We booked a powered campsite on the 21st of December 2022 at 3:42 pm for 3 nights, from the 29th of December to the 31st of December clearly explaining that we will arrive at midnight on the 29th .We were allocated campsite 43 and there was no objection to it. They requested credit card details to confirm our booking.
We arrived at midnight on the 29th and parked our campervan on stand 43 and went to bed. When we woke up in the morning, we were surprised by another camper that have squeezed in so closely that we had to climb over their gear to get out the door. I turned my campervan around so that we could set it up and at least get in and out the door without climbing over other people.
The park office opens at 9am. I waited until 9:05 am and them phoned the cell phone number on the door for assistance. A staff member came to the office, I explained that we came in at midnight and that we will be leaving the morning of the 31st. I was charged $176 for 4 adults for the stay till the 31st. We used to pay a lot less and got a NZMCA discount in the past, which was refused. I paid it without any objection.
Shortly after paying, my wife and I left the campsite. Felicity, the manager, came to our campsite at 10:14 am. They were uncertain of payment. My son called me and I confirmed that we paid in full for our stay. At this point Felicity started to argue with them that we have checked in too early. My son offered to pay for any difference in charges straight away.
Felicity left, just to return at 10:21am with a male support person. They were extremely rude, hostile and offensive. They were borderline racist. Told the kids to go crawl back into the hole they crawl out of. She belittled my son and talked down to him. They were threatened that if they don’t vacate the campsite immediately the AA would be called to remove the campervan.
Since we were not at the campsite and couldn’t return to resolve the issue, we still don’t know what the problem was, we tried to call the police to mediate the dispute. We got hold of the police at 12:39pm. The matter was referred to Picton Police. Picton Police called us at 1:24pm and again at 2:28pm. The police officer called us back to inform us that Waikawa Bay Holiday Park said we were not welcome at the campsite and that I will be refunded my money. Felicity did not provide us with any explanation for this decision. The police officer simply said it was a civil matter. Of the $176, I was refunded $88.
Our children decided to be non-confrontational and left the campsite at about 10:30am. I returned the next morning to collect my power cord and found that the campsite was occupied, clearly double booked.
It cost me over $1000 to fly our kids from Auckland to Christchurch. It cost $400 in fuel to travel to Picton and back and worst of all it ruined our family holiday after a very tough year where my wife had to recover from cancer.