It's the end of an era for three iconic holiday parks in the Bay of Plenty as their longtime owners sell up and move on. Reporter Samantha Motion spoke to Ian and Vicki Smith of the Top 10 Waihi Beach Holiday Resort and Beachaven Holiday Park, about how
Ian and Vicki Smith sell Top 10 Waihi Beach Holiday Park after 25 years
Subscribe to listen
Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
Ian and Vicki Smith sold the Top 10 Waihi Beach Holiday Park after 25 years. Photo / George Novak
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
"In winter, the kids would be in bed asleep when I left to go to work and they would be back in bed at night by the time I got home. So, I didn't get to see them. It was like, 'what else can we do?'" Ian said.
They saw holiday parks advertised in the newspaper.
"We thought, yeah, we could probably do that."
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
He had never been camping but his parents had a church camping ground on their farm when he was growing up and Vicki had grown up camping.
Waihī Beach was the only park they looked at seriously.
"We didn't do much due diligence or research, I just took one look at it and said, 'Let's see if we can make a difference to this place'. And we have."
They took over on February 6, 1996.
"We borrowed everything to get in there so, of course, we had no money to spend. It was like, do what you can to try and make it work."
Over time they have added a lot more showers and toilets, a swimming pool complex - memorably opened by Helen Clark - a gym, a sauna, a jumping pillow and much more.
They added two more kids to their brood at the park, and have watched multiple generations of visitors come through, adapting the park to their changing needs along the way.
They would go on to buy the Beachaven Holiday Park, four streets over, 11 years later.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Ian and Vicki agreed the people had been the best thing about their time.
"A highlight is when you see a kid come into the park, you're doing your night rounds, they're 14, 15, and you put your torch on in the laundry and there they are having their first kiss," said Ian.
"And then, they come back 10 years later with a partner, and then they bring their own kids. They just want their own kids to have the same experience."
