Northern Bass is a 3-day electronic music festival in Kaiwaka (about an hour north of Auckland and close to Mangawhai). For fans of drum and bass, this festival will be your favourite place to be on New Years Eve.
Where to stay:
Camping
You can stay onsite with a camping pass, available to purchase as an addon to your ticket. You can bring your own camping gear or purchase some of the other pre-pitched tent options. Premium camping options are available as ‘Bass Hotel’ packages.
Getting to the festival & other accommodation options
Shuttles run from Mangawhai, Auckland, Warkworth, Wellsford, Kaiwaka, Matakana, Omaha, Whangarei, Ruakaka, Waipu, Waipu Cove, Langs Beach. You can purchase return tickets for these buses on the same site that you buy your tickets.
You can look up places to say in these areas, but I recommend looking in the Mangawhai/Kaiwaka area on sites such as AirBnB & Bookabach.
An important note, there are no pass-outs at Northern Bass, so you cannot leave and re-enter in the same day using your car.
What to wear:
Need some ideas for a festi fit? Check out my blog post on New Zealand Festival Outfit Inspo!
The Festival
Oasis Stage
This stage is only open during the day at the top of the hill next to a small pond with a picturesque view of the countryside. Usually playing some more chilled out tunes.
Jungle Stage
This stage is for the drum and bass fiends. This is the only stage open on the 29th. It acts as a sort of pre-party to the main event while camping attendees set up. While small, this stage is set up with screens that display colourful visual patterns co-ordinated with lights across the crowd.
Fuzen Lounge (VIP Area)
Guests with access to the Fuzen lounge have a premium view of the main stage and their own bar. The exclusive bar has a slightly wider range of drink options and will have smaller queues due to the limited capacity of the VIP area.
Main Stage
For the main event, the largest stage with the biggest show of lights & lasers for headline acts. This is exactly where you want to be for the New Years countdown. There’s plenty of space for the crowd across a sprawling field and on the upper hill there’s a large canopy shade for people to sit under.
Food & Drink
There are three bars open to the GA crowd:
The Campground Bar – by the entrance, with the standard range of drinks. There is a little caravan next to it that usually serves ready made cocktails as well but this will have a separate line.
The Main Stage Bar – Next to the main stage, with the standard range of drinks.
The Red Bull Bar – Next to main stage bar but smaller, serving Red Bull’s range of drinks (flavoured red bulls, vodka + redbulls etc.)
You’ll find an assortment of food vendors near the entrance to the campground/festival area with shaded area seating under a large tarp tent in the middle of them all. There are a couple of food vendors my the main stage/red bull bars as well but really, this food court is the best place to go to grab a bite to eat.
Interested in working at Northern Bass?
I worked at Northern Bass 2024 & 2025. The first time, I supervised on one of the bars. The second time, I worked with Deepspace Festival Care. Here are some of my insights on working at this festival!
Bear in mind that festivals are a marathon not a sprint whether you’re attending or working them, this festival is 3 days long and working it you’ll be there at least an extra day on either side.
Meals are covered for the duration of your stay and you’ll be given vouchers to redeem them at the catering station and specific vendors. You’ll need to find your own transport there and bring your own camping gear, although there are often Facebook groups & chats where you can organize to carpool with someone else also working the event.
Working with Fuzen Entertainment
You can apply for paid or volunteer work opportunities with Fuzen for Northern Bass here.
Working for Fuzen at Northern Bass was probably one of the most challenging event jobs I’ve ever done. In saying that, I worked a year there was torrential rain every day so be prepared to work outdoors in any kind of weather. I recommend having strong experience in events or hospitality for the bar & event crew work, particularly in fast-paced environments working for long hours. It can also require a bit of physical strength as you could be setting up, stocking bars and helping with pack down once the event ends.
Working with Deepspace Festival Care
You can apply to work for Deepspace Festival Care by emailing info@deepspace.org.nz or contacting them through social media – Facebook & Instagram.
Deepspace is made up of a dedicated crew focused on harm reduction and participant care. They look after intoxicated patrons and provide people with a safe space to recoup if they’re feeling overwhelmed, need to rest or take a break. If you’re the mum of your friend group, you’d be in your element here.
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