Everyone needs to bring their own food.
If you're staying in the Korimako Cottage or the Matuku Moana Container, all bedding and towels are provided.
If you're staying in a cabin, most beds have only have a fitted sheet and pillow with pillowcase. However, a single bed in Kererū and the queen bed in Pīwakawaka have full bedding. So you'll need to bring a towel and you may need to bring a sleeping bag. Click here for a full list of bedding in each location.
We don't have any standard times - we just figure out what will work for you and others who may be staying before or after you. Just let us know if you have particular requirements. Typically people arrive late afternoon/evening and leave early afternoon, but we're flexible.
We do expect guests to clean and tidy the spaces they use. Let us know if there's some reason you can't do that.
This ranges from 12 to 21 to more, depending on the nature of your group. See here for more details.
We feel that a suggested donation would just set a de facto price, and we don't wish to charge. A koha is appreciated, but it's optional! If you like what we're doing and want to make a donation, the amount is entirely up to you. If you want to know what market rates are, you can look at a commercial site such as littlerivercampground.co.nz.
That's the number on the front gate ‒ our address is 4451 Christchurch Akaroa Road. But it's not just a number ‒ it indicates that our property is 44.51km from the start of the road in Halswell. You can read about it here.
We don't have a no-alcohol policy per se (it's totally fine to have a wine with your meal) but we definitely do not want any rowdy or bad behaviour brought on by alcohol (or anything else!).
We would prefer you don't bring your dog.
There are really two sets of accommodation: the Korimako Cottage which is self-contained, and then the three cabins and container which share the ablution block for toilets/showers (though the container has its own) and also share the Barn for cooking/dining/living. So if you're staying in a cabin or container then it's possible that you will be sharing the Barn facilities with others. If you need the space to yourself just let us know when booking.
There is one caravan power point next to our house. There are also regular power points in the ablution block and shed that can also be used if you have the necessary adapter.
No, this is just our personal property. We attend South West Baptist church but our facilities aren't part of the official church ministries.
Don't panic! 😀 Occasionally (every couple of weeks or so) a siren sounds up on the hill behind our property. This is used to call the local volunteer fire brigade to an incident – they attend vehicle crashes and medical events as well as fires. As soon as enough volunteers have responded, the siren stops – usually after a couple of minutes.
There is a daily shuttle service between Christchurch and Akaroa, which goes through Little River: Akaroa French Connection. As of November 2024 the price was $40 each way. If you ask them nicely they will probably drop you off at our gate, which is 2km past Little River.
If you're having difficulty getting here, let us know and we will see if we can organise a ride for you, as there are plenty of people commuting between Christchurch and Little River every day.
At some times of year there are modest numbers of sandflies at some times of day, often just after the sun goes down in summer. It seems to be quite person-dependent – some people notice them much more than others. We have insect repellent available.
We don't require Covid vaccination. We don't mind if you're vaccinated or not... if you don't raise the subject, we won't either! 😅