Lakeside domain is one of free campsite close to Christchurch. This place is a perfect place to spend the first night if you just pick up the campervan from Christchurch and it is too late to drive further south.
Location
Lakeside Domain is about 50 KM from Christchurch. The camp is beside Lake Ellesmere, the New Zealand’s fifth largest lake. For such distance, you should be able to reach the camp in 30-40 minutes from Christchurch.
After landing in Christchurch and picked up the campervan, we reached the campsite after dark. Hence we couldn’t explore much the area. As we reached, there were already some other cars and campervans parked in several corners and area of the site. We drove and parked in one empty space we found and ensuring we were not too close to any other neighboring vehicle. Personally, it’s because I don’t like other people to camp too close to us either.
As what has stated in the beginning of this post, the Lakeside Domain is free of charge. The campsite allows people to camp using campervan, caravan, and tents. There is a public toilet available but we didn’t use it as our van is already equipped with one. Thus, we don’t know how clean it is. There were also some trees in the site where you can park your car under it on the sunny day. Most surfaces in the site were flat, so it will be no difficulty to park your car or campervan.
I was hoping to see a beautiful sight in the morning. But it was very foggy view that we got. We couldn’t see further more than couple meter ahead. Nonetheless, the sight was still beautiful in its own way. It was cold but tranquil.
We didn’t stay too long in the morning because we still had thousands kilometer to explore ahead of us. After a quick but nice breakfast that we had in the car, we head out from the campsite to drive further south.
Campsite Detail
- Cost: Free
- Overnight stay rule: Campervan, Caravan and Tent are allowed
- Toilet: Public Toilet
Travelogee Impression
We stayed in the camp ground on 9 May 2017.
What We Like
This is a very nice free campsite near Christchurch. If we had more time, we would stay there longer, at least one extra night to explore the area more.
What We Don’t Like
It was very cold the day we camped there. It will be uncomfortable if you don’t bring enough thermal suite or have a gas heater in the car.
To see what other fun activities you can do in New Zealand South Island, please see this post.