Buller Campground
Lake Rotoiti
4.8 41 reviews
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Cymen Crick
Rankers Crew
Flat ground in the Manuka trees
Flat ground in the Manuka trees
Probably my Camping pick in St Arnaud.
Much flatter ground than nearby West Bay. Makes it suitable for larger vehicles.
The facilities are quite new and excellent.
On a hot day, look for the sneaky lake access points on the opposite side of the road (just a little to the north). Access to a few private little beaches.
There's a few options up the mountains on the south side of the lake with banger views.
Note - Only small campers should tackle the drive all the way to Mt Robert Carpark. Larger campers can drive a little way and park next to the Buller river bridge or a little further until just after the Lakeside track starts. Look a little further at this point and you'll see a carpark just up the way, on the right side of the road. Don't attempt any further than that.
These mountains are much less busy than the hikes around Wanaka / Queenstown. I like the quietness this area can provide (you'll still have sandflies for company of course)
For the view in the photo, head along the Lakeside track and then up Paddy's Track until you find an outlook that takes your fancy :)
Photos
Information
Buller Campground
This campsite is located lakeside in Nelson Lakes National Park. It is one of the two camping zones at West Bay Campsite. The campsite is open from mid-December until April each year.
The camping grounds at West Bay (Jetty and Buller) are beaut little sites on the western side of Lake Rotoiti. Open from December to April they offer lots of private little areas to choose from, nestled in shady groves. A boat ramp and playground are nearby with close access to a heap of walking tracks.
Closed In Winter! Open from late November until end of April. The rates are 15 dollars per adult and half price for children. During the school holiday period 26th Dec to 8th Feb, the rates increase to 18 dollars and 9 dollars respectively.
Accommodation
DOC Campsite Pricing
West Bay Campsite - Buller zone is categorised as a DOC Standard Campsite. The following pricing indicates usual pricing. Prices vary for some campsites and may include seasonal pricing. Visit the DOC website for exact pricing.
DOC Standard Campsite
Standard campsites have a more limited range of facilities and services than Serviced campsites. These campsites have toilets, a water supply that could be treated or untreated tap water, or from a stream or lake, and vehicle or boat access. Bring your own soap for washing hands. Untreated water should be boiled before use to ensure it's safe. Wood BBQs and fireplaces, cold showers, picnic tables, a cooking shelter and rubbish bins may be provided; this will vary from site to site.
| Feature | Value | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Unpowered Site | Adult | $15.00 to $20.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Child | $7.50 to $10.00 per night |
| Unpowered Site | Infant | $0.00 per night |
Adults are 18+ years, children are 5-17 years, infants are 0-4 years.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC Nelson/TasmanCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ St Arnaud |
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Operating Season And Hours |
The campground is open seasonally from 11 December to 30 March each year. Bookings are required for all stays. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
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Basic Camping
Google Maps
Reviews
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Very nice little campsite.
Florian -
The best DOC campground I have seen so far.
Erik Nestlez -
Great ranger!
Nadine and Jan -
This is a very good DOC site.
Philippa and Adam -
$17pp, shower, shelter
Jaroslav Gajdos
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Wonderful campground with great facilities and convenient access to the lake and nearby hiking trails!
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Nice campsite close to the lake.
Spots are pretty close together and no views but site is super clean and facilities are great (note: cold shower but has a hook so you can lift your bucket in case you heated water yourself).
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Very pretty location.
Nice separation between the spots for large vehicles in the Pokaka area (you need to select your area during the booking process). Someone came by to check if you had paid in the morning.
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Lovely little campsite.
Sheltered sites so feels private. East access to multiple trails. Good facilities. Clean toilets
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Really liked this campsite, we were in Buller rather than the Jetty campsite, just a 100m further along the road.
$15 pppn, excellent clean toilets and shower (cold, we didn’t use but spotless inside). Weather was terrible when we were there so Buller was actually better than Jetty as we were a bit protected from the wind! Good cooking shelter if needed, happy with our stay for the price
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Location: gorgeous.
Beautiful calm lake surrounded by beautiful mountains and bushes filled with singing birds. Eels in the lake are fun to feed. Only issue was the huge number of sand flies. The camping areas are all individual spaces surrounded by trees, so a good deal of privacy.
Facilities: clean toilets. Didn't use the showers (didn't need to), so am unsure what they were like. Indoor food prep / clean up area (simple counters, sinks, and picnic table), was clean and tidy, with a noticeboard with up to date printed information on the weather forecast for the next few days and other notices.
Cost: I think we paid $34 for two people. Book online through the Dept of Conservation. Volunteer staff do check your number plate to ensure you've paid.
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Great little campsite - water is potable which is really nice.
-1 for sandflies, but those really come with the territory no matter where you might stay at Nelson Lakes. Cost is $15 pp and you can book online.
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Very nice little campsite.
Has lots of little “booths” to park in surrounded by trees so it feels nice and private. Clean flushing toilets and cold showers. Has a room for cooking(no equipment just work surface). There is no office as such, but a camp host is always on site. If you’re arriving early it’s best to go to the visitor centre and pay there where they give you the little slip to display that youve payed, if arriving late you’ll have to either find the camp host, or just park up somewhere and they’ll be round in the morning to collect fees. Was $26 for two of us in a van. Very close to lake with some nice walks.
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DOC-owned campsite with shelter, toilets and cold showers.
Beautiful, quiet location at the lake. Big sites in the trees. Start of tramping and walking tracks nearby. Price: 26 NZD for 2 persons with a campervan.
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Easy access, beautiful location, very clean facilities, an amazing host.
Warm water would be a 10 out of 10.
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Great location if you're doing one of the National Park walks, really good for a $6 DOC site, clean toilets and cold showers.
Nice spot right on the river. Very friendly staff.
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Good value at $6 each.
Didn't use cold showers. Remember to get token from info point. Flush toilets a plus. Big group of kids partying well past 11pm curfew but warden suggested we move in anticipation of trouble and we slept without a problem. Sandflies a pain. They attack you all the time including the toilet so spray essential. Couldn't face a 2nd night of them so moved on.
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This is a very good DOC site.
Unlike other DOC sites, here payment is made at the DOC information centre that's in St Arnaud, so don't bother coming to the camping ground until you've visited the information centre. It's $6 per person per night for an unpowered site, which gives you drinking water, clean flush toilets, clean cold showers and a shelter for cooking and washing up. Each tent pitch is set amongst trees so you end up with an individual pitch. Sandflies were fine, but possibly because it was very windy. The ground was rock hard and very dusty. We struggled a bit to pitch the tent, once it was up it quickly became filthy, but there's not a lot that anyone could do to solve that issue. It's 30 seconds walk to the lake and about 20 minutes walk into St Arnaud.
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Really nice setting with the campsites separated by kanuka forest.
Lovely clean facilities, too bad about the cold showers. In our opinion this is a much better campsite than Kerr Bay and it is a real pity that it is open only during the summer months.
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Soooo many sandflies and bees.
No heating plates in the kitchen. Very, very, very nice customer service, cheap and free showers.
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Very friendly uncomplicated camp supervisor.
Beautiful location, insects are the worst! $6 per person.
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Wonderful location, heaps of things to do around Nelson Lakes.
Camp ground is spacious with plenty of good sites to choose from. Sand flies are a real hassle but you can stock up on insect repellent at the Parks' shop. Showers nice and clean but only cold water.
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Very pretty location.
Nice separation between the spots for large vehicles in the Pokaka area (you need to select your area during the booking process). Someone came by to check if you had paid in the morning.
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Wonderful campground with great facilities and convenient access to the lake and nearby hiking trails!
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Nice campsite close to the lake.
Spots are pretty close together and no views but site is super clean and facilities are great (note: cold shower but has a hook so you can lift your bucket in case you heated water yourself).
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Lovely little campsite.
Sheltered sites so feels private. East access to multiple trails. Good facilities. Clean toilets
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Really liked this campsite, we were in Buller rather than the Jetty campsite, just a 100m further along the road.
$15 pppn, excellent clean toilets and shower (cold, we didn’t use but spotless inside). Weather was terrible when we were there so Buller was actually better than Jetty as we were a bit protected from the wind! Good cooking shelter if needed, happy with our stay for the price
-
Location: gorgeous.
Beautiful calm lake surrounded by beautiful mountains and bushes filled with singing birds. Eels in the lake are fun to feed. Only issue was the huge number of sand flies. The camping areas are all individual spaces surrounded by trees, so a good deal of privacy.
Facilities: clean toilets. Didn't use the showers (didn't need to), so am unsure what they were like. Indoor food prep / clean up area (simple counters, sinks, and picnic table), was clean and tidy, with a noticeboard with up to date printed information on the weather forecast for the next few days and other notices.
Cost: I think we paid $34 for two people. Book online through the Dept of Conservation. Volunteer staff do check your number plate to ensure you've paid.
-
Great little campsite - water is potable which is really nice.
-1 for sandflies, but those really come with the territory no matter where you might stay at Nelson Lakes. Cost is $15 pp and you can book online.
-
Very nice little campsite.
Has lots of little “booths” to park in surrounded by trees so it feels nice and private. Clean flushing toilets and cold showers. Has a room for cooking(no equipment just work surface). There is no office as such, but a camp host is always on site. If you’re arriving early it’s best to go to the visitor centre and pay there where they give you the little slip to display that youve payed, if arriving late you’ll have to either find the camp host, or just park up somewhere and they’ll be round in the morning to collect fees. Was $26 for two of us in a van. Very close to lake with some nice walks.
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DOC-owned campsite with shelter, toilets and cold showers.
Beautiful, quiet location at the lake. Big sites in the trees. Start of tramping and walking tracks nearby. Price: 26 NZD for 2 persons with a campervan.
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Easy access, beautiful location, very clean facilities, an amazing host.
Warm water would be a 10 out of 10.
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Great location if you're doing one of the National Park walks, really good for a $6 DOC site, clean toilets and cold showers.
Nice spot right on the river. Very friendly staff.
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Good value at $6 each.
Didn't use cold showers. Remember to get token from info point. Flush toilets a plus. Big group of kids partying well past 11pm curfew but warden suggested we move in anticipation of trouble and we slept without a problem. Sandflies a pain. They attack you all the time including the toilet so spray essential. Couldn't face a 2nd night of them so moved on.
-
This is a very good DOC site.
Unlike other DOC sites, here payment is made at the DOC information centre that's in St Arnaud, so don't bother coming to the camping ground until you've visited the information centre. It's $6 per person per night for an unpowered site, which gives you drinking water, clean flush toilets, clean cold showers and a shelter for cooking and washing up. Each tent pitch is set amongst trees so you end up with an individual pitch. Sandflies were fine, but possibly because it was very windy. The ground was rock hard and very dusty. We struggled a bit to pitch the tent, once it was up it quickly became filthy, but there's not a lot that anyone could do to solve that issue. It's 30 seconds walk to the lake and about 20 minutes walk into St Arnaud.
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Really nice setting with the campsites separated by kanuka forest.
Lovely clean facilities, too bad about the cold showers. In our opinion this is a much better campsite than Kerr Bay and it is a real pity that it is open only during the summer months.
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Soooo many sandflies and bees.
No heating plates in the kitchen. Very, very, very nice customer service, cheap and free showers.
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Very friendly uncomplicated camp supervisor.
Beautiful location, insects are the worst! $6 per person.
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Wonderful location, heaps of things to do around Nelson Lakes.
Camp ground is spacious with plenty of good sites to choose from. Sand flies are a real hassle but you can stock up on insect repellent at the Parks' shop. Showers nice and clean but only cold water.
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