Points along the Trail: Camping at Kerr Bay, Nelson Lakes NP

  A winter visit to Kerr Bay campsite...

I recently spent a couple of days up in Nelson Lakes National Park day walking some of the shorter tracks there. I stayed a night at the Kerr Bay Campground between St Arnaud township and Lake Rotoiti. Kerr Bay Campground is a DOC facility with powered and unpowered sites for caravans, camper vans and tents. 

Kerr Bay Campground, St Arnaud

To access from SH63 turn off onto Kerr Bay Road and follow down to the campground near the main boat ramp. Bookings are required from December through to the end of April, over Easter and any week there are speed boat races on Lake Rotoiti. T

Map: St Arnaud and the start of Nelson Lakes NP

The rest of the time you have to go to the St Arnaud DOC office on View Road off SH 63 to book a site and pay your camp fees.

Map: set up of Kerr Bay Campground, St Arnaud

The Kaka Zone at Kerr Bay Campground...tent specific

There are both grass and hard surface pads available and the whole campground had a major overhaul last year while the country was mostly empty of tourists. There has been a lot of work done on the camping sites and both the amenity block and the camp cook shelter have been repainted and renovated. 

The Silver Surfer parked up at my site at Kerr Bay

I was car camping and using one of my Coleman tents on this trip...a smaller two person tent that I use for base camp trips such as this one. At 2.2 kg it is light for a car camping tent but too heavy for tramping purposes (I have a lighter Big Agnes tent for that role). It performed well on this trip but it was really too cold for camping...I should just have stayed in a motel for both nights I was scheduled to be in the area.

The Coleman Camper 2 is set up behind the car

Nice protected site for the tent at Kerr Bay Campground

Plenty of free space in the mostly empty Kerr Bay Campground

I was in the Kiwi Zone which is a mixed camping/caravan area so there was a hard pad to park the car on and plenty of grass areas around it for the tent. Each of the sites have their own picnic table and each site is sheltered by a couple of trees. It is a nice set up and one I shall be taking advantage of going forward. 

Looking down to the Lake and Mt Robert from Kerr Bay Campground

It was a quiet night at the campground as there were only about 6-7 camper vans and myself in the campground. It was a little cold...I had my Marmot -10 degree bag so I was warm enough in my pit but my face got cold as it dropped down to -2 degrees overnight. 

I had a closed cell foam mat under my airbed to insulate from the ground but I probably need a down filled air bed for these winter camps. I don't know that anyone makes a car camping air bed with down inside but it is something I shall be investigating. 

My camping air bed in the tent, Kerr Bay Campground

I was reading Karen's Willard Price books on this trip...

I actually had a Kiwi walk right past my tent at around 8 pm just as it got dark...it was literally a couple of meters away and while I could make out its shape I couldn't really see any detail in the dark. Still amazing as it is a busy area right on the edge of the National Park and not a place you would expect to see our rare national bird.

Campsite facilities at Kerr Bay:

Kerr Bay Campground is well set up with all the facilities you might need when staying overnight at this locale. There is a very nice camp cook shelter and a set of toilets/showers/laundry attached to the camp to make your stay more comfortable. 

The cook shelter at the Kerr Bay Campground, St Arnaud

...it is called Blechynden Shelter...

The cooking shelter is a three sided building with three large tables, bench's and a seat right around the walls of the building. It has a stainless steel bench with two sinks with both hot and cold water. There is a Zip on the wall for boiling water and a free four burner gas hob for use by those people staying in the campground. Filtered water is available inside the shelter and there is a filtered water tap outside for refilling those camper van water tanks before you leave. 

Kerr Bay Shelter: the hob and one of the dining tables (2018)...

The newly painted interior of Blechynden Shelter at Kerr Bay

There are some awesome views of Lake Rotoiti and Mt Robert from inside the cooking shelter which makes for fine dining with a view. They have also put some Clearlite panels in the roof so it is much lighter inside than it used to be. You will find recycling bins and rubbish bins at the cooking shelter and others scattered around the campground. 

View of Lake Rotoiti from inside the shelter at Kerr Bay Campground

There is a combined shower/laundry block at Kerr Bay Campground with token operated hot water showers and coin operated washing machines/dryers. You get the tokens for the facilities from the St Arnaud DOC office on View Road. One token is good for six minutes of hot water or 30 minutes of cloths drying. 

There is a new set of toilets located right next to and opposite the shower block. Both the toilet block and the shower block were totally renovated in December of 2020 so they are now very flash. All these facilities are located opposite the cooking shelter at the Lake Rotoiti end of the campground.

DOC sign at the entrance to Kerr Bay Campground, St Arnaud

The Lake Rotoiti boat ramp and dock are located right outside the entrance to the Kerr Bay Campground. There is a carpark here where several of the tracks start that go along this side of Lake Rotoiti including the Lakehead Track to Lakehead Hut and the Travers Valley, St Arnaud Range Track, Loop Walk and Honeydew Track.

Start of the Lake Rotoiti track network at the Kerr Bay carpark

One of the tracks I walked was the Mt Robert Circuit which loops around the northern side of the mountain with a start and finish at the Mt Robert carpark. This is the main route to Angelus Hut if you are adding it to your Te Araroa Trail experience. You have an excellent view of Mt Robert from the campground at Kerr Bay and in fact you can see Paddy's Track from the wharf. 

Mt Robert is visible across Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes NP

The sun setting on the St Arnaud Range, Nelson Lakes NP

Kerr Bay Campground is a well appointed and well located place for you to use as a camping spot while passing through Nelson Lakes National Park. For both SOBO and NOBO trekkers it lies directly on the path through to Travers Saddle, Waiau Saddle, Red Hills and the Richmond Ranges. 

Resupply point: St Arnaud General Store: Nelson Lakes NP

Resupplying in St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes NP, South Island.....

One of the places you will need to resupply while on the trail is at the beginning/end of the Richmond Ranges and the start/finish of Nelson Lakes National Park.

This is at the settlement of St Arnaud on SH 63 close to Lake Rotoiti.

Entering St Arnaud from the Blenheim end of SH63, general store on the right

St Arnaud is located between the Richmond's and Nelson Lakes National Park. It is roughly 7-10 days in both directions to the next resupply point. If you decide to forgo a drop box, then your only resupply option here is the St Arnaud General Store. 

St Arnaud near Nelson Lakes National Park

The St Arnauld General Store

St Arnaud is a small settlement on SH 63 half way between Murchison and Blenheim. There are less than 50 permanent residents but it is often busy as it is the gateway to Nelson Lakes National Park. 

The St Arnaud General Store, cafe and petrol station

There is only one store in St Arnaud, the General Store on the main highway through the settlement. Calling this a store is a misnomer as it is basically a small grocery selection attached to the local NPD petrol station.  

The St Arnauld General Store

 The grocery selection is limited but you can certainly buy enough supplies here to get you through to either Hanmer (off the trail) or Arthur's Pass (with a drop box at the Boyle Outdoor Education Centre). 

I heard that the price were expensive, but a quick peruse of the shelves showed that they were only marginally more expensive than in a larger town. 

St Arnauld General Store: chiller and bread selection

The cafe attached to the store has a decent selection of cakes, slices, pies and sandwiches/rolls which can provide you with treats and lunches for the first day at least. They also do coffee and light meals if that is something you are interested in. 

St Arnaud General Store: the inside of the store

The store had methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) and a limited selection of screw type gas canisters for sale. There were very few of them so it might be best to contact them before you arrive to see if they have any available. 

St Arnaud General Store: toiletries and hardware

All the usual suspects are present: bread, rice, noodles, pasta meals, mashed potatoes, soup, canned tuna, cereals, nuttela, peanut butter, dried fruit, crackers, milk and milk powder, sugar, tea/coffee etc. etc. They have a limited supply of pre-packaged meats in a chiller including ham, bacon and salami.

I didn't spot any freeze dried meals, tortillas/wraps or anything similar in the shop.

St Arnaud General Store: general food groceries

The store also sells alcohol: they have wine, beer, RTD's and a selection of spirits for you to choose from. As always you need to be 18 years old to buy alcohol in New Zealand. 

The St Arnaud General Store sells alcohol....

I love that they have my favourite beer Kronenbourg (Vitamin K) in stock..must be all the tourists from France/Germany who drive the demand...

RTD and beer selection at the St Arnaud General Store...Kronenbourg!!!!

There is a small selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, enough to restock for the next section of the trail. I saw apples, oranges, bananas, onions, corn cobs, potatoes, garlic, capsicum, carrots, parsnips and tomatoes. 

Fruit and vegetable chiller at the St Arnauld General Store

So...not a supermarket but at least a possible resupply option as you pas through.

Incidentally, if you are catching the Nelson Lakes Shuttle to the Mt Robert car park (if doing the side trip to Angelus Hut) the shuttle collects you from the kiosk in front of the General Store. Bookings are essential and best made several days before your day of travel. 

Kerr Bay Campground St Arnaud

Camping in St Arnaud

While most people stay at a Lodge or Bed and Breakfast in St Arnaud you can camp at Kerr Bay camp ground instead.

St Arnaud township

One of the places you will pass through on the Te Araroa is St Arnaud, it is a small town and is the administrative centre for Nelson Lakes NP.

St Arnaud Township from high on the St Arnaud Range

 The township is very small, there would be less than 50 permanent residents and it has a DOC visitor Centre, various accommodation providers, 2 cafe's and a small general store

DOC visitors centre St Arnaud

Kerr Bay Campground

There are a number of DOC camp grounds in St Arnaud but the closest one to the Te Araroa route is at Kerr Bay on the Eastern side of Lake Rotoiti.

Map of St Arnaud Township

The camp-site is very nice, it has a number of areas for tents, a cooking/eating shelter (with gas and hot water provided), hot showers, a big toilet block and a washing/ drying room. I have stayed here a couple of times and found the experience positive. 

Water Taxi jetty, Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes NP

Cooking shelter at Kerr Bay

Kitchen area with gas hob, hot water

The cooking shelter is of the semi enclosed type but by this stage in your TA experience that will be the norm. There is a free gas hob but no pots or pans so use your own.

Dining area, Kerr Bay

The tent/caravan/camper sites past the bushes

Photo of some of the tent sites from the DOC website

It is located right next to the jetty for the water taxi and the terminus of Lakehead Track heading up to Travers Valley, Travers Saddle and Waiau Pass.

Start of Lakehead Track heading to Travers Valley

The camp ground can be busy especially at Christmas as Lake Rotoiti is a Mecca for boaties and the camper van crowd. Over the summer months bookings can be made on-line, other times you need to visit the DOC St Arnaud Visitor Centre, price per night is $20 NZD.