After a huge response from the community, Mangatepopo Camp has been given a new lease on life and closing its doors is no longer on the cards. Photo / Supplied
After a huge response from the community, Mangatepopo Camp has been given a new lease on life and closing its doors is no longer on the cards. Photo / Supplied
The Mangatepopo Camp has been given a new lease of life after its rallying call for help was emphatically answered.
Mangatepopo Camp, situated on State Highway 47 between Whakapapa Village and Tongariro, has had tens of thousands of school students pass through its doors since the 1980s.
However, last Novemberthen-board member (and now trust chairman) Nathaniel O'Neill pegged January as "D-Day" and said if things weren't moving by the end of the month, the camp would have to close its doors.
With dwindling numbers of schools attending and needing new people to help keep things moving on site, they put out a message on social media for help from the community.
An overwhelming response from people all across the region has given the camp new life.
"Things can change very, very quickly," O'Neill said.
"At the time, we didn't even know if the camp was something people wanted. But after publicly saying we were in the s***, all sorts of people have come out of the woodwork.
"We are certainly in a position where closing the doors isn't on the table any more."
He said the response from around the region was unbelievable, with builders, electricians, plumbers, labourers and more all on their support list now.
Mangatepopo Camp Trust chairman Nathaniel O'Neill with son Frederick. Photo / Supplied
To have the call answered so definitively had given O'Neill and the rest of the team at Mangatepopo the energy and inspiration to continue pushing forward.
"I really didn't know how many people in the region have that much of a tie to the camp until we put it out there. We had thousands of responses."
Before November last year, there were just three board members and a lot of responsibility on just a few people to keep the legacy of Mangatepopo going, O'Neill said.
Since then, there had been a complete remake of the board, including a new secretary, treasurer, custodians and nine new board members.
O'Neill paid tribute to Linda, the camp custodian for the last 21 years, who is heading into retirement.
He said things were looking really good for 2022, with bookings already looking healthy for the year.
Family events or gatherings made up the majority of the bookings, a slight change away from school camps.
Mangatepopo Camp's board intends to do surveys with schools across the region to gauge whether they are still interested in doing camps and what they could do to entice more schools to return to Ruapehu for their annual camp.
"I never for a moment thought we would get the response we got. I thought we would get five or 10 people saying they had great memories, but there was nothing much I could do.
"I would love to talk to [the Chronicle] the same time next year and like to give you the same progress report. At the moment I'm thinking, it can't get much better, but where does it stop?"
There is a working bee at Mangatepopo Camp this weekend for anyone interested. You can keep up with how things are going at Mangatepopo at their Facebook page.
