chloedickensonLast Updated on 16th November 2022
This post about the best freedom camping spots in South Island New Zealand contains features of previously gifted and collaborative work. Please see my disclaimer for more.
If you read my last blog post about the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand, you’ll know that we managed to stay in 30 different campsites during our 5-week road trip around the South Island.
While paid campsites typically have much better facilities (such as flush toilets, hot showers and laundry facilities), most of my best memories of staying in campsites in New Zealand were actually made when we stayed at free sites.
Whether you’re looking to travel in a campervan on a budget and save money when staying at campsites, or you’re just nosey (I don’t blame you!) and want to see where we stayed on our campervan trip, here are the best freedom camping spots in South Island New Zealand!
I’ve got you covered with the best free camping sites in South Island NZ s that you can plan an epic campervan road trip and save money while you travel!
Best freedom camping spots in South Island New Zealand
While free sites in New Zealand typically consist of little more than a long drop and maybe a tap for drinking water/washing up, they are nearly always situated somewhere beautiful.
Whether it’s by the sea/beach, parked up in the middle of the woods or on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, New Zealand is home to some of the most incredible freedom camping spots!
1. Woodstock Hotel and Brewpub – best freedom camping spots in South Island (for the food!)
Woodstock Hotel and Brewpub was one of the last sites we stayed at before we left for Australia.
While it’s not technically a dedicated campsite and is in fact just a pub carpark, it was probably the best free campsite we stayed at during our entire 5-week road trip.
I think the fact that we enjoyed it so much probably had something to do with the first Sunday dinner we ate in over 3 months…
The owners and staff at the Woodstock pub were incredibly friendly and while you could just stay in the carpark without having to eat or drink in the pub, we felt it was almost criminal to pass up the opportunity of a $20 Sunday Roast…
The drinks were relatively cheap (especially for NZ’s standards) and the atmosphere inside the pub was awesome, especially when the live music started.
I really couldn’t recommend staying here more and while the toilets are just the men’s ones that are unlocked from outside during the night for guests to use, it’s just a lovely pub with delicious food and amazing staff!
Rating: 9.5/10
Features and facilities:
- Toilet
- Drinking water
- Sink for washing pots
- Lots of parking space
Location: 250 Woodstock-Rimu Road, Hokitika, West Coast, 7883
2. Lumsden Parking Area
We stayed at Lumsden Parking Area after we’d been to Milford Sound and we were making our way towards Queenstown.
It’s such a lovely parking area, right next to an old train station (there’s even a train still parked on the ‘platform’!) with a tap for drinking water, a sink and a toilet block with flush toilets!
The main thing that drew our attention to staying in Lumsden was that we’d read on Campermate that the lady from the bakery brought leftover goods to campers on an evening!
We got very lucky and pretty much as soon as we parked up on the first night, someone came over with leftover ham and cheese toasties and huge sausage rolls! It’s such an incredibly lovely thing for the bakery to do and we were ever so grateful!
We spent two nights in Lumsden Parking Area as we wanted a bit of a break from driving and we spent one afternoon in the town’s library where you can use the room at the back of the library as well as the free Wi-Fi!
If you’re passing through Lumsden on your way to Queenstown, I’d highly recommend making a stop here; it’s such a great free site!
Rating: 9/10
Features and facilities:
- Flush toilet, hand dryer
- Kids’ play area
- Sink for washing pots
- Water fountain
- Non-self-contained permitted
Location: 13 Diana St, Lumsden 9730
3. Cobden Tip Head (Shipwreck Point)
Shipwreck Point was such a beautiful free campsite right in front of the sea in Greymouth and it was definitely one of the best freedom camping spots in the South Island.
While there’s not much there apart from the carpark and the beach and sea, the toilets here are without a doubt the best we came across out of all the free sites we stayed in (there were even better than some of the paid sites 😉 ).
They were incredibly clean and there was even soap (!!!) and a Dyson hand dryer in both toilets; it really is the simple things that give you pleasure when you’re living in a campervan!
The sunsets at Shipwreck Point are also supposed to be incredible but it was pouring with rain when we were there so unfortunately, we missed out!
Rating: 8/10
Features and facilities:
- Amazingly clean flush toilets, and Dyson hand dryers!
- Water fountain
- Cold outdoor shower
- Self-contained only
Location: Cobden Tip Head, Greymouth, West Coast
4. All Day Bay Beach – the best freedom camping spots in South Island (for sunrise!)
We were so lucky to experience so many incredible sunsets and sunrises during our time in New Zealand but without a doubt, the most spectacular one we saw was the sunrise at All Day Bay Beach.
Unfortunately, there’s very little here apart from a very smelly long drop toilet but that didn’t bother us at all as the sunset and sunrise were just too magical (it was so beautiful, it genuinely made me tear up!).
Rating: 8/10
Features and facilities:
- Long drop toilet
- Limited spaces
- Right next to the beach
Location: All Day Bay, Kakanui, Otago
5. Ahuriri Bridge Campsite – best freedom camping spots in South Island NZ (for stargazing!)
While this was without a doubt the coldest night we experienced during our entire road trip (it was -6° overnight and we woke up to a frozen bottle of sunflower oil!), it was also the most beautiful night.
We were blessed with the most incredible night sky full of stars and we even saw the Milky Way!
The toilet was just a long drop and wasn’t anything special but the stargazing opportunities are well worth staying on this free site!
Rating: 8/10
Features and facilities:
- Long drop toilet, no sink or hand sanitiser
- Lots of room for self-contained vans
- Incredible views of the stars
Location: State Highway 8, Omarama 9412
6. Motueka Beach Reserve
We actually ended up staying at Motueka Beach Reserve for two nights. We didn’t plan to but after driving up into Abel Tasman National Park, it was getting too late to move on to the next site so we stayed at Motueka again.
The site was nice enough and there was plenty of room for self-contained vehicles and the toilets were pretty standard, flush ones for a free site.
It did absolutely stink of fish here as it’s right next to the sea and beach and there’s also a creamery factory just behind the site so it was a little noisy on a night but apart from that, we enjoyed it here.
It definitely makes the world of difference when there’s a flush toilet compared to a long drop (I told you, it really is the little things!).
Rating: 7.5/10
Features and facilities:
- Cold outdoor shower
- Flush toilets
- Sink
Location: 17 North St, Motueka 7120
7. Champagne Gully
We stayed at Champagne Gully after Queenstown as it was between there and Albert Town.
It’s a beautiful little spot right next to the river with beautiful views of the water and the mountains.
It wasn’t very busy when we stayed there but there were two big campervans with very noisy families in… The views of the river and mountains at sunset made up for that though!
Rating: 7.5/10
Features and facilities:
- Flush toilets
- No sink or drinking water
- Beautiful river views
Location: 930 Cromwell-Clyde Rd, Waikerikeri 9391
8. Ocean View Recreational Reserve Brighton
Ocean View Recreational Reserve was a lovely little spot right next to the beach in Brighton with spaces for both self-contained and non-self-contained.
The toilets were clean and were flush ones but there was no light at night so definitely bring a head torch with you!
Unfortunately, this was our first experience of the very common campervan occurrence in New Zealand; the arsehole youths who like to do doughnuts in free campsites!
We got woken up at 3 am thanks to these idiots driving around in circles right next to the campervans and they sprayed stones all over the van. It’s quite a common thing to experience in free sites in New Zealand and it’s nothing to really worry about if it happens when you’re camping; they’re just bored youths with nothing better to do than terrify campers!
Rating: 7/10
Features and facilities:
- Flush toilets
- Sink for washing pots
- Next to the beach
- 6 self-contained and 5 non-self-contained spots
Location: Ocean View 9035
9. Wairau Diversion
As you can see from the picture above, the sunset at Wairau Diversion was absolutely beautiful.
The toilets here were incredibly smelly long drops and as I wasn’t feeling too great when we stayed here, I can’t really say I had the best experience.
However, the beautiful spots in the trees and the lovely sunsets made up for that!
Rating: 7/10
Features and facilities:
- Smelly long drop toilets
- Beautiful sunsets and sea views
- Quiet spots amongst the trees
Location: Wairau Diversion Reserve, Rarangi 7273
10. Chamberlains Ford Reserve
Chamberlains Ford Reserve was the first campsite we stayed at on our very first night on our campervan road trip of the South Island.
As it was my first ever night in a van and at a free site, I really didn’t have any expectations but I still enjoyed staying here.
The signal and data connection aren’t great here but there are many flush toilets as well as sinks for washing pots and many places to camp.
Rating: 6.5/10
Features and facilities:
- Flush toilets
- Sink for washing pots
- BBQ and picnic area
- Lots of spots for tents and campervans
Location: Old Bridge Rd, Leeston 7683
11. Fortrose Township A
When we first arrived at Fortrose Township A, I was blown away by how beautiful it was. It’s right next to the sea and the sunset was so gorgeous.
The toilets were very average and there was no sink or drinking water but when there are beautiful views, I never normally care about those things!
However, the thing that made me rate this free site quite low was that a car pulled up right on the grass where people were camping and blasted their music incredibly loud at 2 am.
As it happened literally the day after the Ocean View doughnut incident, it, unfortunately, made it a fairly unenjoyable experience.
Rating: 6.5/10
Features and facilities:
- Long drop toilet
- Beautiful views of the sea
- Parking on grass
Location: 46 Moray Terrace, Fortrose
12. Naval Point Boat Ramp Parking Area
Naval Point was the last site we stayed at before we flew to Melbourne and it was a nice enough free site to conclude our South Island road trip.
There was plenty of room for self-contained vans and while the toilets weren’t anything flashy, they were clean enough.
The views of the sea were also beautiful and it was close enough to Christchurch without us having to pay the expensive paid campsite prices!
Rating: 6/10
Features and facilities:
- Flush toilets
- Next to the sea
- Lots of boats using the boat ramp
Location: Naval Point, Lyttelton
13. Kawatiri Beach Reserve
I don’t have an awful lot to say about Kawatiri Beach Reserve and while it’s not necessarily a bad free site at all, it just wasn’t my favourite.
The long drop toilet certainly wasn’t the worst we experienced but it was by no means the nicest smelling! It was also remarkably windy and quite noisy and it’s susceptible to young kids driving around and doing doughnuts in the middle of the night!
Rating: 6/10
Features and facilities:
- Long drop toilet
- Self-contained vehicles only
- Sink
- Near the beach
Location: Kawatiri Beach Reserve, Westport, West Coast
Related posts:
- The Best Paid Campsites in South Island New Zealand
- The 40 Best Campervan Meals To Make That Aren’t Boring
- Our Ultimate Campervan Conversion Process – From Start To Finish
- The Best Free And Paid Campervan Spots In South England
- The Ultimate Guide To Hiring A Campervan – Campervan Hire Tips
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Have you had any experience staying at free campsites in South Island New Zealand? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.
These campsites look amazing! I’d love to go camping in a campervan x