Caroline Bay
Overnight Campervan Parking
35 Rankers Reviews
2 Face-to-Face
7 Timaru
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This is a great place for the self-contained gang to stay for the evening. You can park up very close to the beach, just on the edge of the CBD in Caroline Bay (adjacent to roller skating rink).
Please make sure you vacate the area between 10am and 4pm everyday. This site is limited to 10 campervans/motorhomes at any time.
At certain times of the year you can fully get in amongst the carnies when the circus comes to town. Go the candy floss!
Details
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Timaru |
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Reviews
Showing 13 reviews of 35.
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EvaBelle
Ranking: 6/10
Penguins are the main attraction of this site. Plenty of rubbish bins, okay toilets. Not the quietest place, as plenty of people are around recreationally, and the port can be quite noisy. A few interesting characters about. Unclear as to whether you can freedom camp in the parking closest to the water, or only by the toilets
Julie Hampton
Ranking: 10/10
WOW! A beautiful relaxed restful spot, toilets available 24/7, access to great walkways, penguin colony and town, plenty of parking, THANK YOU Timaru...a lovely spot indeed
Felipe
Ranking: 5/10
Noisy and small as some commented but right on the beach, may be good for some. I only stopped for the dump station and toilets for a little while and noticed some creepy people coming and going with dogs, what's going on there? Lol
Dr.A
Ranking: 10/10
Carpark opposite the port (not to be confused with the grass area in the middle of the loop road). Tidy area with recycle and rubbish bins, drinking water supply, dump station and clean toilets. There were about 15 vehicles when we stayed and there was plenty of room. Not really suitable for bigger RVs (we saw these parked in the grass area in middle of loop road - not sure if that was legit as signs indicated it wasn't).
Be prepared for noise from port activity from about 7am.
Just a very short walk to Caroline Bay beach and penguin viewing from the breakwater rocks at night (need to wait until well after dark before they start surfing in and best when seas are calm).
Would be happy to stay here again.
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Ray
Ranking: 8/10
Awesome place, lots to see and do.
Daniel
Ranking: 10/10
Quiet spot overlooking the bay. Has a dumpstation and tidy toilets. Is within walking distance of town.
Karin
Ranking: 6/10
Decent spot with reasonable toilets. But expect a parking lot, not nature. Plenty of space but only few spots available for overnight camping.
FZ
Ranking: 8/10
Good free place for a self contained camper. Reasonable toilets and dump point nearby too. The actual free camping area was a bit small (and full) for our 6 berth RV so we set up in the adjacent car park with some other bigger RVs. Not sure if this was allowed but no one said anything. Penguins nearby were a hit with the kids. Good playground but a bit of a walk to get there. Bit of noise from the port but didn’t worry us.
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Lua
Ranking: 10/10
If I could I would give 11 of 10 stars for this spot. It is very close to the beautiful beach of Caroline Bay and also in a walkable distance to the nice little town centre of Timaru. Moreover there a good and clean facilities, rubbish bins, drinking water, changing rooms and even showers. One of the two showers is almost a private shower - if you have a friend who can stand in the little gap between the cover walls you can have a shower without being observed. The best about this spot is that it is not far from the penguin colony. At sunset or sunrise you can observe the little penguins coming from or walking to the water. It is magic!
EmStems
Ranking: 7/10
Good location, very close to beach and also a nice wander to a good children’s play ground and paddling pool. Good self contained options for a night, especially when the weather is good.
Keith & Kay Finlayson
Ranking: 10/10
This is a popular free camp. It has great facilities with a dump point and toilet block. A very short walk takes you straight to the bay where you can view the penguin colony for free.The penguins were very close and you got a great view of them. The port is very close but we didn’t find the noise to be a problem.
Tarsha
Ranking: 5/10
Noisey as across from the shipping container port. Lovely place to park, great views of bay. Toilets flush and clean but not waterproof will get wet if raining. Good access to dump station with fresh drinking water available separate to water to use to clean waste.
Arndt
Ranking: 9/10
Dump station and waste management is great. Only one toilet and sink. No shower. Perfect for self-contained motorhomes.
Nice park. I liked staying there for the night.
