But the idea has not been rejected totally, and may be considered again next year when the council sets its fees and charges as part of its 2013-14 annual plan.
Camping charges are higher on the Waitaki council's south side of the lakes than at Waimate camps, because there are more camping grounds and they are spread from Lake Aviemore to Lake Ohau and Lake Benmore's Haldon arm making them more expensive to maintain.
Although Waimate's camps have a season ticket charge of $300, Waitaki charges $460 for a season ticket and camping is still subsidised by its ratepayers.
Because of the price difference, it was suggested the numbers using Waitaki's lakes sites had fallen, with campers opting to stay on the Waimate side.
As a result, the Ahuriri Community Board suggested Waitaki trial a 10-day camping ticket with a bonus one night stay as an alternative to the season, or per night family or person tickets, during this camping season, which started on September 15.
That would appeal to campers who wanted to stay over Christmas-New Year, but not the whole season.
The council's corporate services manager Carolyn Carter said a 10-day plus bonus day fee would be difficult to administer and knowing who had spent 10 consecutive nights difficult to police.
Tickets had already been printed for this season, the charges set after public consultation and the benefits at this stage of an extra option would be minimal.
The council had already sold a substantial number of season tickets, and introducing a 10-day option now could upset those who had already paid.
Other options for running the camps were also being investigated, including the council leasing out the sites.
"Setting up a new charging regime, even for one season as a trial, is time-consuming and would cost money," she said.
