6 Best Dump Station Apps and Sites for New Zealand in 2026

Dump station apps at a glance

Use a camping app for the route and a council or NZMCA list to confirm a station before you rely on it. NZMCA's app needs a membership, Rankers and CamperMate are free, WikiCamps costs NZ$7.99 once, and KiwiCamping is free to download with in-app purchases.

None of the lists is complete, and fees and opening times change, so treat a listing as a starting point.

1. KiwiCamping: best for planning dump stations into a route

KiwiCamping maps 262 dump stations in its August 2026 data, drawn from community-sourced listings, and those listings show 240 as free, 8 as asking a donation, 6 as charging a fee and 8 with no fee noted. A record has the name, address, fee note, facilities such as toilets, a water tap and a bin, and the coordinates, and you can add one to a trip beside DOC campsites and holiday parks.

Place details open without signal because they are stored on the phone, but map imagery, routing, weather and photos need a connection. Our dump station guide has the regional counts and how to use a station.

The app runs on iPhone only (iOS 26 or later), and its 4 New Zealand ratings average 3.8.

2. NZMCA App: best for members with a self-contained vehicle

The New Zealand Motor Caravan Association's app is for members: joining costs NZ$252 in the first year, made up of a NZ$150 joining fee and a NZ$102 annual subscription, and the NZMCA says the membership includes the app and its Travel Directory. The directory shows dump stations, recycling spots, laundromats and water refill stations, and NZMCA Parks cost $5 per adult a night.

Anything you drive or tow must be certified self-contained to use the benefits. The iPhone app had no New Zealand ratings when we checked and the Android app rated 3.2 from 156 reviews on Google Play. NZMCA says the app is only available to download on devices with their country set to New Zealand.

3. Rankers Camping NZ: best free app with dump stations

Rankers is free and rated 4.7 from 3,322 New Zealand ratings, the most ratings among the camping apps we compared. Its listing says it covers more than 1,500 campsites and 6,600 places in all, including dump stations, water refills and LPG, and all public and holiday park dump stations.

It works offline straight out of the box, and each review is read by a person on its team. Its camping spots are ones the community has approved, so use it with a council list for rural stations.

4. CamperMate: best free app that also shows toilets and Wi-Fi

CamperMate is free and covers New Zealand and Australia. Its listing says you can find dump stations, public toilets, Wi-Fi spots and supermarkets, and download maps and place information to use without an internet connection. Its New Zealand average is 4.4 from 606 ratings, and Google Play marks it as containing ads.

We could not find a published count of its dump stations.

5. WikiCamps New Zealand: best for a large community list

WikiCamps New Zealand costs NZ$7.99 once, has an offline mode, and lists more than 12,000 sites that include dump points among its filters. It rated 4.5 from 137 New Zealand ratings, with 3.0 on Google Play.

Its listings come from travellers and it publishes no dump point count, so check a station with the council if it matters, as you would with any community list.

6. thl Roadtrip: best for thl hire customers

Tourism Holdings' free thl Roadtrip app, which Britz and Mighty Campers describe for their hirers, finds the nearest campsites, holiday parks, petrol stations, dump stations, toilets and LPG for New Zealand and Australia. It rated 4.6 from 122 New Zealand ratings.

The iPhone version was last updated in June 2025, and Mighty Campers says its app is powered by CamperMate, so another camping app is a useful second check.

Council and NZMCA lists

Councils publish their own stations, and fees vary. Waitaki District Council lists free dump stations at north Oamaru, east Omarama and Mill Reserve in Palmerston, and at its lakes camping grounds it is free with a camping ground ticket and otherwise $5 by donation box. Hurunui District Council lists stations at Amberley Beach, Cheviot, Culverden, Hanmer Springs and Waikari and suggests checking the CamperMate app or an AA map for private ones.

NZMCA says dump stations are typically built in accordance with NZ Standard 5465:2001. Vehicle certification now runs under the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers (Self-Contained Vehicles) Regulations 2023.

The rules that sit behind a dump station

Since 7 June 2026 only a green-warrant vehicle counts as self-contained, and the old blue warrant cannot be used for freedom camping. The requirements do not apply at a campground, holiday park or private property. The 2023 regulations require a wastewater system that stores greywater and blackwater and a way to dispose of wastewater hygienically to an appropriate outfall.

Depositing waste while freedom camping carries an $800 infringement fee, with a court maximum of $2,400. See our freedom camping rules guide for where the fine applies.

How we chose and checked

We included the apps and lists that show dump stations in New Zealand and left out US-focused dump apps, apps with no updates for years and apps with too few ratings to judge. Prices, ratings and versions come from the New Zealand App Store on 21 October 2026, and rules and fines from the legislation and each council's own page.

Fees, counts and opening times change, and we describe each service as its owner does. A feature not mentioned here is not a claim that an app lacks it.

Places along the way