Tourism season brings high camping numbers
Although foot-traffic through the Takaka I-site doors in December was down 7.6 per cent on last season’s figures, Golden Bay has again experienced a steady influx of summer visitors. Blessed in its location, the Bay is still a desirable tourist destination for those wanting to swing through town, enjoy life on the beach or follow the lure of the national parks.
Nelson Tasman Tourism CEO Paul Davis commented that although hard data was not yet available, anecdotally he has heard from operators that the season has been better than expected.
“Numbers have been OK, although at the end of November the number of guest nights was down four per cent for the whole district,” Mr Davies said.
Adrift Beach accommodation proprietor Gordon Hampson observed that, after a slower-than-usual season in August, September and October 2009, their B&B guest numbers had been up 25 per cent in November, followed by a quieter December. However he said, going by the number of people who called in or phoned up looking for accommodation lately, visitor numbers for this time of the year are up compared to the previous year’s.
“There have definitely been more people looking for accommodation since December. We often get, six, seven or eight people ring up or call in after the information centre has closed, looking for accommodation, but at this time of the year we are always full and we have to turn people away,” said Mr Hampson.
Generally, he added, “up-market places are having a really hard time with higher spenders such as bankers, managers and higher income-earners being hard up” and looking for cheaper accommodation.
Camping has proved popular this year too, with Totaranui experiencing another bumper year. DOC’s community relations manager Greg Napp believes the high numbers of campers in the park confirm the trend of New Zealanders staying home instead of going overseas.
“The season started earlier this year and for December we were 2000 camper nights up on the previous year. The campground is booked right through to the end of January, which is the case every year,” Mr Napp said.
Pohara Beach Top 10 Holiday Park manager Brent Clarke said camper numbers had been slightly up, with changeovers in groups of guests happening about every fortnight.
“We get a changeover of faces this week after people go back to work who’ve already had their couple of weeks of holidays, and then we get more people without children and international visitors. It’s great fun,” Mr Clarke added.
The season may have been a bit less fun for John Bergman, TDC control services officer, who keeps an eye on freedom campers and said the season has been just as busy as in previous years.
“There have been quite a lot of freedom campers under the Waitapu Bridge and that is no problem. But it is a different story with illegal campers in tents. Of real concern are those people who park up anywhere and without any toilet provision.”
As part of their daily summer routine, DOC officers too have been approaching a number of people parked up in their vans on DOC sites where overnight camping is not allowed. Many of the happy campers, who comply with the request to pack up and leave without delay, only do so to return to their favourite spot at nightfall.
Neither TDC nor DOC allows any form of camping outside registered camping grounds. Self-contained vehicles, however, are permitted to pull up on land controlled by TDC for a maximum of two nights at the same location per month. A schedule of prohibited areas can be obtained from the council offices.
Ina Holst
