Campers, though, have already had a win after a proposal to limit boat launches into Lake Wānaka from the camp shore was given the thumbs down.
But they fear changes are set to take away the style of camping at the ground which had became a decades-long tradition for many southern families.
In late 2023, Australian company Hampshire Holiday Parks took over the lease on five camping grounds in the region including the popular Glendhu Bay site on the shores of Lake Wānaka.
Looming changes to boat parking, lake access and prices have made long-term campers anxious that their beloved camping tradition is changing for the worse.
Glendhu Bay Campers Association chairman Doug Fraser said Hampshire Parks wanted to implement a rule stopping people from parking their boats on the lake shore and insisting that they use the boat ramp for lake access.
Mr Fraser, and several others in the association, raised this issue with the Queenstown Lakes District Council
In a statement obtained by the Otago Daily Times,
Hampshire Parks raised concerns about vehicles being parked on the lakefront and boats being launched directly from there.
The park owners were not pleased with the impacts of this, saying that it was "affecting the operation of the camp and the beach front area generally".
However, the campers association made its case to the council that removing boat parking and launching on the lakefront would be a safety risk.
Association members said in rough weather, boats would not be able to safely make it back to shore with the existing boat ramp.
Although the council confirmed no changes would be made to the current regulations at Glendhu Bay, long-term campers feared this was only the beginning of changes to the camp.
Mr Fraser said he believed what the Australian company was doing would shift it from the "traditional family Kiwi camp" to a more commercially focused holiday park.
Mr Fraser also said campsites closer to the lake had gone up in price, bringing concerns over future affordability should the park continue to increase its prices.
Another camper who declined to give his name — he had been visiting the site for 38 years with family from Invercargill — said he was disappointed by the boat parking issue and price increases.
The camp site had always been a place where "people can come without having to break the bank", he said.
A couple from Gore who had been camping at the site since the 1970s said they had always liked that the camp was accessible to "average Kiwis".
"We just want to leave it the same ... maintain what we have," they said.
Hampshire Holiday Parks released a statement to campers last month stating the council would not be changing boat parking on the foreshore, while also listing the other changes they plan to make.
To simplify rollover dates, visitors will be given a form to fill out and return before their departure indicating the dates they wish to secure for the following year. Those rollover dates had to specify dates, not days.
Some of the other changes listed included upgraded Wi-Fi, renovations to amenity blocks, a new playground and enhanced security.
Hampshire Holiday Parks was contacted by the Otago Daily Times for comment, but did not respond.
By Rawan Saadi
