Jacqui Marshall was sitting in her beachfront caravan at the Ohope Top 10 Holiday Park last night and saw a sight she thought needed further investigation.
"I saw this big grey cloud thing with a tail and wondered what it was."
She walked the short distance to the beach and took a video before uploading it to Facebook and asking if anyone knew what it was.
"By the time I'd done that the cloud that I now know was a tornado, was heading straight toward my caravan and was only metres away."
Marshall watched her neighbouring camper lock himself in his car but knew if she had tried to open her caravan door, it would have been ripped from its hinges and she would have been sucked outside.
Hey does someone know what this is...its oretty full on but I cant get clear film! K
"The pressure and the noise were absolutely intense. There was so much debris including table tops and large bits of timber flying about the place, it's amazing no one was hurt or killed."
Marshall said things were looking very grim when the tornado suddenly veered from its path and followed a nearby hedge further inland.
"It missed me, went over the top of the beautiful apartment buildings next door, and travelled sideways and a few hundred metres before destroying the Surf and Sand venue."
She said she was counting her blessings. Husband and wife Jason Withy and Heather-Renee Roman live at Kutarere and, with their children, watched the tornado cross the Ohiwa Harbour after it left Ōhope.
"We'd been warned by a friend so went outside to look and there she was in all her majesty," Withy said.
"We stood there watching and filming until it was maybe 30m away and then all scrambled inside."
He said it was just about to hit the family truck parked in front of the house, before it veered off to the right and missed everything completely.
"The most bizarre thing was how quiet it was. You honestly could have heard a pin drop."
The tornado, which struck the eastern end of Ōhope at 5.45pm yesterday significantly damaged at least two properties and caused moderate damage to a further four.