Invercargill holiday park motorhome stay guide

Invercargill Holiday Park & Motels is an independent park on the northern edge of Invercargill. It suits motorhome travellers who want a practical Southland base before Bluff, Stewart Island, the Catlins, or the Southern Scenic Route.

This is not a resort-style stop. It is a useful powered-site night with a dump station, laundry, kitchen, fuel nearby, and enough space for most rental motorhomes if you choose the right site.

Get the regional plan that pairs Invercargill Holiday Park with Omaui Campsite and the closest legal Southland backups, or send your dates if you'd like a planner to sense-check the booking window for your week.

The park sits in Waikiwi, about 5 km north of central Invercargill, usually 8 to 10 minutes by motorhome. It is not a pleasant city-centre walk with groceries, but Waikiwi fuel and basic shops are roughly 2 km away, about 25 minutes on foot or 4 minutes by road.

Bluff is 32 km south via SH1, allow 30 to 35 minutes without rushing. That makes the park handy if you are catching the Stewart Island ferry from Bluff, or if you are linking the Dunedin to Invercargill drive with the Southern Scenic Route.

The park is generally dog-friendly by prior arrangement on sites, but do not assume pets are allowed in every unit or during every holiday period. Ask before you arrive, especially in January.

Powered sites for two adults typically sit around NZ$55-75 in peak summer, with noticeably lower rates in winter and shoulder months like March. Extra adults, children, and larger sites can shift the number, so treat that as a planning band, not a fixed tariff.

On site you can expect a communal kitchen, TV lounge, laundry, guest dump station, fresh-water fill, shared bathrooms, and Wi-Fi that is fine for messages but not something I would rely on for a long video call. There is no hot-pool reason to choose this park over another Southland stop. The value is convenience, tanks, power, and a dry laundry night.

In Southland, I would usually take power unless you are in a small certified self-contained van and the forecast is settled. Nights can feel cold even outside winter, and a powered site lets you run the heater, recharge devices, keep the fridge steady, and dry wet layers after Bluff or Oreti Beach.

If your motorhome is over 7 m, or you are towing, call ahead and ask for a site with easy swing room. Invercargill streets are straightforward by New Zealand standards, but tight park corners are where first-timers usually get stressed.

Central Invercargill is close for supermarkets, Queens Park, E Hayes Motorworks, and Bill Richardson Transport World. Oreti Beach is about 12 km away, allow 15 to 20 minutes. Bluff, Stirling Point, and the Stewart Island ferry terminal are the main reason many motorhome travellers stay here.

DOC backup choices are thin within 30 km of Invercargill. Omaui Campsite is the realistic named DOC option, around 28 to 30 km away depending on your route, allow about 30 minutes. If you are weighing that against a paid powered site, read the Holiday parks vs DOC campsites guide first. Mavora Lakes is a fine DOC stop on another leg toward Te Anau, but it is not an Invercargill fallback.

For January, public holidays, and event periods such as the Burt Munro Challenge, book several weeks ahead. Four to eight weeks is sensible if you need a powered site and have a ferry connection at Bluff the next morning. Outside summer, you can often be more relaxed, but Southland weather makes laundry and power more valuable than travellers expect.

If you are also researching the Dunedin region page, plan the Dunedin to Invercargill leg as 205 km and roughly 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours by motorhome on SH1, with longer if you detour through the Catlins.