Little Waipa Reserve
Lake Karapiro
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Little Waipa Reserve
Little Waipa reserve is on the banks of Lake Karapiro and accessed via Horahora road, it’s a popular spot for day-trippers. It is slightly elevated with great views of the lake and a lovely grassy area leading down to a boat ramp at the lake shore and river inlet.
Self-contained caravans and campervans can stay the first two nights free then a camping permits is required for a longer stay. Camping in tents and vehicles required a camping permit. This requires a camping permit which can be purchased from the South Waikato District Council offices or the district’s Information Centres. Click Online Booking Button above.
https://my.southwaikato.govt.nz/do-it-online/events-bookings/CampingPermit?ed-step=1
Details
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Organisation |
South Waikato District CouncilCouncil organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Putaruru |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Freedom Camping
Google Maps
Nearby
Reviews
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Beautiful riverside location -
Clean hot showers
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Good camping facilities
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Plenty of space
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Poor phone reception -
Some vandalism and unclean facilities
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Long-drop toilets only
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Nice spot with great view.
Ersin -
Nice view but no signal at all
117izy -
Fantastic place right by the river.
hoppy -
Quiet and beautiful place.
Victoria -
Beautiful place.
Vernesa Smolcic
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I recently spent three nights at Little Waipa Reserve in a caravan with my Dad.
We were pleasantly surprised to find it’s a beautiful, scenic spot by the river. There’s access to the river cycle paths too, which we saw a few people using over the weekend.
Since it’s winter, we unsurprisingly had frosts on two out of the three mornings, and we were a bit worried about getting stuck in the site we chose near the water, but thankfully, we had no problems because the days were mostly sunny.
Around a dozen other groups were set up throughout the site, but it remained relatively quiet and serene. You can hear a bit of road noise, though it was never bothersome. Some people had their dogs even though somewhere on this site it said no dogs allowed. Thankfully, they were well-behaved and quiet dogs.
Phone reception is a bit patchy, depending on where you park. I found the best signal (two bars) was in the toilet block 😄. There are a few rubbish and recycling bin locations, a couple of picnic tables, free BBQs spread throughout the site, two long-drop toilets, and two free hot water showers. There is NO place to get potable water. The nearest one we found was in Tirau. Neither the toilets nor the showers have power or lighting, so make sure you have a torch for any nighttime loo dashes!
We made day trips to Putaruru Blue Springs, Tirau, and the Arapuni suspension bridge and had an overall lovely time. I wonder how busy it gets outside of winter!
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Scenic and well-run campsite.
Good facilities (hot showers, long-drops and a BBQ wotsit) in a lovely riverside spot.
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Nice and beautiful place u can park under the sky or under the trees.
Planty of parking don't forget to get your permit before stay.
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We stayed on a Friday night for 1 night.
We arrived at dusk and there were lots of other campers in caravans, tents and canpervans which made us feel safe. Lots of space along the river to park up. There are two toilets and two showers. Also a few free bbq stations with picnic benches and some rubbish bins. Lots of trees for shade. Nice location. I imagine it would be lovely in the summer to have a swim in the river. There were a few access points for swimming as well as the boat ramp. We will go back to this camp spot.
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We have been coming here for years but have noticed the deterioration because of Homeless / Permanents people living here.
Facilities have been vandalised and are not clean.
It is a beautiful spot with plenty of parking
if you can find a hood spot. Showers and toilets are available but not in good condition
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Beautiful campsite by the river with lots of space!
There are free hot shower which is awesome but smelly long drop toilets. It can be a bit noisy as there are often big gatherings of people but it's alright. Nice spot to go to Hobbiton the next day (20min drive).
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Wow what an amazing location along the river, 2 clean long drop toilets, 2 fabulous showers, plenty of space and a great River Trail to walk or cycle.
2 days freedom camping permitted or get a permit for longer stays.
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Amazing campsite with lots of space on grass.
Toilettes are flush and clean but a bit too far away from the car (depends where you want to stay). Campsite offers nice view to small river.
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This was a beautiful campsite.
The view was amazing, quite campsite and bins. However, the showers were not working due to vandalism.
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I agree with all the good reviews this site has received.
In addition:
+ there are even bins
+ some 8 vans in the middle of the winter and still plenty of room
- one can still hear the traffic from the road a bit
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Gut für einen Zwischenstopp, wenn man die blue springs anschauen will, da es in der Umgebung sonst eher weniger Stellplätze gibt.
Einfaches Klo aber ein Grill und schöne Lage am See und man hat Netz.
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Beautiful scenery can park up wherever you want only downside is the long drops.
Out of cell phone coverage which is really good to switch off
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Site très agréable et joli.
Douche chaude mais pas propre.
Toilette pas propre.
Faible couverture réseau.
Beaucoup de places de disponible.
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I recently spent three nights at Little Waipa Reserve in a caravan with my Dad.
We were pleasantly surprised to find it’s a beautiful, scenic spot by the river. There’s access to the river cycle paths too, which we saw a few people using over the weekend.
Since it’s winter, we unsurprisingly had frosts on two out of the three mornings, and we were a bit worried about getting stuck in the site we chose near the water, but thankfully, we had no problems because the days were mostly sunny.
Around a dozen other groups were set up throughout the site, but it remained relatively quiet and serene. You can hear a bit of road noise, though it was never bothersome. Some people had their dogs even though somewhere on this site it said no dogs allowed. Thankfully, they were well-behaved and quiet dogs.
Phone reception is a bit patchy, depending on where you park. I found the best signal (two bars) was in the toilet block 😄. There are a few rubbish and recycling bin locations, a couple of picnic tables, free BBQs spread throughout the site, two long-drop toilets, and two free hot water showers. There is NO place to get potable water. The nearest one we found was in Tirau. Neither the toilets nor the showers have power or lighting, so make sure you have a torch for any nighttime loo dashes!
We made day trips to Putaruru Blue Springs, Tirau, and the Arapuni suspension bridge and had an overall lovely time. I wonder how busy it gets outside of winter!
-
Scenic and well-run campsite.
Good facilities (hot showers, long-drops and a BBQ wotsit) in a lovely riverside spot.
-
Nice and beautiful place u can park under the sky or under the trees.
Planty of parking don't forget to get your permit before stay.
-
-
We stayed on a Friday night for 1 night.
We arrived at dusk and there were lots of other campers in caravans, tents and canpervans which made us feel safe. Lots of space along the river to park up. There are two toilets and two showers. Also a few free bbq stations with picnic benches and some rubbish bins. Lots of trees for shade. Nice location. I imagine it would be lovely in the summer to have a swim in the river. There were a few access points for swimming as well as the boat ramp. We will go back to this camp spot.
-
Beautiful campsite by the river with lots of space!
There are free hot shower which is awesome but smelly long drop toilets. It can be a bit noisy as there are often big gatherings of people but it's alright. Nice spot to go to Hobbiton the next day (20min drive).
-
We have been coming here for years but have noticed the deterioration because of Homeless / Permanents people living here.
Facilities have been vandalised and are not clean.
It is a beautiful spot with plenty of parking
if you can find a hood spot. Showers and toilets are available but not in good condition
-
Wow what an amazing location along the river, 2 clean long drop toilets, 2 fabulous showers, plenty of space and a great River Trail to walk or cycle.
2 days freedom camping permitted or get a permit for longer stays.
-
-
-
-
Amazing campsite with lots of space on grass.
Toilettes are flush and clean but a bit too far away from the car (depends where you want to stay). Campsite offers nice view to small river.
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This was a beautiful campsite.
The view was amazing, quite campsite and bins. However, the showers were not working due to vandalism.
-
I agree with all the good reviews this site has received.
In addition:
+ there are even bins
+ some 8 vans in the middle of the winter and still plenty of room
- one can still hear the traffic from the road a bit
-
-
Gut für einen Zwischenstopp, wenn man die blue springs anschauen will, da es in der Umgebung sonst eher weniger Stellplätze gibt.
Einfaches Klo aber ein Grill und schöne Lage am See und man hat Netz.
-
Beautiful scenery can park up wherever you want only downside is the long drops.
Out of cell phone coverage which is really good to switch off
-
Site très agréable et joli.
Douche chaude mais pas propre.
Toilette pas propre.
Faible couverture réseau.
Beaucoup de places de disponible.
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Clean toilets, plenty of space and nice view on the river.
No signal. And the showers are unfortunately closed due to vandalism…:(
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Clean toilets.
Shower. So much space.
Not many people. Very low reception and i ternet connection.