The Glendhu Bay and Wanaka Lakeside holiday parks are badly in need of a makeover but will have to make do with maintenance for now.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council took control of the two parks last year and also controls the Queenstown Lakeview and Arrowtown "Born of Gold" holiday parks.
Holiday parks manager Greg Hartshorne's third-quarter financial report to yesterday's finance and corporate committee meeting said the council was at a "crossroads" over how to operate the new parks over winter.
He described the Wanaka park as "uninviting" and, despite maintenance to ensure the working condition and safety of the park, the "park in general is really on its last legs".
"We now need some direction as to the future of the park so we can map out a plan on what is worth fixing, and what we need to replace if council should approve a development/upgrade of any kind in the near future," the report said.
An accommodation upgrade and an inexpensive toilet/shower block were also "a must" for Glendhu Bay as the council looked to tap into skiers and walkers in the camping off-season.
Cr Trevor Tattersfield referred to the report in asking QLDC deputy chief executive/finance manager Stewart Burns whether direction was needed over the future of the parks.
Mr Burns said the council could not make any decisions on the future of the parks until the annual plan had been reviewed.
"In the meantime we have it so any essential maintenance is undertaken. The exception to that is Glendhu, where we have major undertakings with wastewater facilities that had to be done regardless. "
He said the council was confident of meeting budget for revenue from the Queenstown and Arrowtown parks, with the others "still going to make a relatively healthy surplus", but less than the council had hoped.
Mr Hartshorne said, given the Australian floods, Christ-church's earthquakes and the slide of major currencies, the four parks had traded "better than we could have expected".
