Freedom Camping in the Whangarei District
The Whangarei District Council’s Camping in Public Places Bylaw has come into effect October 21st and there are 38 locations in the District where all camping is prohibited and another 22 areas where some or all forms of camping is available in a designated site only.
Click here to view the council’s Camping in Public Places interactive map.
- You must park in the designated site that is indicated by signage. If the site is full, you must move on.
- In most cases, you can only stay for 1 night before moving on. Camping in self-contained vehicles is also permitted at other locations in the District.
- if you have a large vehicle, avoid parking across several marked parking spaces as this may incur you a $200 fine.
The fine is $200 if you do not comply with the restrictions set out by the council.
Are you Certified Self-Contained?
If you are certified self-contained and have a current certificate and a warrant to prove it, you can camp in many places in the district. For all areas of the District that are not showing as areas with designated sites, you can stay for a maximum of three nights. You must move at least 1km further on after your stay. Your self-containment certificate allows you to stay ‘off the beaten track’, and the council encourages this.
There are four areas with designated sites for self-contained vehicles only; three have been identified as listed in the Travel Directory.
- Finlayson Street/Reyburn House Lane carpark, #594 on the TD
- Ocean Beach carpark, #705 on the TD
- Onerahi- Beach Road reserve, #630
You can also stay in the areas for non self-contained camping, but you must comply with all site restrictions; view the full schedules here
Please be guided accordingly.
(from the Whangarei District Council website, page up to date as of 24/10/2017 )