ParkUp FAQs
The questions people actually ask, answered plainly. Where something is not built yet, or not something ParkUp can promise, it says so.
Getting started
What is ParkUp?
ParkUp is a community network across Aotearoa connecting people on the road with the people whose land they cross. You can find stays on private land, storage, shared rides and community gatherings, plus Kōrero, the members feed where people ask each other for everything the listings do not cover. It started with stays and grew from there.
Do I need an account to look around?
No. You can read every stay, storage listing, ride and gathering without signing up. An account is only needed when you want to ask for something, message someone, or offer something of your own.
Is ParkUp a freedom camping directory?
No. Freedom camping rules cover public land, including council bylaws and land managed by DOC, LINZ or NZTA. ParkUp is about private land, where the owner gives permission to a particular person for a particular stay. It is not a campground operator and not a public-land directory.
Can I book instantly?
No, and this is deliberate. Everything on ParkUp is request first, approval second. You send a message, the person offering reads it and decides. Gatherings are the one place an organiser can choose to approve people automatically, and most organisers still review each one.
Is ParkUp finished?
No. It is growing, and some parts are still being built. The Road Guide is being rebuilt, and Kōrero posts cannot be reported from the page yet. We would rather tell you what is missing than let you assume it is there.
Stays
What kind of places are listed?
Driveways, paddocks, farms, lifestyle blocks, orchards, vineyards, bush, coastal spots, urban sections and community hubs. Whatever someone has room for and is willing to share, described in their own words.
Where can I park my campervan overnight in New Zealand?
Three kinds of place. Holiday parks and campgrounds, which you book. Public land where the land manager, whether council, DOC, LINZ or NZTA, allows overnight camping for your vehicle class, with its own rules and signs. And private land, where the owner has said yes to you. ParkUp is the third kind: a host with a driveway, paddock or farm who takes requests.
Can I camp on private land in New Zealand?
Yes, with the permission of the person who owns or manages it. That is what every ParkUp stay is. The public freedom camping rules do not automatically apply on private land, but the host sets their own conditions, the council still has a say in what a property can be used for, and you are expected to leave the place as you found it.
What are the alternatives to freedom camping?
Holiday parks and campgrounds, DOC campsites, and a private host. A private stay through ParkUp gives you a person to talk to and a place that is expecting you, because the host has said yes to you. It is not free unless the host says so, and it is never open to just turn up.
Do I need a certified self-contained vehicle?
It depends on the listing. Some hosts have a toilet you can use and will take any vehicle. Others require a certified self-contained vehicle as a condition of their property. Each listing says which. Certification is a legal requirement for freedom camping on public land, not something that automatically applies to every private stay.
When do I find out where it actually is?
After the host approves your request. Until then you see the general area so you can work out whether it suits your route. A map pin is not permission to turn up.
How long can I stay?
Whatever you and the host agree. Some listings are set up for a night or two, others accept long stays and have weekly or monthly rates. The listing will say, and anything unusual is worth asking about in your request.
What is expected of me while I am there?
Follow the rules the host set out, manage your waste properly, keep to the arrival and departure times you agreed, and leave the place as you found it or better. You are a guest on private land that belongs to someone else.
Are there reviews?
Yes. After a stay, a ride or a storage arrangement, both people get two weeks to review each other. Neither of you sees the other review until you have both written one, or the two weeks run out, so nobody is writing a reply. Reviews are split by role, because being a good host and being a good passenger are different things and we never merge them into one number. No average shows until there are at least three reviews, since two cannot honestly make one. A written comment is optional at every rating, including a low one.
Who can see a review?
A review of a place is public, so someone deciding whether to join can read it. A review of a person is for signed-in members only. Judging a place and publishing a character assessment of a named person are different things, and we only do the first one in the open.
Jump straight to the kind of stay you are after.
Storage
What can I store, and where?
Listings cover indoor and covered storage, land and yards, workshops, garages, sheds, containers, and parking or hardstand. People use them for a van over winter, a trailer between trips, a boat, or gear that will not fit where they are living.
Where can I store my campervan or caravan between trips?
With someone who has a spare shed, yard or hardstand and lists it on ParkUp. Terms are the provider’s own, usually by the week or month, sometimes koha or free. You send a request with the date you want to start, and the provider shares the location details once they approve. What is listed depends on where people have room, so check your region.
How is storage different from a stay?
Mostly in length. A stay is usually nights, storage is usually weeks or months, so listings carry a price by the week or month. You send a request with the date you would like to start, and the person offering approves it before the address is shared.
Is my stuff insured?
Not by ParkUp. ParkUp connects you with the person offering the space and nothing more. Check whether your own contents or vehicle insurance covers the item where it will be stored, and ask the provider what their insurance does and does not cover. Write down what you both agreed.
Rides
How do rides work?
Someone posts a trip they were already making and how many seats are spare. You ask for a seat, say where you would like to be picked up, and the driver accepts or declines.
What does a ride cost?
A share of what the trip costs to run: a fuel contribution or koha. Some drivers ask for nothing. What ParkUp does not support is charging a fare, because carrying passengers for profit is a commercial passenger service with its own licensing requirements.
Does ParkUp handle the money?
No. Rides are settled directly between the two of you. Agree what the contribution is before the trip so nobody is working it out at the end of a long drive.
Gatherings and events
What sort of events are on here?
Working bees, markets, workshops, saunas, walks and day trips, music, dance, circles, wellness sessions, garden and land projects, campouts, festivals and retreats. Some are one afternoon, some run for days.
Do I have to be approved to come?
Usually. You send an RSVP and the organiser approves it, the same as a stay. Organisers can turn on automatic approval where it makes sense, because a public working bee is a different thing from a stranger parked on your driveway overnight.
What does an event cost?
Events are free to list. Many are free to attend, and an organiser may ask for koha, describe a cost up front, or run it as a work exchange. Some events carry a ticket price, and paying for one through ParkUp is being introduced a step at a time. Whatever applies is written on the event before you ask to come.
What is the event wall?
A place for the people coming to an event to talk to each other beforehand: what to bring, who is carpooling, what is happening. It opens up once you are part of the event, and it is not visible to the public.
Kōrero
What is Kōrero?
The members-only feed where people talk to each other. Stays, storage, rides and gatherings are things people list. Kōrero is everything that does not fit a listing: where the water is in a town, whether a pass is worth taking in a house truck, someone heading south on Thursday with room for a box, a hand needed for an afternoon. You need an account to read it.
What else shows up in it?
The quiet news of the network. When someone lists a new stay, posts a ride, opens up storage or puts on a gathering, it turns up in the feed as it happens. You can filter to just posts, or just one of those, if the lot is too much.
Can I choose what I see?
Yes. Feed settings let you turn off the kinds of updates you are not interested in, so you can keep it to conversation only if that is what you are there for.
Can anyone read it?
No, and that is on purpose. Kōrero is members only. It is people talking to each other rather than a shopfront, and it works because of that.
Offering something
Am I allowed to host people on my land?
It depends on your council, your district plan, your property zone and what exactly you are offering. This is the question to answer before you list, not after someone asks to come. Check with your council. ParkUp gives general guidance but cannot confirm what is legal for your particular property.
What about insurance?
Talk to your insurer before you host anyone. Standard home or rural policies often do not cover visitors, vehicles on your property, or public liability for people who are there by arrangement. Describe what you actually intend to do and get the answer in writing.
Do I have to charge?
No. A stay can be free, koha, paid, or a work exchange where someone helps out instead of paying. Storage is usually paid by the week or month. Rides are a fuel or koha contribution. Events are free to list.
Does ParkUp take payments or a cut?
Not on stays, storage or rides. Money, koha or work exchange for those is arranged directly between the two of you and ParkUp takes no part in it. Paid event tickets are the one place ParkUp is starting to handle payment, and it is not switched on for everyone yet.
Is what I receive taxable?
It might be. Koha and work exchange can still count. Keep a record of what you receive, and talk to IRD or a tax adviser if you are not sure where you stand.
Can I choose who comes?
Yes, every time. Requests arrive with a message and a profile, and you approve or decline each one. Nothing is automatic unless you turn on automatic approval for one of your own events.
Can a community or organisation join?
Yes. Retreat centres, intentional communities and eco-villages, permaculture and land projects, working farms, lifestyle blocks, wellness spaces, community hubs, conservation projects, event venues, clubs and faith communities can join as a community rather than as a person. A community account shows the full name of the place, a description, a website and social links. You choose this when you sign up, and changing it afterwards means asking support.
Privacy and safety
Who can see my exact address?
Only the people you approve. Until you approve a request, a listing shows the general area and nothing more. Approving is what releases the address and the arrival instructions, so it is worth being sure before you do it.
What shows on my profile?
Individual accounts are shown by first name while people are browsing. Once you are actually dealing with someone, in a message, a request or a review, they see your first name and the initial of your surname, so "Sam W." rather than the whole thing. Community accounts show the full name of the place, because that is the point of them. Beyond that, what you fill in is what is shared.
Something has gone wrong. What do I do?
Use the Report link beside whatever it relates to: a profile, stay, storage listing, event, ride, review or conversation. It reaches ParkUp with the details already attached. For anything that does not sit on one page, email support. If anyone is in danger, ring emergency services first and tell us afterwards.
How does ParkUp keep people safe?
Honestly, ParkUp reduces risk rather than removing it. Requests and approvals mean nobody arrives unannounced. Hidden addresses mean a listing is not an open invitation. Reviews build a record over time, so how someone behaves follows them. Listings may be reviewed or moderated while we are still growing. What ParkUp cannot do is vouch for how any person will behave, so read the listing, ask your questions before you commit, and trust your own judgement.
Still got a question?
Ask us. While ParkUp is small, you get a real answer from a person.