Camps popular but rain damps spirits

Press, 26 December 1979, Page 3

Camps popular but rain damps spirits

Campers in the lower South Island had a dismal Christmas morning as steady rain swamped their campsites, the Press Association reports. The rain set in early on Christmas Eve. forcing many campers to move to higher ground or seek other accommodation. But. by early mid-afternoon it was clearing, giving the hardier or more fortunate holidaymakers a chance to prepare for outdoor festive eating. At the Wanaka motor camp, many campers had to move out of tents into cabins as their tents were washed out on Christmas Eve. Mrs Diane Cochrane, who manages the camp with her husband said some holi-day-makers who had been coming to the area for 14 years said it was the worst weather they had struck in the town. The Cromwell police reported that some campers in the Lowburn camping ground near the Clutha River had to shift to higher ground as the river rose. By about 2 p.m. the rain had stopped. At Queenstown, snow settled on the top of the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu had risen about 30 centimetres.

At Timaru. dull, overcast weather quietened Christmas festivities. The three main holiday camps will be full today, and are heavily booked until the end of January. The Caroline Bay Association’s annua) carnival starts today and ends on January 12. Many resorts throughout the South Island have had a quiet Christmas, but shoppers crowded centres on Monday, and today many (people will head for their holiday destinations. People are not travelling so far this year, and are staying longer at holiday sites. Mr A. A. Adcock, manager of the Spencer Park camp, near Christchurch, said bookings were very heavy this year. The cost of petrol might have made camping grounds close to the city more attractive as a holiday spot, he said. Traffic in Nelson about noon on Monday had reached probably record peaks, said Senior Traffic Sergeant A. Dando. All parking areas were full to overflowing and officers had to be stationed at lights to keep the traffic moving. “So far the area has been free of any serious accidents, but with a lot of people on the road today,

'.people should exercise care,”! (he said. So far there had _ (been no problems with (drinking drivers. ( Tahuna Camp in Nelson I (was about half-full yester(day,. but about 150 people! I are expected today. Motels in Hanmer Springs! have been busy, one report- ■ (ing its busiest Christmas) 'Day. But there are not as many bookings as usual for, (the period after Christmas. ; j Bookings at the A.A. motor camp at Carters Beach, West-1 (port, were about the same] ;as last year, sid the manager! i (Mr J. B. Mulholland). Most I ■holiday-makers would arrive I j today. The Christmas festi- j 'vities generallv had been low key. Christmas was quiet fori volunteer lifeguards at I Christchurch beaches yester-1 day. Conditions were hot with gusty north-west winds and big surf on all east coast beaches. The water temperature was about 13 deg. In Auckland, torrential rain lashed parts of the western suburbs for an hour yesterday afternoon while the east of the city basked in sun from a cloudless sky. Yesterday passed quietly at Christchurch Airport. The traffic superintendent said that bookings were only moderate, which was characteristic of Christmas Day.