Bland Bay Campgrounds

25/03/2026

Another belt coming our way whanau! I suggest staying put and waiting this one out until it passes.....kia tupato x

Kia mātāra e te iwi,

Please be advised of the recent weather warnings issued for parts of Northland. Stay alert and take care during this time.

Marae and safe spaces currently open for whānau:

• Tūparehuia Marae
• Ngaiotonga Marae
• Oakura Marae
• Mokau Marae
• Whakapaumahara Marae
• Matapouri Marae
• Ngunguru Marae
• Kawa Marae
•Omaha Marae

If you or your whānau need a safe place, please don’t hesitate to head to one of these locations.

⸻

Your local District Council is the best place to report issues and receive updates on local infrastructure, including road conditions.

Northland Civil Defence works alongside councils to provide welfare support. Any additional centres or marae that open will be shared on the District Council websites below:

Whangārei District Council
📞 0800 932 463
🌐 www.wdc.govt.nz

Far North District Council
📞 0800 920 029
🌐 www.fndc.govt.nz

Kaipara District Council
📞 0800 727 059
🌐 www.kaipara.govt.nz

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🔌 Power Outages:
Whangārei & Kaipara (Northpower)
🌐 https://northpower.nz/outages/
📞 0800 104 040

Far North (Top Energy)
🌐 https://outages.topenergy.co.nz/
📞 0800 867 363

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🚧 State Highway Updates:
🌐 https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/journey-planner

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Stay safe, look after one another, and check in on your whānau and neighbours.

20/02/2026

FYI

Clearing the slip at Helena Bay Hill (Russell Road) will require about 110,000 cubic metres of material to be removed - from the road and from the side of the hill. This material is mostly dirt, rock and large fallen trees to be taken away in about 15,000 truck loads. This is phase 1 of restoring the road.

After the road-way has been cleared, it will become a work-site for the road itself to be repaired from any damage caused by the slip. This will be phase 2 of restoring the road.

Working with contractors, we believe phase 1 (slip removal) will be finished in June 2026, assuming clear access and fair weather. After slip material is removed, we will be able to assess the road condition and estimate the time required to re-open the route to normal traffic.

We all wish it could be done sooner but we wanted to give a realistic time-estimate so locals and visitors can plan their next few months.

A new 'Project webpage' includes information about detour routes and up-to-date information about the work schedule. You can use the "subscribe to this page" feature to be notified any time it is updated.

New project webpage:
👉 https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Council/Projects/Russell-Road-slip-clearance-at-Helena-Bay-Hill

Image: An aerial view of the slip which completely blocks Russell Road at the Helena Bay Hill.

20/02/2026

Good afternoon everyone!

A highly anticipated reopening of camp will be 1st March 2026.

While we hoped to avoid much disruption to bookings up to this time, it just wasnt safe nor practical to reopen following January's weather events.

Contractors and our family/xmas workers who fought the treacherous conditions to get to us to help with clearing of rubbish, sewerage cleanup, electrical work, grounds work etc, thank you!

We appreciate all our regular campers/locals and whanau who reached out in support of us, you are the reason we do what we do!

The travel to us will be a longer journey and we ask if you do decide to stay with us that opua ferry is the way to go if you're towing or driving motorhomes/caravans/trailers/boats/jetskis etc...this will incur an extra charge for the ferry and longer drive time so plan accordingly.

▪️check ferry times and costing at https://northlandferries.co.nz/bay-of-islands-ferry/

▪️roading updates via whangarei district council website https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Services/Roads-and-Transportation/Roads/Roadworks-and-closures/Russell-Road-2026

▪️weather updates https://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/regions/northland/locations/russell

On another note, xmas/new year bookings will open up AFTER easter weekend.

So we'll be seeing you guys soon, thank you for your patience....

Mike & Sam x

Paihia - Russell ferry and Opua vehicle ferry to Okiato, Bay of Islands. See timetables & pricing, buy tickets online with Northland Ferries.

29/01/2026

We are still closed at the moment, but please hold tight and watch for updates on our reopening here on facebook x

24/01/2026

19/01/2026

Kia ora all,

As we move into yet another windy and wet few days, me and my family have now moved to our marae for shelter and its just us for now. Whanau the doors are open...

🛑NOTE: We are definitely closed at camp until further notice.

We ask all campers again, please DONT travel to us, you run the risk of putting yourself and others in harms way! Roads north/south of Bland bay are not stable and the likely hood is, they will get worse if this weather does continue.

Our home in Punaruku (that we cant get to) is flooded and we too have other worries besides camp. So hold tight and lets focus on our haukainga getting through this safely first 😊

Nga mihi x

18/01/2026

⛈️ A new day.....more rain 😨

It has been decided that we will be cancelling all bookings for this long weekend.

Our roads and resources are already under extreme pressure from yesterdays events and allowing more people into the area will only add more pressure. Yours and our safety comes first!

Weather forecasted for the week is looking like another big hit for us and we cannot put anyone else in the situation we were in yesterday.

We will remain at camp and ride it out, with the few remaining campers.

So we thank all those yesterday who pulled through and got it done. All our campers and whanau who emailed, called or text to check up on us, we are 👌🏽😉🤞🏽

17/01/2026

UPDATE

North and south exits are a no go, please dont try travel, especially with big rigs you will not be able to turn back around.

SHOP

We will be rationing our stock, we have about 60 odd people sheltered at the marae and that will be our hub to feed, water and house those that require immediate help.

SHOWERS N TOILETS - CAMP

With no power the water wont run to regenerate the water to these facilities, please head over to the marae for this purpose.

WEATHER

Looking like another belt of rain around 5pm continuing for the next few days, sit tight and we'll help where we can. We can be found at the cabin at camp or at tuparehuia marae or 0220336480.

EMERGENCIES

Ring 111 in the first instance, there is also a local emergency phone number 021815166.

***ALL BOOKINGS FOR THIS WEEK AT CAMP ARE CANCELLED***

Thank you all for pulling together and helping us so far, fully appreciate it x
Sam

17/01/2026

NGAIOTONGA BRIDGE WASHED OUT
Kia ora whānau - the Ngaiotonga Bridge has washed out right by the turn off to Bland Bay and Whangaruru North Road. Can someone phone our Ngaiotonga whānau and let them know and check they are safe as they are cutoff to the south at Punaruku.

FNDC have been notified.

17/01/2026

There is no power at camp.

If you require shelter, please head over to tuparehuia marae, located straight across from camp, you wont get through punaruku due to flooding.

Ring us on 0220336480 for assistance.

Stay put and please dont try travel, the conditions are horrible.

UPDATES TO COME

Stay safe guys x