Waihi Beach journey a trip back

By PAUL YANDALL

Happy campers

Pam Mitchell first visited Waihi Beach Holiday Park as a twinkle in her father's eye during her parents' honeymoon there in 1942.

Now, as she has done for well over half a century, Mrs Mitchell, has set up camp again, uncorked the bubbly, and lit the barbie barely 10m from the scene of her conception.

"I was the twinkle in my dad's eye one New Year's Eve. Eight months later - I was early you see - I was born."

And 57 years later she has again made the annual trek from her Hamilton home to one of the Bay of Plenty's premier summer camping sites.

In tow, as they have been for the past 30 years, is 60-year-old husband Alan, and 30-year-old son John. Daughter Barbara is the only one of the clan missing this year.

"For us Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Waihi Beach," says Mrs Mitchell.

In fact, of the 57 times she has made it back to the beach she has missed staying at the holiday park only once.

"That was during the polio outbreak of 1948," she says. "They didn't want large numbers of people congregating together."

Back in those days she, her brother and her parents, Les and Ailsa Dwight, would travel down from Auckland towing their homemade plywood caravan.

Today, the park is packed full of caravans hugging the shade and humming with microwaves and televisions.

Most have canvas awnings attached but some have been built and extended so much that they look like small baches.

"That's the big thing that has changed. It's always been a popular spot but now there seem to be more people here for longer," says Mrs Mitchell.

Not even last year's New Year's Eve riot, which took place just metres down the road, could turn the Mitchells off the place.

"To be perfectly honest, we didn't even know it was happening," says Mr Mitchell.

"By the time we were out of bed, all the locals had cleaned the whole place up."

Although the longtime friends from the past get fewer and fewer each year, Mrs Mitchell says there are still enough of the old timers around to have fun.

"We used to have some wonderful parties here. People would get out their guitars, piano accordions, ukeleles ..."

Her own parents fell so in love with the place that they eventually retired there.

"It's the relaxation, being able to get away from it all. What would make it perfect would be some grandkids," she says laughing, looking at her son John.

Now, was that a twinkle in his eye or just a bit of that famous Bay of Plenty sun?