Not free: $20/ night from 9pm-9am. Pay online.nStay: stayed 1 night only 11/6/25nRubbish: has multiple rubbish binsnFacilities: cold water shower, camper waste disposals, portable and treated drinking water.Flushable toilets with toilet paper. 2x changing room. Female toilet clean and presentable whereas for the male toilet changing room benches broken, toilet seat broken but had toilet paper. The toilet roof is partially open.nParking: heaps of parkingnEntertainment: close to the beach where you can spot little blue penguins we saw 1. A beautiful clean park. Approx 7-10mins from town centre.nGeneral comment: theres a marine port opposite the camping site which can get very noisy, they work all night so bring ear plugs.
We stayed one night, it was quiet and not many people around. The toilets are in pretty poor condition out on the seafront side and in the circular part. But it was a pleasant place to stay, paid $20 on the app. Hopefully there's some funding at some stage to upgrade the toilets.
Probably the most quirky/weird/open minded freedom camping site from local councils we've ever come across.. you can probably camp wherever you want as long as you pay your park through the paymypark app. Choose the region, then choose the area exactly where you're camping. $20.50 per night if you're paying via debit card from 9pm to 9am the nxt day. Heaps and heaps of areas to park, the only downside is there is no localised toilet block. there are open air toilets by the beach area/parking area but only 1 cubicle and a mid size urinal for males, and 3 cubicle for females. Not too sure how are the other toilets on the other end of the field. Apart from that, this is probably one of the best freedom campsites we've come accross that is within walking distances to shops and the city. There are board walks along the bay area, a beach vollyball court and areas to fish around the talleys fish plant area. Thank you Timaru council.
The camping area is brilliant, a lovely place to stop a night or two. Unfortunately the same can't t be said about the system used to pay for your stay. It's an app that is almost impossible to use, some campers took up to 2 hours to complete their purchase while others left in disgust. I called the after hours number and informed them it they made contact with me I'd happily pay via internet banking. The nzmca have an excellent app, maybe you should link with their system!
Nice spot with plenty of room. They changed the rules sometime in December 2024 so it’s no longer free but now $20 per night see next review for details. Locals told us the freedom camping was being abused and making it hard for others to park by the beach.nThere are open-air toilets no sign of showers it’s a chilled spot with the beachfront, a little boardwalk and volleyball nets. There’s also an amazing kids playground across the park which my family said was the best they’ve ever been too. Easy to join the penguin watch/wait, just join the line of people along the road between the port and beach around 9:30pm. Hope this helps. Happy travels :
