro Crossing hike. Was getting fairly full this night in April.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Collins Memorial Reserve
3.0/5
Free.
Very basic and busy gravel lot. Gets full quick. Make sure to squish in and park close to make room for more vans coming in, several vans had to continue on after not finding any room. Clean toilets and sinks. So easy to find that I happened to stop right in front when I was going to look at the Rankerd App on my phone to find a free site south of ferry. Busy busy busy in April.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Henry Creek Campsite
4.0/5
$6pp.
Nice large covered spots next to a lake. Clean and basic longdrop toilets.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Mangawhai ▷
Port Albert Recreation Reserve
3.5/5
Nice and basic campground.
Easy to find a ways off main highway. Stayed without SC cert. Has regular toilet without lights inside. Great views in morning. Only 2 other people there.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Raetea North Side Campsite
2.5/5
Very free.
We went to the place on the rankers app that marked this campsite, but we dont think it was the right place. It was night, and was creepy like jacqueline said it might be. Didn't find find the toilets, but it was a beautiful and secluded spot by a stream south of kaitaia. If memory serves me right, the sign did say Raetea Forest, but didn't look like the pictures. Id stay there again though.
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Tauranga ▷
Kaiate Falls Scenic Reserve
5.0/5
Free.
Quite a drive off the highway around winding gravel roads, though not too bad. Incredibly worth it. Extremely secluded (only van there in April) with beautiful walk down to waterfall basin for swimming and cliff jumping. Several smaller falls on the way down. Well-used longdrop toilet and nothing else, it's just a small parking lot. One of our favourite spots in a month of camping due to beautiful falls, swimming opportunity, and seclusion. Stayed without any SC cert.
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Campbells Bay
4.5/5
By donation.
Stayed here several nights. Little tricky to find at night, but not too tough. Trees surrounding. Great view of beach with surfers in the morning. Ground was very wet and slightly muddy just about everywhere and our little van left fairly deep ruts. Didn't quite get stuck, but be aware it could easily happen. To avoid wet ground we parked left of the toilets near cliff. Clean and flushable toilets.
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Omarama ▷
Ahuriri Bridge Campsite
4.0/5
Free for anyone.
Large open area next to streams/river. Older but decent longdrop toilet. Water supply refers to river. A few guys were trout fishing in the evening when we arrived. About 1hr15mins to Mount Cook visitor centre, very doable before sunrise.
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North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷ Turangi ▷
Tokaanu Tailrace
3.5/5
Free for vehicles.
Just outside of Tu rangi. Was very busy by 9 pm in April. Basic toilet facility. Simple parking lot. Water to refill water containers. Nice and calm lake in the morning.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Cambridge ▷
Horahora Domain
3.5/5
Free.
Basic flushable toilets. Open area lakeside where you can watch water-skiers. Don't park too close to fence opposite water unless you really like the smell of cow poo. We found that out a bit too late. Easy to find off of the highway. Just over bridge from SH1. Further from highway than 2 other nearby freebies so much quieter at night.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Whangarei ▷
Uretiti Beach Campsite
3.0/5
$10pp + $2 for only staying 1 night.
We didn't pay for many sites, but this was the worst $-value. Though decent spot with very nice longdrop toilets and sinks, no privacy (few trees, lots of open ground), cold showers (not even option for hot), and very busy made this one of our least favourite sites. Great for large campervans, and beachside views would be nicer than our spot too. Taps to refill water containers. Easy access from highway. Friendly staff.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Matamata ▷
Firth Tower Overnight Camping
3.5/5
$5 per vehicle donation, $10 if you need electricity.
Cute gravel parking lot with picnic tables under some big trees. Just north of Matamata a few kms. Nice toilets and basic facility. Be there by 5 or 6 to make sure you can get toilets unlocked for night when security guy comes by, he can keep bathrooms unlocked for you. He was a very friendly guy to chat with. Not too full in April.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Christchurch ▷
Chamberlains Ford Recreation Reserve
3.5/5
Free for vehicles.
Could probably get away with a tent. Pretty easy to find, even in the dark. Best, cleanest, nicest smelling longdrop toilets we'd used. Must have been redone recently- they have tile in there. Open area with lots of hi-way noise and lights (which had never bothered me before). Slightly less noise/light at back of lot.
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South Island ▷ Central Otago ▷ Cromwell ▷
Lowburn Harbour
3.5/5
Free for vehicles.
Just outside of Cromwell. Very large and very open camping area lakeside. Clean toilet facilities. A couple picnic tables around. Quite a few other cars in April.
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Waihi ▷
Anzac Bay, Bowentown Domain
4.5/5
Free for campervans.
Has toilets and basic facility. Right on the bay. Not too far off the way if going from Coro-Manganui or vice-versa. Do yourself a favour and explore the other side of the hill south of the campground part. Very secluded little beach down rickety stairs with great photo opp of beach and lava rock. Also fun little rock climbing opportunity all around beach. Peaceful and gorgeous spot.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Greymouth ▷
Nelson Creek Camping Ground
5.0/5
By donation campground inside little town.
One of our favourite sites during our trip. Right on a creek set for swimming with warm weather. Small rock face to jump into water from. Little cave across stream to explore. And a little zip line there as well! Large area, some coverage. Nice full toilet facility. Large sink for dishes, etc. rubbish/recycling bins. Don't think directions were quite right (our first attempt at finding took us down a dirt road with a sign marked "Try Again Rd", the correct turn-off is a little ways south of that). No one else there in April. Beautiful place to stay, highly recommended!
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Miranda ▷
Kaiaua Boat Club Reserve
3.0/5
Right on scenic highway (not main highway) from Auckland to Corommandel.
Fairly unkept toilets, but there is toilets with sinks and water, small basic open grassy area with nothing too special. Though the sunrise across the bay is nice. Hate to admit that I fell for the fish n chips across the way after being too cheap to pay for a campground, but a hard day and wanting to try authentic NZ fish n chips was too much. Incredible fish n chips! If you only get them once, get them from this place!