Wet weather not stopping Wellington campers at Mount Maunganui, Tauranga

A group of Wellingtonians have not had the warmest, or driest, welcome from the Bay of Plenty.

Jenny Va, Justin Lundon and Jade Lundon left Wellington at 3am yesterday to make their way to Mount Maunganui.

It was the first time the friends had been to the area and were not going to let the wet weather get in the way of enjoying their camping trip.

"A wind speed of 120, that's a Wednesday in Wellington," Justin joked.

The friends were enjoying a classic Kiwi lunch of hot chicken and buns after setting up camp at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.

"We pick somewhere different to go every year. Last summer we did the Tongariro Crossing," Justin said.

"It was raining then too. Maybe we are the common denominator," Jade laughed.

The group had their blue tent pinned down with extra pegs and were hoping their vehicle would take some of the brunt of the rain and wind overnight.

They planned to make the trip back to Wellington on Saturday and did not think they would be leaving early unless the weather got really bad.

A group of Wellingtonians were not letting the wet weather put a dampener on their first trip to Mount Maunganui. Photo/ John Borren

Rebecca Toner, manager of Papamoa Beach Resort, said the weather had not caused too much of a disruption to holidaymakers.

She said a few people had left the campground early or delayed their booking to arrive in a few days, after the worst of the weather had passed.

"Some people didn't want to pack up in the rain so they left early but other than that it's business as usual," Rebecca said.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Civil Defence teams were monitoring weather updates.

From 4pm yesterday to 6am today the region was forecast to receive 100-150mm of rain about the ranges and 70-100mm elsewhere in the region.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council flood manager Peter Blackwood said the region's catchments had up to 100mm rain on Wednesday night.

He said rainfall in the Rangitāiki catchment ranged from 13-68mm and averaged 45-50mm overnight on Wednesday.

"Similarly we have had up to 100mm in the Waioeka and Otara catchments, with only very small rises in river levels and flows, Peter said.

Tauranga City Council planned to close the Mauao base track and Moturiki (Leisure Island) from 7am today until conditions were suitable for reopening and the summit tracks were to remain open.

Part of the beach access mat was being removed to avoid damage from the weather and would be reinstalled early next week.