Lake Waitaki, in North Otago, has always been a popular spot for summer visitors, but one camp site in particular has its own appeal for the hundreds of people who return there for summer holidays year after year. Andrew Ashton examines what makes the Fisherman's Bend Reserve so addictive.
Positioned directly below Aviemore Dam at the very top of Lake Waitaki's north shore, the 500-capacity camp site has attracted visitors for 40 years, since the area was planted and developed by the Waitaki Lakes and River Committee.
However, in the past 10 years the camp site, which is managed by the Waimate District Council, has benefited from improved facilities and a burgeoning popularity.
Waimate District Council parks and recreation manager Graeme Watts said the camp site now had a rubbish collection service, dump station, running water and toilet facilities.
''A lot of people go there year to year for good fishing and good boating. It's just a good area to have a holiday in.''
He said the area had room for about 150 individual camp sites, and attracted between 300 and 500 people at peak times and about 1000 people across the whole summer season.
Campers enjoying the summer sun and the refreshing cool waters of Lake Waitaki this summer were almost all regular visitors to the area and he believed those who were there for the first time would certainly make further visits to Fisherman's Bend.
Aileen McKay, from Christchurch, said she planned to make summer trips to the area a ''regular family tradition''.
Mrs McKay said her husband Heath had been coming to Fisherman's Bend annually since he was 16 years old to take part in jet-sprinting competitions on the lake, but they had not been to the area for the past five years.
However, now that their children were getting a little older they wanted to bring the family every year, she said.
''We thought we would get back into it, start a new tradition.
''We can do some water skiing, visit the Kurow market day - it's just relaxing.''
Peter Cathcart, from Oamaru, was this year holidaying at the spot for the 10th year in a row, and said the camp site was sheltered from most of the wind coming off Lake Waitaki.`We just go boating and have a bit of fun. A lot of mates have been coming up here for years.''
He said although he was holidaying with his wife and child this year, he remembered fun times camping with friends as a teenager.
''I had my 21st up here. There were a few good nights and a lot of fun. We had a big marquee up and we had a ball.''
Oamaru resident Gary Ludemann said he and his family were now on their fifth New Year holiday at Fisherman's Bend, and added that it was ''a great spot'', ideal for boating and water skiing.
But it is not just the campers that keep coming back for more.
Chris Brien, from Oamaru, started selling ice cream at the camp site 10 years ago, and is now just as much a regular visitor as his customers.
Mr Brien said the camp site had retained both its popularity and many of the same patrons for the past decade.
''It's pretty much the same as when it first started; it's always been a popular spot.''
He said most people usually came from Timaru, Oamaru or Dunedin, and added that there was a friendly atmosphere among the camp's regular visitors.
''They are friends as in you know the familiar faces over the years.''
Fisherman's Bend
• Located on the Waimate side of Lake Waitaki, below Aviemore Dam
• Open to the public from September to May each year
• A season ticket costs $320, and campsites cost $15 a night per site.
• The area is located on Crown Land, and was invested as a local body reserve in 2010
• Facilities include boat harbours, absolution blocks and water supplies
