DOC losing money at campers’ ‘paradise’
ANNA PEARSON/Fairfax NZWATER WONDERLAND:Totaranui campground manager Hugh Mytton beside the remains of pre-Christmas flooding, near the campground’s workshop.Relevant offers
It’s that time of year again, where loyal campers descend on Abel Tasman National Park’s golden sands during their annual pilgrimage to Totaranui.
They pack out the campground and save prime spots for friends. They bicker over firewood allocations and hide logs behind their canvas villages.
The campground usually sleeps about 1000 people a night, with 850 on its books, not including preschoolers, trampers and those in the campground’s homestead. But not this year.
The unsealed road to Totaranui was severely damaged in the deluge that hit the Nelson region before Christmas, so new arrivals have to get there by sea.
The flooding put a lot of campers off too, with Department of Conservation staff processing hundreds of cancellations.
But those holding the fort at the popular campground – about 250 to 300 people – can’t hide their delight. It’s peaceful, prime camping spots are vacant and queues at the boat ramp are a thing of the past.
“It’s the first time I have had the bay to myself,” says Stoke man Rusty Hazeldine, who has been a mainstay at Totaranui for 40 years. He parks himself in A bay, near the track to Goat Bay, from November to mid-May. “It reminds me of about mid-March,” he says, with a beer in one hand. “It’s brilliant.”
Chris Wynne, of Christchurch, agrees. He and his family were going to cancel their Totaranui booking after hearing about the flooding, “but we decided it would never be like this again”.
“This is the best ever. You almost wonder whether they should ban cars. It’s very different and so lovely,” he says.
Those who missed out in the campground’s ballot system are also making the most of the situation, like the Patrick family, of Nelson. Chris Patrick and his family arrived at Totaranui on Friday, on Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle’s Crusader. They had “a heap of gear”, ready to enjoy a week away.
Adam Hadfield, of Christchurch, got to Totaranui three days after Christmas with his wife and two children. The family stored their car at Kaiteriteri and got to the campground in their own speedboat. Mr Hadfield says a lot of campers are wondering if the access road will be open by next summer. “We’re happy to keep boating in. It will take it back to how it was before it became so popular.”
The road to Totaranui is owned by the Tasman District Council, but has a “special purpose” designation, meaning its maintenance is 100 per cent subsidised by the NZ Transport Agency.
District council acting chief executive Dennis Bush-King said last week it would need a “multimillion-dollar cleanup”, as aerial photographs showed substantial damage.
DOC ranger and longtime camp manager Hugh Mytton says Totaranui is one of the “biggest earners” for DOC in the country. But being self-reliant for sewerage and water systems, it’s also very expensive to maintain.
“People can like what they have got here now, but for the cost of maintaining this place and for all people to appreciate it, we really do need the road,” he says.
The campground itself was not without incident in the deluge, either.
The creek that runs alongside the back of the campground flooded a DOC workshop and the road to the homestead.
“This was all just sludge. You can smell the mud. Water went through the workshop. Everything here was underwater, but it’s nothing like the poor buggers in Pohara,” says Mr Mytton.
Andrew and Denise Lane, of Dunedin, set up and left their three tents at Totaranui before the heavy rain set in. Other campers had to come to the rescue when the tents flooded in their absence.
“If it had been just water, it would have been all right, but it was silty and muddy. It was past ankle deep. All the campers sort of joined together and cleaned them up. Some of [the tents] are pretty ruined. The zips have gone mouldy,” says Mrs Lane.
Christchurch teacher Ali McQueen arrived at Totaranui two weeks before her partner, Russell Prince. He arrived on the Friday after flooding destroyed the road. “He got to Tata Beach and couldn’t get any further. He left his car at Tata, got his kayak off the top and kayaked around. He got here about 10.30pm,” she says.
Their caravan was to be barged out at the weekend, one of many that endured a watery journey to Port Tarakohe.
Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle skipper Paul Smith says they will keep the Tarakohe run going as long as it gets public support.
“If we don’t do it, it will hamstring Golden Bay and this part of the park,” he says.
For Ms McQueen and many others at Totaranui this year, sending their cars, caravans, trailers and campervans down the boat ramp is all part of the adventure. “It will never be like this again. It’s like being trapped in paradise,” she says.
– © Fairfax NZ News
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gill #3 3:23pmif you knew how much it costs to maintain a water supply and a sewerage system at these types of locations, you would understand that DoC needs to make some money off its prime sites like this one to continue providing a good service at the other smaller ones. You can’t just stick pit toliets in places anymore. its not in line with peoples cultural values and you wouldn’t get resource consent for it anymore.
minnie #2 11:42 am Jan 10 2012sounds awful at the best of times lol
justice #1 09:27 am Jan 10 2012Ohhhhhh, but it’s not about money! It’s about “conservation”
Probably going to take 3 months before the road is opened again
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