Camping Areas near NZ Ski Fields

[bamboozled]

Hi,

Im really poor

but would love to go skiing in NZ during my uni winter break this year or next year.

In Australia, i usually camp at the campsites near the skifields. (free accomodation!) Does anyone know of any such camping areas near any of the NZ resorts like Mt. Hutt, Coronet, Remarkables, Treble Cone etc?

Also, do any of these resorts include some sort of vehicle entry fees like here in Aus?

Cheers,
David.

 

[Heinz]

Pretty sure there are no camping areas near those places. There used to be road tolls up to Treble Cone but that ended probably about 10 years ago. You could camp at Glendhu bay but that still means a drive up the mountain.

The closest to what you want would be the Canterbury clubfields.
http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Club_skiing_in_NZ

 

[Rabid K9]

Bamboo,

I've 'camped' near all the main fields & a lot of the smaller ones but unlike here generally do so in a campervan. Lots of different models & budgets available in NZ, being the low season & with exchange rate you can roll transport & accom into under $50AUD a day with a bit of shopping around.

With the avy danger at many of the fields, access roads will oft be closed at night but I usually arrive afterhours & park near snowline or just down on the flats at start of access road. Have slept right in carpark at Unremarkables & Treble Cone, excellent lake side camping near Ohau & Dobson, Broken River & Temple Basin carparks are down in the treeline & can easily camp. Haven't encountered any vehicle entry fees, a couple of the access roads can be 'exciting' in weather & require application of attention.

In my opinion, for Southern Hemisphere value for money riding, you can't go past a solid little campervan & a Chill pass to the club fields, plenty of easy to gather food along the merry way.... You get way more riding in & see more of the country all at a fraction of the cost.

 

[hpsauce]

Love your style Bz'd!
Yeah there are some spectacular camp sites near Queenstown and Wanaka. Go for it.

One caravan opark in town as well as a couple on Mt Aspiring rd (rd to Treble cone) out of Wanaka . One on the edge of town (Pleasant lodge?) and a spectacular one in Glendhu bay....which is 10 mins drive out of wanaka by much closer to TC. So one is convenient to town and has little cabins etc. The other is caravans and tents stuff right on the lakes edge closer to TC but further from town

Otherwise, I've stayed at a beauty at Moke Lake......5 kms drive west of Queenstown is a dirt access road in. Sure its a bit of drive again (and only a toilet at this one)......but absolutely spectacular and beats the sh*t out of a 5 hotel room in Q'town. Especially cause it probably cost 10 bucks.

A couple of things to remember:
* Unless you are the luckiest person alive, you will encounter some wild and windy wet weather.....maybe for a couple of days at a time. Console yourself with the thought that its prob snowing in the Saddle basin at TC.
* Save enough to have a car for the whole trip. Cause they are cheap in NZ and you'll need it for camp ground accessibility.
* Save enough for a night or 2 at a cheap hotel or hostel......to dry out a bit mid way through and at the end.

 

[mick chopps]

This is great guys, we've got a camper for 2 weeks mid July and allthough skiing isn't the priority for those two weeks (that's for later in the trip) we want to get around see as much of the sth island as possible. Any other camp ground/tourist park hot spots would be great. Keep em coming!

 

[Red_switch]

Please don't sh1t and leave rubbish on the side of the road, in creeks, on lake/sea side beaches, this is becoming a HUGE problem with campervans eh. Some of the freedom camping areas around Central Otago have now had their vehicle access blocked. Prior to that, the stench at some of them was unbearable.

As a result, don't be surprised if you get a bit of sh1t from locals as a result of being in a camper.

 

[hpsauce]

here's a link to the moke lake campsite I mentioned: Moke Lake camp

While there isn't much at Mt Cook village itself (unless you are climbing), it has a nice camp site there and worth a drive in. With some good hikes right from the village.
Lake Tekapo campgrounds are nice......right on the lake

Some nice camp grounds in Canterbury also....I think I camped at Mt Thomas campsite ,,,,which was in a great secluded quiet spot being so close to christchurch.

And of course, if you are driving in the direction from Q'town/Wanaka to Fox Glacier etc, there ain't much for a little while after Lake Hawea......except Makarora which has a fantastic campground with excellent facilities

 

[mick chopps]

Don't worry Red, we're going over to enjoy the magnificent scenery etc, not trash it. Got a toilet and shower on board so human waste ain't gonna be any kind of problem either.

Reckon Mrs. Chopps will want powered sites more often then not but it's good to know of a few other hidden gems we can pull into for the night. Thanks sauce!!

 

[iski4u2]

Pretty much every ski area support town I can think of has a campsite nearby.

 

[snowgum]

Maybe try joining YHA and stay for ~26-40$nzpn and get a bus up each day. I prefer a car (SMALL suv) but less value for 1 person than 2.

I understand that Sprigfield YHA has dorm beds form $26 PPPN and can drive to you Porters or Hutt for a pretty small fare ~ an hour or so form lodge. I stayed tere in 05 it a 2-person cottage but friends in bunks enjoyed their stay and hosts are very nice, place well run.

Otherwise try staying at some of the club lodges as discussed earlier - if you get a lift/bus from Christchurch I reckon you can put more $s into a bunk & a lift ticket.

Also wait until Jetstar has 99$Au one way fares to CH'CH. Good luck you'll have a lot of fun either way.

 

[Warwick]

There's now some great motorhome camping spots near the NZ ski fields on https://campable.com/ Plus you get to stay with a local!