Waimate Lakes Camping

View the current fees and charges.

Approved stockists

Season tickets are available from the Waimate District Council reception at 125 Queen Street, Waimate. From September, season tickets will also be available to purchase at Kurow Autos and via the camp supervisor onsite (during the season itself).

Internet banking

Season tickets can also be purchased via internet banking. To use this method, please contact our customer service team on 03 689 0000, and they will walk you through the process. Please note, this method will incur a $10 courier fee (nationwide).

Tickets to be purchased before or on arrival and be clearly displayed at all times. EFTPOS is available at the Waitangi Camping Grounds Office. All caravans, motor homes and tents left on site during the season MUST have a season permit displayed at all times, or they will be removed.

Costs

A Season Pass – two adults & two dependents (5 to 15 years old (under 5 free)) is $ 500.00. Additional dependent adults (16 years and over) are $ 15.00 and additional dependent children are $ 5.00.

Fees for casual camping must be paid on arrival. Go to the registration booth and complete the details on one of the envelopes provided. Place your cash in the envelope, seal it and place it in the collection box.

Designated camp supervisors and compliance personnel patrol the area regularly. Please ensure you display your ticket so it can be easily seen at all times. Casual camping tickets are non-refundable.

Overnight
$15 per site, per night (single person or a couple).

Family Pass - $25 per site, per night (camp site consists of up to two adults and two dependent children (under-16). Extra dependant adult (16 years and above), $10 each per night. Extra dependant child (5 to 15 years), $5 each per night. Children under-5 are free.

For any enquiries, refer to the camp registration booth for contact details.
For all emergencies, contact 111.

Campgrounds & facilities

Camping is a time-honoured tradition for many Kiwi families. Waimate has camping grounds in some of the most spectacular places in New Zealand!

Council provides five camping grounds sites, with facilities that vary from site to site, in the Waitaki Valley along the shoreline of Lake Aviemore. The season opens in September and closes in May. For many families they have been holiday destinations for years, perhaps even generations!

The main camping grounds, as listed below, have toilet facilities, dump stations, water taps and drinking water (to be boiled). There are tent, motorhome and caravan sites (without power), as well as boat ramps.

• Fisherman’s Bend Reserve
• Briar’s Gully
• Te Akatarawa Reserve
• Waitangi Reserve
• Waitangi East

There are tent, motorhome and caravan sites (without power), as well as boat ramps. The sunny and sheltered camping grounds provide easy access to the lakes, rivers and local townships (Kurow, Otematata, Omarama and Twizel).

Activities

Along the shorelines of Lakes Aviemore and Waitaki, Council's camping grounds offer a range of different activities from swimming, boating, water skiing, canoeing, tramping, fishing and an ideal place to relax for a picnic.

Escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and soak in the stunning surroundings. There truly is something for everyone, offering days of family fun.

Respecting the rules

We ask for your co-operation so that your stay and the stay of other guests will be enjoyable. If any of these rules are breached, you may be required to leave the campground without refund.

All persons enter the campground at their own risk and are totally responsible for their own property, self and guests. In the event of an emergency requiring evacuation of the camp, management will provide direction and the safest method. Parents/guardians please supervise your children at all times. If you identify a hazard, please inform management as soon as possible.

Campsites, tents, caravans or other items left unoccupied without a valid Season Pass or pre-paid daily ticket may be clamped, towed or packed down at Council’s discretion.

Pets

As a loved member of your family, your dog is allowed at your camp site, but for the safety of other campers they must be under your control at all times. Dog control rules apply at our camp sites the same as if you were at home. This means if you don’t have a boundary fence around your campsite, which the dog cannot get out of, the dog/s must be on a leash at all times. While walking through the camping grounds, dogs MUST be on a leash. No dogs are permitted in the toilet facilities. Please pick up and dispose of your dog's droppings.

Any wandering dogs will be impounded, if the owner cannot be found.

• Dogs must not be left unattended, at any time.
• Must be under control or on a lead at all times
• Must not cause nuisance
• Should be dosed for worms and other parasites before camping

Speed

The speed limit is 10km within all camping grounds. Please watch for children. It is recommended that vehicles should travel at walking pace only especially during busy times.

Quiet Time

Quiet time is expected and appreciated between 10pm and 7am. Please be thoughtful of fellow guests at all times.

Behaviour

Reasonable behaviour is expected at all times –swearing, excessive drinking, and loud parties will not be tolerated. Consideration must be shown at all times to other guests. Management reserves the right to ask you to leave at any time without refund due to unacceptable behavior and behaviors that are impacting on others.

Alcohol

Alcohol may be consumed ONLY on your site.

Rubbish

The Waimate District Council is committed to reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill and have provided you with opportunities to recycle, so please use recycling and rubbish bins around the camp. We appreciate your help with sorting bottles, paper, cans and other items from your daily rubbish, and placing everything in the appropriate bins

Please take all your rubbish to the bins on the day of your departure

Illegal dumping of waste at campsites is prohibited – offenders will be prosecuted

Guests are not to dump large personal items at recycling and rubbish stations, it is your responsibility to take these items to the local landfill (e.g. Mattresses, whiteware, pallets etc).

Vegetation

Please notify the camp supervisor immediately if tree branches require removal. The supervisor will contact appropriate staff to take care of the issue. Unauthorised removal of vegetation in the campgrounds is prohibited and can result in prosecution.

Cleaning/damage

Please notify the Camp Supervisor of any breakages or damage to campground property. Please respect our facilities and keep them clean and tidy. If there are any cleaning or maintenance issues, please let management know as soon as possible. Management reserves the right to recover cost of damage or where extra cleaning is required.

Fires

A fire could be catastrophic. Please do not light any braziers or open fires of any kind.

• No open fires are allowed at any of the camp sites
• Gas bbqs and gas/charcoal cookers can be used.
• Dispose of cigarette butts carefully.

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted inside at any of the facilities.

Smoking on camping sites can be uncomfortable for your neighbours – therefore, please be mindful of this and smoke well away from other people and their property.

A fire could be catastrophic, so please be mindful when disposing of your cigarette butts.

Children

Children Parental/Guardian control and supervision is expected at all times.

Parents will be held responsible for their children at all times. Please supervise your children in and around the campground and while they are using facilities. Children must not be left alone at any time.

Bikes

• Bike helmets are to be worn at all times by adults and children.
• No bikes are to be ridden through or outside provided facilities.
• Please walk your bike within the camping grounds during busy periods.

Firearms

Firearms are banned from all camping sites

Motorbikes

Trail bike riding is banned at all camping sites

Parking

No parking of cars, boats or trailers outside of your site boundaries. This includes on neighbouring sites without their authority. There are locations at some of the sites where boats can be stored but is at the responsibility of the owners and not that of the Waimate District Council. Council will not take any responsibility such as theft or damage.

In the interest of avoiding any misinformation, speculation or unfounded rumour, the former Waitangi Lakes Camp Facebook page no longer exists. Instead, the official Waimate Lakes Camping page has been launched and will be the go to source for all lakes-related information, directly published from Council.

This page will regularly feature weather updates and is a good platform to keep in the loop with what is happening within the Waimate Lakes Camping Area. Any other pages that claim to represent any of Council's camping grounds have not been endorsed by the Waimate District Council, and will be operated independently.

Click the below link to go to the Waimate Lakes Camping official Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Waimate-Lakes-Camping-102702604914056/

Note:
If you have information, pictures, videos or other content you wish to share among fellow campers and page users, please feel free to do so. However, please note the page will be regularly monitored and any content that causes offence, features profanity or is factually incorrect, will be immediately removed. Irresponsible page users will be banned at the discretion of the page administrator.

Outside of Council's campgrounds and facilities, the Waimate District is spoilt for choice when it comes to finding somewhere to stay for the night, a few nights or even a little longer.

Check out the Explore Waimate website for more information, https://waimate.org.nz/stay/camping

Waimate District Council currently allows freedom camping at several sites around the Waimate District.

Freedom camping is NOT PERMITTED within the lakes vicinity between September through to May. Season Tickets or overnight fees apply.

Freedom campers must have self-contained units (toilet, shower and grey water storage) to be eligible. The Council asks that all independent overnight campers behave in an acceptable manner while camping within the Waimate District.

This includes:

• Leaving camp sites in a clean and tidy state
• Limiting stays at any one site to a maximum of two nights, and this period shall not be exceeded in any calendar month
• Disposing of all toilet and wastewater at a Council approved dump point
• Disposing of all other refuse in approved bags and approved locations
• Following safe fire practices at all times, including fire bans
• Keeping dogs under control at all times

There are two popular apps - Rankers and CamperMate - that offer useful information about freedom camping and permitted locations throughout New Zealand.

Contact Information

For medical or fire emergencies, please call 111 and notify the management as soon as possible. We are a remote camping ground, so please keep this in mind and come prepared. You can also find the Camp Supervisor at the campground office, located at Waitangi East.

For all other enquiries, contact the Waimate District Council’s (24hr) phone line 03 689 0000.

You can reach the Camping Ground Office on 03 777 2008, and the Camp Supervisor on 027 241 6466.

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