Best time to go
DOC warns that sandflies can be especially bothersome in summer, and wasps are particularly common from December to April. Those are the main seasonal irritants to plan around.
Overview
About Kerr Bay Campsite
Why stop
- Two short forest walks start at or near camp.
Heads up
- Some tent pitches are uneven, and lake views vary by zone.
Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
3 active Nelson Lakes alerts
- ClosureRotoroa Route permanently closedThe Rotoroa Route is permanently closed along the eastern side of Lake Rotoroa between Rotoroa village and Sabine Hut.Official details
- CautionUnbridged stream between Sabine and D’Urville hutsThe bridge on the track between Sabine Hut and D’Urville Hut has been removed; trampers must cross an unbridged stream at GR E1571366 N5359831.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Nelson Lakes Tour Guide
Your drive to Kerr Bay Campsite, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Nelson Lakes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Kerr Bay and Lake Rotoiti0:00 / 0:27
“You're approaching Kerr Bay, an easy place to get down to Lake Rotoiti without taking on a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Kerr Bay Campsite in the Parkwolf Nelson Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre
- St Arnaud: Food and Village Stops
- Lodge Road and Black Hill Walk
- Teetotal Campsite and Duck Pond
- 26 audio storiesacross Nelson Lakes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor New Zealand Falcon, Weka, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 57 trails, 47 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Kerr Bay Campsite
Choose your zoneKerr Bay is a Department of Conservation campground beside Lake Rotoiti at St Arnaud, set among…
Kerr Bay is a Department of Conservation campground beside Lake Rotoiti at St Arnaud, set among beech forest. Its 25 sites are split across six zones: Bellbird, Fantail, Robin and Tui have powered sites; Kaka is a grassy tent area; and Kiwi is gravel for campervans. Bookings are required year-round, and there are no walk-up spaces held back. Check the zone when you book: tent ground and lake views vary, so a campsite here doesn't guarantee a level pitch or a view of the water. Vehicles longer than 7 metres aren't suitable.
Campground essentialsThe shared day shelter has kitchen and cooking facilities, but no cookware or cutlery.
The shared day shelter has kitchen and cooking facilities, but no cookware or cutlery. The ablution block has toilets, hot token-operated showers, a full-access shower and toilet, and a washer and dryer. Get shower tokens from the camp host or visitor centre. A sewage dump station is opposite the cooking shelter. There are no rubbish or recycling facilities, so take it all away; dogs and fires aren't allowed.
St Arnaud's village shop is about 500 metres away, so plan to bring food or make a separate stop. For Christmas, Easter, the Classic Boat Show and powerboat regatta weekends, DOC recommends booking well ahead.
Short walks from campThe roughly 30-minute Black Valley Walk starts inside the campground and follows the stream.
The roughly 30-minute Black Valley Walk starts inside the campground and follows the stream. The roughly 15-minute Bellbird Walk begins at the east-jetty car park nearby and loops through beech forest and a small wetland. A boat launching ramp is also close by.
Look into the beech forestThe Bellbird Walk passes large red beech trees where tūī and bellbirds feed.
The Bellbird Walk passes large red beech trees where tūī and bellbirds feed. New Zealand fuchsia grows along the track, and the wet patch supports sedges, rushes, ferns and mosses. It's a good little walk for noticing the forest, not just getting from camp to the lake.
Honeydew on the trunksThe black coating on some beech trunks is sooty mould, growing on sweet honeydew that scale…
The black coating on some beech trunks is sooty mould, growing on sweet honeydew that scale insects leave after feeding on the trees. Birds, insects and lizards feed on those droplets. Once you know what the dark trunks are, the forest has a whole extra layer to look for.
Glacial gravel and forest recoveryBlack Valley Stream cuts through gravel and rubble left by glaciers.
Black Valley Stream cuts through gravel and rubble left by glaciers. Metal bands on some trees stop possums climbing to mistletoe crowns. This work is part of the wider Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project, which manages more than 5,000 hectares of honeydew beech forest and has helped native species recover through pest control.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Nelson Lakes
20 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
39 sightingsWekaMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsKererūMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
55 sightingsBlack SwanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsParadise ShelduckMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Nelson Lakes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
