Summer is officially on its way!  

After a long busy year, it’s time to plan your escape to paradise in Kaiteriteri and soak up the sun, cool off in the turquoise water, spread out on the golden sand, eat great food, bike, walk and boat until sunset.

You will notice some changes around the Reserve with many projects being completed during the off season.

Here are a few things we have been working on:

• Repainting our facilities blocks
• New mural in progress on the northern public toilet block
• Working on ‘access for all’ bathroom facilities at the southern public toilet block
• Beach and water capable wheelchair
• Completely renovating the bathrooms in four of our family ensuite cabins – as part of a staged accommodation upgrade project
• Improving sites and drainage
• Planting and environmental restoration projects
• New ‘walking only’ tracks throughout our mountain bike park
• New estuary edge track linking to the great taste trail
• New mini golf clubs and balls
• Fresh new-look branding for our Kaiteriteri ‘On the Spot Store’ and new display fridges
• New number plate recognition auto entry gate and auto exit gate installed

These along with many more are on our list as we continue to improve what you know and love about Kaiteriteri, we would really appreciate and value your feedback if you would like to add something to our list.

Another item at the top of the campers discussions last year was our stance on no biking in the campground. This attracted much public attention on both sides and was a difficult decision to make and then manage. As you know, our campground is extremely crowded and busy in the summer period and we don’t have the luxury of size like other campgrounds, where additional cars and or boats can be parked off site.

With multiple near misses reported last year between children on bikes and vehicles, we made the call in the best interest of everyone’s safety and our responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ban biking in the campground for the peak period.

However, this off season we have spent a significant amount of time listening to the feedback from all our guests which ultimately requested a way to safely manage this whilst still giving the privilege to ride during the peak season.

Although we still recommend bike use only in our mountain bike park, we have updated our Terms and Conditions introducing a range of controls to mitigate the risk of biking in the campground for those that choose to:

• New auto entry and exits gates with ‘one way’ traffic flow encouraged – this also restricts public traffic entering
• Speed bumps to slow traffic
• Multiple planter boxes to reduce bike speeds through entries and exits of high traffic areas
• New estuary track to walk or bike from the campground connecting to the great taste trail
• Signage encouraging safe sharing of all pathways and parental supervision of children

I trust you will appreciate the time and investment we have put into the Reserve this year to make sure you all have the best experience possible on your next visit.

As you begin to pack your cars, caravans, trailers, and boats squeezing every last item in right up to the roof boxes, know that the whole Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve Team are very much looking forward to welcoming you and looking after you all this Summer.

We will see you all in the land of the golden sand soon!

Mason