‘Roughing’ it—but close to home

Press, 30 December 1976, Page 4

‘Roughing’ it—but close to home

The campers along the 50-1 ! kilometre stretch to the north] ■of Christchurch aren’t a very; venturesome breed. The vast I [majority of them come from I 1 Christchurch. At Spencer Park on thej icity’s north-east fringe, 87 per! I cent of the 1000 campers] , spreading over the site’s 200 i iacres come from Christ-1 church. The story is the same all the way up to Leithfield: only the proportion falls the farther from the city. Convenience seems to be the reason. No-one minds; roughing it as long as home; and safety is only a few miles away. The farther from .the city, the fewer venture-) [some campers there are—it’s i too far home when the) floods come. Not that anyone roughs it I anymore. Caravans with vast! [awnings that cover every-! thing from cocktail cabinets 'to television and portablej 1

(clothes lines aren't exactly! [primitive living conditions. ; The average camper is sur-[ [rounded by compact comI forts or eise he wouldn’t be !there. Without everything a, [home provides he wouldn’t; be able to get comfortable! '[enough to have the kind of[ I holiday he is sure he de-1 [serves. A lot of the campers at! Spencer Park stay there a[ long time: six weeks or more.. They use their statutory holi- [ days and then travel to and from work each day, coming; I home to pines, television! [under the awning, sea; (breezes. friendly neigh-■ I hours, and no lawns to cut. i One camper had set up i 'caravan for six weeks. His; ;wife worked at Haywrightsj [in Christchurch; he worked, [at Ashley’ Meats, near Kaia-I :poi. ' Standing in gumboots ini the middle of a soggy patch! i—reminder of the downpour!

'on Tuesday evening—he said [the arrangement couldn’t be) [more ideal. He went to Kaia-i •ipoi, she went to Christ- ■) church. Transport, was evi-[ i|dently no problem. .; Sometimes the family) ; wandered out for the even-) '[ing, returning home after the) [late show. i Some campers landscape [their caravan sites. Where a 11 family book the same site) ..year after year, they leave) ) their mark on it. Up a bank I [one family had cut and made ;) ornamental steps. Children seem to be little lor no problem. With Christimas presents to keep them . occupied, all manner of playground entertainment around, I the beach handy, and local (Charities and church groups ) putting on programmes, [carnivals and contests, they 'could be forgotten for hours, [said one parent — or for as ! long as they had promised to [stav out of the water. i Once they have established

a pattern of going to one motor camp, some families stay at it for 30 or 40 years.

“Why do I live in Christchurch and come here year after year?” said one retired Leithfield camper. “Well, the sea's good anywhere,, so why not here. The climate in Canterbury is better than Nelson. We used to go up there a lot. and on the average it blew more and harder, and rained a lot more.

“And, irrespective of finance, the effort involved in dragging a caravan way up there is simply not worth it. “I've stayed because I like it here. In a citv site you can’t open your window without knocking someone over outside, kids keep falling over your stakes; everything is too cramped. Here it’s spacious,, and there are no gangs roaming round.”

Some sites don’t have it as peaceful. Vandals are a problem, at one of the east coast camps in particular.

“I’m up until all hours of the night with them sometimes,” -said one proprietor. “They come in here with bolt-cutters and cut our barricade chains, do wheelies all over the camp frontage and knock all the signs over. Some of their behaviour is unmentionable.”

More frequent police and traffic patrols, however, had done much to eliminate the problem. The police checked two or three times a day, and during the night.

Most campers were harmless. but some abused facilities. Some smuggled in dogs ((which are barred from most [motor camps'), then washed [them in the children’s paddlling pool, said one proprietor.

[ His particular solution was I quick, easy and final, he said. | The dog ranger picked up the idog. and the campers were [not permitted to book again iat the camp.