Cabins are being removed from a beloved Hawke’s Bay campground close to the famous Cape Kidnappers cliffs after permanent residents were given 24 hours to pack up and leave due to the risk of a landslide.
The action by Hastings District Council at Clifton Motor Camp’s number one campground has been taken less than a month after a tragic landslide at a campground at Mount Maunganui.
On the morning of January 22, the landslide ploughed through part of Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, leaving six people - two Auckland teenagers, a Swedish tourist, two long-time friends and a Morrinsville teacher - dead.
Hawke’s Bay Today has been sent a letter that went to people at the campground on Thursday.
It says an independent geotechnical report has found a high risk of landslides affecting “much, and possibly all of the campground”.
“Buildings and caravans are located very close to the base of the slope.
“If the slope fails, debris could reach and impact these structures.”
The letter says that the site has experienced land instability in the past and it would likely take millions of dollars of major engineering and drainage works to make it safe.
“Because of the seriousness and immediacy of the risk, Council has advised that all occupants vacate the campground within 24 hours.”
It says it would support long-term residents with this.
Piki Wellwood-King, board member of Clifton Reserve Society, directed all questions to Hastings District Council on Friday morning.
She said 18 people lived at the campground permanently and that residents of the camp are “devastated”.
It’s understood that a second section of the camp, known as Camp 2, was not required to evacuate as at today.
Hawke’s Bay is under a heavy rain watch in the 11 hours from 3pm on Friday to 2am on Saturday.
Periods of heavy rain with a chance of thunderstorms and localised downpours of 25 to 40 mm per hour are possible, especially inland.
Rainfall accumulations may exceed warning criteria in a few locations and further heavy rain is possible from late Sunday, with a moderate chance of MetService upgrading it to a warning.
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said an inspection of at-risk sites was triggered by the recent landslide tragedy in Tauranga, and the Clifton Motor Camp leaseholders identifying dangerous trees above the campground.
As part of that precautionary work, Council commissioned a preliminary geotechnical assessment of the Clifton Motor Camp 1 site.
“The assessment, supported by site visits this week, found the land above the campground to be highly unstable. Heavy or prolonged rain, elevated groundwater levels, or an earthquake could cause the slope to fail. If that occurred, soil, rocks and large trees would fall directly onto buildings and caravans located at the base of the slope.
“Because many structures are situated close to the hillside, there would be little warning and limited opportunity to escape safely.”
The council spokesperson said the site had experienced slips in the past, including one that damaged the toilet block and covered the playground area in April 2011. In 2019, a slip from the Clifton Beach Cape Kidnappers escarpment put two tourists in hospital. The latest rain event caused one of the trees to fall and a small slip, the spokesperson said.
Hastings District Council chief executive Nigel Bickle said the decision was based squarely on independent expert advice.
“This is not a knee-jerk reaction ... The advice is clear - the level of risk is extreme and cannot be ignored.”
The climate and risk had markedly changed for the worse since the earlier slip, Bickle said.
The previous land movement was assessed at the time as localised and manageable.
“Geotechnical science, modelling and national risk guidance have progressed significantly. We also know that more frequent and high-intensity rainfall events increase slope instability.
“The assessment we have now reflects today’s knowledge and today’s climate realities. It presents a far more serious risk profile than what was understood previously.”
The decision to require occupants to vacate was made by the leaseholders (The Clifton Reserve Society Incorporated), and landowner Hastings District Council, Bickle said.
Council staff are working with the society and support agencies to assist residents, including helping those who need it to connect with accommodation and support services, coordinating practical arrangements, arranging security for the site, and enabling safe access for residents to retrieve personal belongings.
“We recognise this is distressing for the people who use the campground, some for many decades,” Bickle said.
“But when expert advice tells us there is a credible threat to life, we have a responsibility to act.”
Clifton Motor Camp resident Campbell Burns, a local musician who has lived there for three years, received his letter from the council on Thursday about 8.30pm.
“I was eating my dinner here and got a knock on the door, and outside there are six of our fellow campers all looking fairly long-faced, and they handed me the piece of paper.
“Obviously, it is a reaction to the Mount, and all that stuff, and it’s hard because I probably don’t have a leg to stand on here, the fact we are living on campground land,” he said.
“Honestly, I’m still in shock. I’m just walking around the place trying to work out next moves.“
He lives in a caravan with an awning, which he has turned into his home. He said all his belongings were there.
“I’ve put a lot of my heart and soul into this place, and it’s all just a bit shocking.
“And like a lot of us out here, there is not much of a Plan B.
“There are quite a few of us out here that are permanents,” he said.
He said he had been given until 5pm Friday to leave the campground, which was less than 24 hours notice in his case, as his home was right at the end of the campground and he was among the last to get the letter.
“5pm we need to be out and we can’t come back for the whole weekend.
“And then on Monday we are expected to start moving our stuff.
“But none of my stuff is movable. My caravan is on timber.”
He said in his view the long-time residents should have been given more time than 24 hours “for your whole life to be turned upside down like this”.
“Fortunately, I have a lot of friends that are trying to step up, but the fact is I’m going to be living out the back of my car for a while until I find something else.“
There is a meeting at noon on Friday for the impacted residents.
“I’m assuming we are going to find out more what the plan is there [in terms of housing support].
“But for most of us we are not wealthy people, and it is not an easy place New Zealand at the moment to find other options. So there will be quite a few of us stuck.“
He said there were two areas of the motor camp, and his understanding was only one of the areas was being evacuated - the one at the “end of the line” near the bank.
Retired Napier businesswoman Colleen Carson has a family history at Clifton going back four generations.
She and husband Ken, who died in mid-2024, had a permanent site going back 18 years and had lived their summers there since about 2017, while maintaining a home in Napier, post-retirement from their panelbeating business in Greenmeadows.
“For a lot of people this is their happy place,” she said. “This is my happy place. I’m devastated.”
She was at the camp when council staff arrived to tell residents, but she only learned of the situation when told by representatives of the reserve committee during the evening.
Clifton Marine Club has also been told to evacuate, but its president, Graeme Johnson, says he is staying positive about the future of the fishing club, which is located inside the Clifton camp.
“At the moment, the council has no appetite for risk, so although we are a low-risk, the council decided on a blanket closure,” Johnson said.
“The clubhouse is nowhere near the bank and our 200 members drive in and out, they don’t sleep there, so although the Marine Club, facilities, and boat ramp are closed along with the camp, I believe we have grounds to negotiate with the council in the coming weeks for the future of our club,” Johnson said.
He said if members wanted to remove their boats, they had until 5pm today.
“There will be security on site and our cameras will continue to operate.”