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  • Waipohatu Picnic Area

    Waipohatu Picnic Area

    Free CampsitesSouthland, Southland New Zealand 🇳🇿

    Top RatedHot Topic

    Waipohatu Picnic Area

    Free CampsitesSouthland, Southland New Zealand 🇳🇿

    Top RatedHot Topic
    Waipohatu Picnic Area
    Waipohatu Picnic Area - Image 2
    Waipohatu Picnic Area - Image 3

    About18views today

    Updated 2 weeks ago
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    Review Summary

    10Positive
    Negative1

    Explore Southland

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    Amenities

    Sites & Accommodation

    Unpowered Sites
    Self-contained Vehicles Only

    Policies

    Pets by Request

    Contact

    Address
    Waipohatu Rd,Catlins Forest Park
    Phone number
    +64 3 418 0388
    Email
    clutha.vin@cluthadc.govt.nz
    Map

    Contribute to this Place

    Bluebridge - Book your ferry crossing
    1. Home
    2. Locations
    3. New Zealand
    4. Southland
    5. Southland
    6. Free Campsites
    7. Catlins Conservation Park
    8. Waipohatu Picnic Area

    People also search for

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    Explore Nearby Towns

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    Reviews

    10 Reviews

    Anonymous
    Mar 19, 2026
    Negative

    Arrived at the location and we were the only ones there. The toilet door had been shot with a shotgun from the outside. Initially I thought it’s safe, but right after that, cars started to show up during the night. Decided to drive to another camping site in the middle of the night.

    🇳🇿
    Pete
    Mar 9, 2026
    Positive

    Great spot to park up, surrounded by regen native bush. Suitable for bus sized vehicles but be sure to stay on the hard some of the spots can get muddy and it's a long way for a tow truck. Stayed here for 2 days to chill out away from the more crowded spots along the coast road. An hour from Gore it's well worth the visit. You will need to bring everything to be self sufficient

    🇬🇧
    Rachel
    Jun 2, 2025
    Neutral

    Nice campsite which we planned to stay in following our waterfall walk, however the walk was so unkempt and muddy that we had to go to a paid site to use washing facilities. At one point the mud was up to our ankles and all shoes were drenched. Wouldn’t recommend the walk sadly, however the camping area is nice and quiet. Signal in some areas and a single drop toilet.

    🇫🇷
    Anonymous
    Feb 5, 2025
    Positive

    Indeed, if you continue after the car park, there are several more intimate locations with tables. I was alone in this place. Walk done in 2 hours with a good pace but be careful the path is very deteriorated.

    🇫🇷
    Anonymous
    Nov 16, 2024
    Positive

    Good campsite for 1 night, the pitches can be muddy but they have a very nice picnic table.

    🇬🇧
    Anonymous
    Feb 21, 2024
    Positive

    Very peaceful little spot, we were the only ones there. Pretty smelly drop toilet. Couple of benches. Do the waterfall walk! Was lovely.

    🇫🇷
    Anonymous
    Feb 9, 2024
    Neutral

    Very good spot and quiet We were alone on this area and we did the falls walk great location

    🇳🇿
    Anonymous
    Jan 12, 2024
    Positive

    Trip to waterfalls is well worth it. There’s 2 waterfalls; You’ll get to a T intersection with “waterfall” indicated both ways. The right track leads to the higher (main?) waterfall, and the left track leads to the lower waterfall. Parts of the track were muddy on a fine Summers day!!! So I assume it would be pretty wet and muddy on a wet day. We stayed 2 nights in our Motorhome, no problems😁

    🇳🇿
    Anonymous
    Mar 10, 2021
    Neutral

    It’s good to stop over for a night. We did drive further up with our caravan as suggested by below comments, however the spaces were too tiny. We ended up in the parking area. The long drop is tidy. It’s not a spot you would like to spend all day there relaxing. It’s 8KMs from Slope Point, so the location is certainly a bonus. It’s not far from Curio Bay either.

    🇳🇿
    Anonymous
    Mar 21, 2019
    Positive

    Absolutely magic spot, as other comment said go past the picnic area and you will find very private parking area with tables. We did the 3 hour waterfall walk which was great, might be a little steep for some be aware it starts 200 metres up from the sign where the camp area is.

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