New DoC camp website draws more than 1000 to book holidays as revamped system launches

The Department of Conservation says online bookings for the upcoming holiday camping season has began seamlessly with more than a 1000 reservations made in the first hour.

The department operates over 300 campsites around New Zealand and booking slots for the next 12 months from July for most of the sites opened at 9.30am.

Cameron Hyland, Department of Conservation (DoC) bookings and visitor manager, said the department was “very pleased” with how the bookings have gone so far.

“There have been no technical glitches or issues and demand has been strong with over 1000 bookings processed 45 minutes after opening this morning.”

After a surge in demand last year resulted in repeated website crashes, DoC overhauled its booking system and introduced staggered booking dates for their Great Walks, campsites and other facilities.

The new lobby system, similar to those used by event ticketing companies, involved users logging into their DoC account, being redirected to a booking lobby and assigned a number. At 9.30am the queue started to move into the booking system.

Hyland said today’s queue was finished about 15 minutes after opening.

Spots at Tōtaranui, Momorangi and Anaura Bay campsites will open tomorrow morning.

Hyland earlier advised that whether you were booking a hut, campsite or Great Walk, it was worth getting prepared early.

“Give yourself the best chance of securing your spot by creating an account on the booking system and making sure your login details work.

“Familiarise yourself with the booking system. You can even practise making a booking – just empty your cart at the end rather than paying.

“Bookings open at 9.30am each opening day. We recommend logging on around 9.15am, there’s no benefit to doing it any earlier.”

All bookings are first-come first-served. DoC says it does not have waiting lists for bookings for future seasons or facilities that are already booked-out.

There will be a price increase for some facilities next season, ranging between 5% and 15% for the Milford, Routeburn, Kepler, Abel Tasman Coast Track and Paparoa Great Walks and several high-demand huts and cottages.

DoC announced this month that the Tongariro Northern Circuit would no longer be available to book for the Great Walks season due to plans to replace Oturere Hut.

Opening dates for Great Walk accommodation bookings (for stays from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) 9.30am NZST

Opening dates for all other accommodation bookings (for stays from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) 9.30am NZST