Minister inspects resort on Californian lake

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33425, 5 January 1974, Page 13

Minister inspects resort on Californian lake

(By

JOHN N. HUTCHISON)

SAN FRANCISCO. The Minister of Tourism (Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan) spent the last hours of her recent North American trip examining a Californian project which she believes may offer some basic ideas for the development of Lake Waikaremoana into a family resort area.

She was flown to Kon-i octi Harbour Inn. a recreation complex on Clear Lake, the largest lake in California, some 100 miles north of San| Francisco. The lake is about half the size of Lake Taupo. The resort includes fine■ boating facilities, a wide! range of other sports, hotel and furnished apartment ac-| commodation, a large section! of retirement homes, and a| large and well-organised children’s summer camp. The whole 5XZ6.000.000 investment is the creation and property of the Plumbers' inion of San Francisco, built for the members, who' nave exclusive rights to the r ; rement quarters and the children's camp, and are

given priority in using the: other facilities, paying low! rates which are subsidised by j a substantial commercial I business. The transient ac- ! commodations and sports facilities are open to the public at higher rates. EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE , Although noting that the I Clear Lake project does not ihave immediate applicability | to New Zealand conditions, ! the Minister called her visit to Konocti an eye-opening experience, providing a wider> working base for plans for ‘ the long-range development! of Waikaremoana. The visit was also an eye-opener fori Mr Joseph Mazzola, the > plumbers’ business managerand her host during the in-! spection of the complex, j which is still growing after ground was first broken for I

■ it more than 14 years ago. ! Mr Mazzola admitted after j the visit that he had not '■been entirely clear as to Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan’s background and responsibilities, and that he was consequentlysurprised and delighted to find her well-informed, astute in her inquiries and happily interested in the very aspects of the project which are dearest to his own heart. The penny dropped when he learned (after her departure) that social welfare is an in terest as close to her as tourism. MASTER PLAN I “My visit to the resort, ! fitted perfectly into both my! portfolios," the Minister said i in an interview at the airport : as she departed for New Zealand, “and it coincides with !the commissioning of a total plan for the staged development of facilities at Waikare-

moana. I was especially impressed with the careful master plan which is still valid and still being pursued at Konocti, and full of admiration for the way in which they have incorporated the requirements of the , whole family—the elderly !and the children—since the! start. i Mr Mazzola expressed his! ; regret that the Minister could! . not stay longer. She flew! , there after a lunch-time re-j ’ ception in San Francisco at " which she met about 50 rep- ; resentatives of the travel in- ' dustry, at the end of a tour , which took her to travel ' agency centres in the United . States and Canada. She re- ’ turned the same afternoon to , fly home from San Francisco. I If she and her husband ; will just come back again, ; Mr Mazzola says, the Kon- . octi Harbour Inn would like to extend them hospitality Tor a week. t, “We were very much taken I I with her enthusiasm and her 1 interest,” he said, “Her quest tions showed that she had ■ done her homework, and we i were only sorry that she 1 could not say Tong enough ■ for a really thorough examin- ■ ation of our project”