Rays Rest Camping Reserve
Kaiaua
41 Rankers Reviews
3 Face-to-Face
1 Miranda
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Rays Rest Reserve in Miranda is located beachside, next to the Taramaire Wildlife Refuge Reserve. The Hauraki District Council allows free-camping for self contained motorhomes and campervans, for up to two nights.
There's no toilet, so you'll need a vehicle with a self-containment certificate.
It's a very spacious area and allocation is on a first come, first served basis.
The wetland environment is a stopover for thousands of migratory birds - drive in, park up, sit back and enjoy the surrounds.
Freedom camping is prohibited on the southern end and northern part of Rays Rest Reserve, including the beach. The reserve is off East Coast Road, approximately 4 km south of the Kaiaua township and adjacent to the Firth of Thames.
Standard free-camping rules apply: take your rubbish with you, dispose of greywater only in designated dumpstations, and please obey all signage around this environmental gem. Love it!
Details
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Miranda |
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Reviews
Showing 13 reviews of 41.
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Sebastian Stoof
Ranking: 8/10
What a lovely spot in great nature. Plenty of space along the water and a lot of friendly people around makes it a safe spot. No facilities whatsoever and some nasty cars horning while passing by during the night. Lovely for a stopover, though.
Alex
Ranking: 8/10
Pretty great spot, was a portaloo up the road to the north
Tyler
Ranking: 9/10
Nice view, right beside the beach on one side, and hilly grasslands/farms on the other, no toilet, and pretty close to the road.
Kirsty B
Ranking: 10/10
Fabulous! Quiet, restful spot overlooking water and birdlife. Spent two nights here and will come again.
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Laura
Ranking: 10/10
Been wanting to come here for about a year. It didn’t disappoint. Lucky enough to stay on a flat, calm day with no wind. It was glorious. Lots of room. Just perfect.
Javier Williams
Ranking: 10/10
It is a nice place to overnight in a journey between Coromandel and Auckland. It is plenty of space and the view is so nice with the sound of waves during the night
Bakers
Ranking: 8/10
Amazing place. Was hard to find in the dark but spanned the entire right side, so we went in half way after it appeared on the map. Lovely to wake to a beautiful scenery.Need to be fully self contained.
Kirstie Gallant
Ranking: 8/10
We drove in from Auckland, and getting in from the main highway in the dark was quite sketchy - lots of sharp curves. Would be easier to navigate in the day light.
There were 20-30 units when we arrived, so had to drive down a bit to grab a spot at the end, but it meant no one behind us. Views were GORGEOUS in the morning!
No amenities, no rubbish from what we could see. Great for a one night stop before moving on!
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TP&MM
Ranking: 9/10
Our first dry camp and it was lovely. Shells on the beach and wading birds everywhere. Watch out for the waters edge at low tide as it is very boggy.
thong family
Ranking: 7/10
Great spot to stop in o/night if travelling late. no gates. arrived at 10pm with kids - still spots available (maybe 20 or more RV's already there but still places facing beautiful view). woke to lovely sunrise & bitd life. No facilities but didn't need as moved on after breaky.
Trent
Ranking: 7/10
Awesome spot. As other have mentioned could have easily gotten bogged.
Sharon
Ranking: 9/10
LOVE this spot!!! Large flat area. Quiet. No amenities so make sure you are self-contained. Cloudy night but the stars would be amazing as little light pollution. Looking forward to a walk on the seashell covered beach in the morning for pictures of the sunrise and spotting shorebirds; maybe visit the Pukorokora Miranda Shorebird Centre www.miranda-shorebird.org.nz/about-us
ascotandanaussie
Ranking: 8/10
Great campsite close to Auckland. It is a big area so even when we arrived at 7pm there was still a few spots by the edge of the beach with an uninterrupted view. Only downside is the lack of toilet but worth it for the view!
