Hard work pays off for Taupō Top 10 Holiday Park

Taupō Top 10 Holiday Park owners Matt Blank (left), Kris Blank, Suzi Blank and Darren Blank at the bottom of thenew pool they have been busy building this summer. Photo / David Beck

On Sunday, the New Zealand Herald revealed the finalists in its Best of Summer campaign. Readers nominated their favourite campgrounds, fish 'n' chip shops, playgrounds, beach walks and icecream or gelato shops - all the things the make a great Kiwi holiday. Among the finalists for Best Campground was our very own Taupō Top 10 Holiday Park. David Beck spoke to the owners.

About three years ago, two brothers and their wives bought the Taupō Top 10 Holiday Park.

Since then, Darren, Matt, Suzi and Kris Blank have put in hours of tireless work improving the park in an effort to make it a top destination for Kiwi holidaymakers.

Those efforts have now gained national recognition with the park named a finalist in the New Zealand Herald's top 10 New Zealand campgrounds.

"It's really nice to get such positive news, it's so exciting," Suzi says.

"I'm absolutely gobsmacked. We've been working really hard so to get that recognition - we're honoured that people are recognising the work we've put into the park."

She says the park has been a work in progress and, like many others, the Covid-19 pandemic through a spanner in the works. The owners were not deterred though and rather than simply relying on being situated in the idyllic Taupō District have looked for ways to improve their offerings.

"When we took the park over it was very tired. Even through the uncertainty of a global pandemic, we've been investing quite vigorously.

"We've done a lot of repainting, we've renovated all our communal areas and just generally tidying up.

"We're within a couple of weeks of opening up a brand new, lagoon-style pool. We're very excited about that - it's been a half a million-dollar project."

Suzi says the park's service-focused approach is a point of difference.

"We make every effort to get to know our guests, so we have that personal touch. We'll sit down and have a chat to them, we'll serve them coffee every morning when they come up to the shop. We know their names, we know their kids' names.

"It's a home away from home community sort of feel and I think people respond really positively to that. People are finding that personal touch is welcomed in this current environment."

Suzi and her husband Darren came to Taupō from Auckland, while Matt and Kris came from Hawke's Bay. They were all ready for a new challenge.

"For me, it was getting away from that big city life," she says.

"I was sick of sitting in traffic every day and now that I'm out of it I hate going back to Auckland. Darren is a tradie and Matt is an engineer so the combination of skill sets appealed as well, knowing we could do a lot of things ourselves.

"It was a huge risk. We put everything we own into buying this park and we certainly didn't put a global pandemic into our business plan. However, we've battled through. It's been a huge risk but I think once we're out the other side we'll start to see it pay off.

"We've tried really hard to keep things going, smiling through our masks and trying to keep things light. At the beginning of summer, I said to my team: 'All I want is for people who visit us feel safe and forget everything for a while. I think we've achieved that."

You can see all the Best of Summer finalists here.