The Kaitawa region back in 1949 as the power station was being built and the school for the children of the workers was running.
The words Camp Kaitawa have become deeply engraved into the memories of thousands of Hawke's Bay youngsters ... youngsters who grew up and then heard the stories about the "great camp" from their own children a generation later.
Stories of adventure, laughter and learning ... as well as the occasional escapade of course.
For 50 years the stories have been told, and some of the latest tellers of tales from their stay are the third generation to have tasted time at the camp, situated amidst the spectacular landscape just north of Tuai and about 1.5km south of Lake Waikaremoana.
A stay there, whether it was for two days or maybe a week, would give the mainly primary and intermediate age children a unique and memorable taste of Urewera country they would long remember.
It is those memories, and photographs, which the Camp Kaitawa Trust crew is now seeking to unearth as they prepare to stage the 50th anniversary of the camp which first sparked up in 1967.
Trust secretary Ross Pinkham said part of the camp's golden anniversary would be displays of photographs from through the years along with stories about the many school visits over five decades and the progress which had been made in the upgrading and care of the amenities.
There are likely to be plenty of stories told at the anniversary celebrations, which are set to take place on October 28.
As Betty MacDonald put it - "we had some great school camps up there".
And for Rose Arlidge there was only one word for the camp.
"Fantastic" was her summation.
"I have been there twice with our children on school camps and walked Ngamoko once - so much history there."
For another visitor (when he was a lad) there were simply "great memories".
Mark Thomson was left with not only great memories but the sound of laughter.
"I loved my time on school camps - Dad used to get those fluoro sticks and they would paint themselves up like skeletons then come and scare us."
While the actual Camp Kaitawa did not spark up until 1967, its original building goes back to 1939 when it was opened as a school in Piripaua for the children of hydro power scheme workers who were based in the area and involved in building the Piripaua power station.
When that job was wrapped up in 1944 the workers shifted to Kaitawa, so the school buildings were uplifted and relocated there.
It remained active until 1957 when the completion of the Kaitawa Power Station saw its doors finally closed.
But the appeal of the region and the potential for the buildings to house some form of outdoor recreation and education centre did not go unnoticed.
Voluntary groups stepped into the picture and began developing Camp Kaitawa, and in 1967 it took in its first young guests who came under the then Hawke's Bay Education Board area.
One of the first pupils to go there in 67 was Graeme Muir, who is today chairman of the trust, and among the current 10 on the trust is another early camp visitor.
"I went there first in 1969," original trust member and current treasurer Brian Peploe said.
"It was very basic then," he said, adding there were a couple of cabinet dryers in the old dormitories and "a very basic kitchen".
The five old huts used for sleeping quarters had originally been set up in a forestry camp, and for a historic touch two of them, Bell Hut and Ward Hut were still hosting guests today.
Chalets have been added to the site and the camp now comfortably hosts up to 70 people - these days not just youngsters.
The camp is also used for self-catered team building and conference gatherings, as well as police Blue Light programmes, ATC and Search and Rescue.
Mr Peploe said the camp area was in a rough state when the voluntary groups set about transforming it for its 1967 opening, as 10 years lying silent and unused had taken its toll.
After the trust was set up around 1990 and further work began taking place, the skills and devotion of time from so many volunteers, many from the Taradale and Greenmeadows Rotary groups, had been "wonderful", Mr Peploe said.
It was the devotion of the volunteers who put in the time, and the various trusts who assisted with fundraising, along with the ongoing support of schools and groups which had seen Camp Kaitawa continue to open its doors, as many other similar camps around the country had been forced to close theirs.
"This is ongoing and it is running very well," Mr Peploe said, adding the fine state of it all had been reflected in the trust engaging a manager who has now living at the camp.
"It has built a very good name and is today regarded as one of the top camps."
And a lot of people through the years would attest to that.
Asked how many people would have likely enjoyed the Camp Kaitawa experience through the years and Mr Peploe stops for a moment and reckons "you would have to be looking at something like around 20,000".
Now as the plans are starting to be put in place for the anniversary celebrations at the camp he wants to hear from as many of them as he can for memories, stories and photographs which will become part of those celebrations.
● People wanting to attend the anniversary celebrations are asked to contact Mr Peploe on 8448541 or email thepeps@xtra.co.nz.