Why our traditional Kiwi summer is still pretty in tents...
In our hi-tech world, the backto-basics world of the New Zealand campground remains the perfect pitch for holiday-makers. Jonathan Carson and Simon Maude report.
Reuben Woods’ ‘‘massively fond memories of camping as a kid’’ are drawing him and thousands of other families back to the celebrated Kiwi passion.
Despite several campground incidents around New Zealand, including an alleged New Year’s Day sexual assault in Gisborne and a Wanaka drugs bust, campers the
Sunday Star-Times spoke to aren’t scared off.
The country’s 418 commercial holiday parks, hundreds of local body and DOC-run campgrounds are packed with people enjoying back-to-basics summer getaways.
Holiday Parks New Zealand figures show that in the year ended September 2016, commercial holiday parks provided more than 7.4 million guest nights – and twothirds of them were booked by Kiwis.
Since 2013, the number of campers has increased every year by five per cent on average.
The association’s chief executive, Fergus Brown, says holiday parks have diversified over the years, offering a range of accommodation to suit tastes.
‘‘Increasingly we have seen holiday parks develop a range of built accommodation ranging from luxury villas and motels to cabins.’’
Yet it’s the simpler side of camping that remains an enduring family drawcard.
‘‘We still see some families coming back to the same holiday park year after year bringing a number of generations.’’ So what’s the attraction? ‘‘I think we love the outdoors, Kiwis. I think we like each other’s company, too. That’s a part of it,’’ says Tahuna Beach Holiday Park camper Heather Johnson.
The Johnson, Reardon and Smith families started camping together at the Nelson park in the summer of 1996 and the three generations are now celebrating 21 years’ holidaying.
‘‘This little area could be anywhere because it’s what we make of it. It’s like our little world.’’
Now totalling a 30-strong camping contingent including partners, the South Island families have even published a book of photographs and stories recounting their years staying at Tahuna.
Johnson, affectionately known as ‘‘camp mother’’, says the families started camping because it was what they could afford at the time.
In 21 summers, they have endured torrential rain, hail and flooding. They’ve had to dig trenches around tents and dry out bedding using hairdryers.
They were also there for the 2001 riot when drunken teenagers pelted police with bottles and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Despite all of this, the families have never packed up and gone home early.
Campers at the other end of the country feel the same way about getting away from it all.
The Faulkner and Searle families have been pitching tents at Auckland Council-run Tawharanui Regional Park campground for 18 years now.
The no-frills campground one hour’s drive north of Auckland on the North Island’s east coast sports running water and long-drop loos – and campers are expected to bring everything else.
‘‘We started when the kids were really little and we enjoyed it so much we rescheduled and we do it every January,’’ says mum Wendy Faulkner.
‘‘It’s very relaxing and fun, we’re all together having a good family time.’’
Over the years varying family commitments saw numbers shrink but, now everyone’s grown up, the love for Tawharanui has seen the numbers of Faulkners and Searles grow again.
One of several adult children, Luke Searle says camping has always felt safe. ‘‘We’ve never really had anything go wrong out here,’’ he says.
Faulkner adds that it’s ‘‘as safe as a church’’.
‘‘Everything is well managed, there’s a ranger that comes around and checks. We have been here when they’ve kicked people out in the middle of the night for unsociable behaviour.’’
Returning to cherished Tawharanui was a conscious move for Aucklander Reuben Woods, who’s holidaying with his young family.
‘‘I’ve got massively fond memories of camping here as a kid. I wanted my kids to experience a bit of that as well.’’
Yesterday, a 16-year-old was charged with burglary, injuring with intent and attempted sexual violation after the alleged attack in Gisborne on New Year’s Day – but Woods says any safety concerns ‘‘don’t really put me off. You pick your spots’’.
A blended family, Woods and partner Ilse Dirkzwager, who have three children between them, Phoebe, 12, and twins Nico and Quinn, 2, stayed away from notorious New Year ‘‘booze-up’’ spots to provide a relaxed, safe holiday for their kids, he says.
A police spokesman said data on Christmas and New Year holiday park and camping crime wasn’t readily available but campers faced with dangerous situations should call officers for help.
‘‘If anyone is in immediate danger or feels threatened, they should not hesitate to call 111. To avoid any confrontation with other individuals in a public space, the best thing to do is move away,’’ the spokesman says.
Campers should either lock up valuables or take them with them when they’re away from their campground accommodation, he says.
Brown says commercial holiday park operators take visitor security seriously and many parks employ security staff over summer months.
Seemingly of more worry to campers was finding the time to get away with loved ones to enjoy camping and preserving access to the past-time.
Ashort walk over sand dunes, expat Brit Gordon Simms lounges on the beach with sons Will, 11, Eddie, 10, and Angus, 7.
When asked about camping’s place in the country’s psyche, Simms is unequivocal. ‘‘It is the New Zealand psyche,’’ he says.
‘‘But it gets harder every year just to find the time – but you’ve just got to make the effort for the kids.’’
As wealth gaps grow in New Zealand, affordable campgrounds like Tawharanui provide a mixingspot for Kiwis of all walks of life and that should be celebrated, campers say.
‘‘I think [camping] is levelling, there’s nothing flash about it. Everybody’s on a level playing field,’’ Wendy Faulkner says.
‘‘It’s the whole access to the sea and beachfront for those that aren’t super-wealthy,’’ says Reuben Woods.
‘‘It’s also the vibe of the campground as well. The kids get to play with all manner of kids they normally wouldn’t get to play with.’’
Christchurch parent Karen McMillan, says camping Tahuna Beach Holiday Park gives sons Murphy, 11, and Fergus, 7, a ‘‘whole sense of getting back to basics and having freedom and meeting other people’’.
McMillan and husband Blair have gone camping for two weeks every year since Murphy was young.
Her parents used to stay at motels when they went on holiday, but she wanted her boys to experience the camping lifestyle.
That meant no screens and no electronics, she says. Camping was close to what growing up used to be like – riding bikes, making friends, exploring outdoors until the sun goes down.
Woods and family have to make the effort to switch off too. ‘‘I’ve had to keep my phone on. Phoebe’s picked her iPad up first thing in the morning and I told her ‘no’.’’
Technological intrusions aside, Woods worries that the great Kiwi leveller could fade away.
‘‘It’s pretty sad, I think it’s huge [having campgrounds] disappear. Some smaller campgrounds are starting to disappear, but there’s still plenty around and I hope that trend continues.’’
Yet the reality is New Zealand campground numbers are ‘‘relatively stable’’, Brown says.
‘‘We have lost a few to land development however we have also gained some new parks in areas such as Hot Water Beach, Hokitika and Glenorchy.’’
Holiday parks remain a lucrative business and there’s strong international and local demand for the ‘‘traditional authentic New Zealand holiday experience’’, Brown adds.
I think we love the outdoors, Kiwis. I think we like each other’s company, too. That’s a part of it. Tahuna Beach Holiday Park camper Heather Johnson