Summer holiday at Pourerere Beach? A computer will decide if you’re allowed to stay

The Central Hawke's Bay District Council has opened an online ballot for 40 camping sites at Pourerere Beach. Photo / Jojo Varghese

A regular at a quintessential Central Hawke’s Bay beach camp is questioning a council decision to run an online-only ballot to secure a summer spot.

More than 100 people have applied for a summer holiday at Pourerere Beach Rd Reserve within three days of the ballot going live.

There are 40 spots available on a rolling basis at Pourerere - when one site becomes available, another person can come in and use it.

Georgia-Rae Pere, whose family has been camping at Pourerere Beach for about 30 years, says she fears long-time locals who aren’t internet savvy could miss out.

The Pourerere Camping Committee and CHB District Council introduced a ballot system in 2023 to ensure equitable access to Pourerere Beach Rd Reserve.

This year, the system was changed to an online-only registration.

A free permit, obtained through the ballot, is required for any camping during the peak period between December 15, 2025 and February 28, 2026.

Pere said this year, the registration process was complex and left her with fears that others, including the elderly, may also struggle.

“I just like the togetherness, it’s not just our family that goes out there, but the CHB community.

“It was very hard to follow, in the sense of the steps and very easy to get confused.

Georgia Pere says camping with her family at Pourerere Beach is an annual tradition.

“It is a new GoPenny app system that has been introduced to the council, and that is how they are going to be registering people for campsites.

“That also cuts out a lot of our rangatiria or elders because they have no idea how to use it.”

She said she had just helped her 72-year-old father register his ballot and had offered to help others who needed a hand to register.

“We will get a couple of us to go over there and do their registrations for them so they are not missing out because the world is moving on.”

Pere said she would like to see another option so that the elderly members of the community are not left out.

“It would be amazing if there were still a paper way to apply as well as an online system.”

Nicola Bousfield, CHBDC group manager of corporate, community and regulatory, said 2025 was the first year they had used the GoPenny App, and anything new would take time for people to understand.

“We are always happy to help, we support people for all services that council offers, just pop into our offices in Waipawa or call our friendly Customer Service team.

“We have already helped a couple of people navigate the Pourerere ballot, and posted a video tutorial online.”

The ballot allows applicants to request up to 14 consecutive days, and successful entries will be selected through a random computer-generated draw, Bousfield said.

Priority is given to CHB residents, with a second separate ballot held for out-of-district applicants.

“The site has only 40 marked sites and demand far exceeds supply. The ballot system avoids these issues by providing certainty and fairness for campers ahead of time.”

Bousfield said 81 applications were received within the first 24 hours of the ballot opening on October 1.

She said 126 applications had been received within the first three days.

Bousfield said a permit system had been in place at Pourerere for almost a decade in some form, but it had been managed much more informally by the council and the local Pourerere Camping Committee.

Applications must be submitted online by October 30.

Successful applicants will be notified in early November and will need to follow the instructions through the Go-Penny app.

If demand exceeds available space, campers may be allocated a maximum of seven days.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.