Taupo’s central campground disappears

Peter Johanson at the camp where the Taupo District Council wants a park with a cafe-restaurant. Picture / Alan Gibson

Tears were shed as caravans rolled out of Taupo Motor Camp for the last time yesterday.

The camp by the Waikato River in central Taupo officially closed at midnight on Sunday, when the lease expired and made camping illegal.

Some of the few remaining caravans were shifted off the site in the morning, bringing tears to the eyes of their owners and camp staff.

Camp lessee Peter Johanson described the mood as sombre - much the same as it had been on Saturday night, when about 60 camp regulars held a farewell get-together.

"It was in between a party and a wake," Mr Johanson said.

The camp's closure comes amid much controversy, after protest marches and a petition signed by 6000 ratepayers failed to convince the Taupo District Council to halt its plans to turn the site into a park with a cafe-restaurant, amphitheatre and promenade walkway.

While the caravans were towed away, council staff tore down signs for the camp, replacing them with boards declaring the area a construction site and temporary no-go zone.

"I've never seen the council move so fast," said Mr Johanson.

He and wife, Jenny, who held the camp lease for nearly 14 years, said the council had made a huge mistake closing the camp in the face of such strong public opposition.

"Democracy died with the camp," he said.

"I'm just gutted at the shallowness of the councillors, the non-bloody-listeners. They're just blindly pushing on against the wishes of the people."

It also made no economic sense to close a camp that supplied visitors to Taupo with more than 50,000 beds a year, he said.

Upset campers, meanwhile, struggled to come to terms with the loss of their holiday spot.

"I'm upset because it's Crown land. It's not Taupo District Council land," said Sue Miller of Upper Hutt.

Mrs Miller said she had done research at Archives New Zealand that showed the land's designation as a campground dated back to 1930.

She said this information was presented to the council during the submission process for the Tongariro North Domain Riverside Park (as the site will now be known), but nothing swayed the councillors.

Mrs Miller and husband Roy moved their caravan last week, ending more than 10 years of holidays at Taupo Motor Camp. Their family had visited the camp the year round and Mrs Miller was sad her first grandchild would not get the chance.

"I have one who would've been going there if it wasn't closing."

The council yesterday put a positive spin on the closure of the site.

"We should have it open for public use as a park by the end of the month," said community and recreation manager Jean-Paul Gaston.

Asked if the council had ignored public wishes, Mr Gaston said:

"The council had to make a decision. It really was the balance of its current use and its potential use. We're a rapidly growing town with pressure on its open spaces."

He said Taupo did not suffer a lack of camp accommodation, with a survey showing that the area's 10 campgrounds (now nine) were only 35 per cent full in the peak month of January.

But he acknowledged that none of the other grounds enjoyed a central location.

"It is a unique and beautiful site, but that also makes it a pretty unique and special site as a park."

Mr Gaston said the site was officially designated a public domain, not a campground, in 1930.

Under the Reserves Act 1977, the Crown-owned land was vested in the Taupo District Council and designated recreation reserve.


RESERVE PLAN

* The council has budgeted $1.5 million for the project and hopes for further funding from the local Rotary club.

* Design work for the cafe-restaurant and amphitheatre has not been done and there is no date for the project's completion.