About

  • Motutere Reserve is managed by Taupō District Council (TDC) under the Reserves Act 1977. It holds deep cultural, environmental and historical significance for Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko.

    Motutere Reserve features a campground divided into two areas:

    1. A lakeshore campground area directly on Motutere Bay

    2. A main campground area located across State Highway 1

    The current lease for the campground, which commenced in 2005, will expire in 2038.

    This campaign is seeking to restore public access to Motutere Bay by advocating for no lakeshore camping from 2038, once the existing campground lease expires.

    Lakeshore camping privatises and commercialises a public space, preventing shared enjoyment of Motutere Bay by everyone.

    We need your help to convince Taupō District Council to make the bay accessible to all, not just those staying at the campground.

    The only way to make this happen is if you submit on the draft Motutere Reserve Management Plan (RMP) seeking a direction in the RMP that there be no camping at Motutere Bay Lakeshore Reserve from 2038.

  • A major feature of Motutere Reserve is the Motutere campground, which is laid out in two distinct sections:

    1. the Motutere Bay lakeshore campground area

    2. the Motutere Main campground area across State Highway 1. 

    The campground operates under a lease with TDC that commenced in 2005 and is due to expire in 2038, 14 years from now.

    Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko is not opposed to a campground on Motutere Main Reserve. However, our hapū is opposed to camping at Motutere Bay Lakeshore Reserve after 2038.

    There are a number of good reasons to oppose lakeshore camping:

    • It exclusively commercialises the lakeshore reserve area for the benefit of fee-paying campers only.

    • It prevents shared enjoyment by everyone of one of the few sheltered north-facing bays on the eastern shore of Lake Taupō.

    • It prevents Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko hapū from having a relationship with the lakeshore.

    • It is adversely impacting the natural character and amenity of the lakeshore.

    • It prevents proper use and enjoyment of the boat ramp at Motutere Bay: a public and community asset.

    • It has also hindered TDC's ability to provide adequate boat trailer parking facilities for the boat ramp, causing safety and access issues.

    Advocating in your submission for the Motutere RMP to seek a direction for no lakeshore camping from 2038 will restore public access to the lakeshore area of Motutere Reserve for the whole Taupō District community, and only after the existing campground lease comes to the end of its life.

  • The draft Motutere RMP includes Outcome 4.3, which states “Motutere Bay lakeshore reserve west of the boat ramp will transition to public day use area, and the campground lease area east of the boat ramp will be used for tenting only.”

    This is presented as aimed at achieving a better balance between the interests of all reserve users and the interests of campers.

    However, this ‘outcome’ can only occur under a new lease arrangement with the campground owner (the RMP cannot interfere with existing lease rights). This means the ‘outcome’ is dependent on Taupō District Council and the campground owner reaching an agreement in future lease negotiations.

    The campground owner has shared in past public Council meetings that he is seeking a new 33-year lease. If the draft RMP permits lakeshore camping on the eastern side of the boat ramp there is a risk that lakeshore camping in this part of the lakeshore is locked in for a further 33 years, to 2057. That is 19 years longer than the expiry of all lakeshore camping under the existing lease.

    This is why the hapū does not support the public day use and campground lease lakeshore proposal. Instead, we support a clear ban on lakeshore camping at Motutere Bay from 2038, on the expiry of the existing lease.

  • We need YOU to make a submission.

    We need to flood Taupō District Council with hundreds of individual submissions opposing lakeshore camping, so that the decision for Council is clear.

    To give clear direction to the Taupō District Council, we ask you to:

    1. Make a submission before 4 November 2024 on the Motutere Reserve Management Plan (RMP) seeking a direction in the RMP that there be no lakeshore camping at Motutere Bay from 2038, on the expiry of the existing campground lease.

    2. When lodging your submission, ask to be heard at the 27 November 2024 hearing to put a voice and face to your submission.

    Learn more about making a submission.

  • Located on the eastern shores of Lake Taupō, Motutere Reserve spans 31.8 hectares and includes Motutere Bay and Ōtaiātoa Bay (previously known as Mission Bay). The reserve is designated as a Recreation Reserve under the Reserves Act 1977, aimed at providing public recreation, supporting physical wellbeing, and protecting the natural environment.

    While the land is owned by the Department of Conservation, it is administered by Taupō District Council and governed by a Reserve Management Plan (RMP), currently under review.

    The three main reserve areas are described below (and see the map at the end of this page).

    1. Motutere Main Reserve: This 24-hectare area lies south of State Highway 1, encompassing a campground, regenerating native vegetation, and key infrastructure like water tanks and a wastewater treatment plant. The hapū is not advocating for the removal of camping in the Motutere Main Reserve.

    2. Motutere Bay Lakeshore Reserve: North of State Highway 1, this lakeshore reserve extends 900m along the foreshore, including a 3.2-hectare campground lease area and public access to the boat ramp. The hapū is advocating for no camping in the Motutere Bay Lakeshore Reserve from 2038.

    3. Ōtaiātoa Bay Lakeshore Reserve: Extending 2.2km along the eastern shores, this area is covered in scrub and grass, with a public rest area. Camping is not permitted here.

  • Motutere Reserve is a recreational reserve, administered by Taupō District Council under the Reserves Act 1977.

    The existing Motutere Reserve Management Plan is 20 years' out of date. TDC is conducting a comprehensive review of the Motutere Reserve Management Plan (RMP), and a draft RMP is now open for submissions until 4 November 2024.

    While TDC has worked in partnership with Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko hapū to develop the draft RMP, the final decision on the Motutere Reserve Management Plan still rests with TDC.

    Lakeshore camping is only one of a number of issues relevant to the RMP review, but the issue will be highly contested by the campground owner and lakeshore campers, so it is the focus of the #RestorePublicAccesstoMotutereBay campaign.

    The draft RMP does not currently make any reference to no lakeshore camping after 2038, on the expiry of the existing campground lease.

    In order for a direction to be adopted in the final Motutere RMP that there is to be no lakeshore camping from 2038, we will need to flood TDC with as many submissions as possible seeking a direction for no lakeshore camping.

    • 3 September to 4 November 2024: A two-month public consultation period on the draft Reserve Management Plan. We need your submission.

    • 27 November 2024: Council Hearing of Submissions. When making your submission, it would be useful and strengthen your submission if you ask to be heard (you can present in-person or online).

    • Recommendations: The Working Committee overseeing the RMP review will present their recommendations on the final Motutere RMP to the Council.

    • Final decision: The Council will decide on the final Motutere RMP.

  • Motutere Reserve lies within the territorial boundary of Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko hapū, stretching from Hallets Bay to Motuoapa. This area has been home to generations of Ngāti Te Rangiita people, who have lived in and cared for the land for centuries. Motutere Reserve, and the adjacent Motutere Point, is rich in sites of cultural significance, each with names and deep historical connections to the hapū.

    The core philosophy of Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko is the intrinsic connection between people and the environment, rooted in whakapapa—the Māori worldview that sees no division between humans and nature. This belief is summed up by the words of the late Ngāti Te Rangiita ki Waitetoko kaumātua Te Kanawa Pitiroi: "Ki te tiaki te tangata i te Taiao, ka tiaki te Taiao i te tangata"—"If mankind takes care of the environment, the environment will take care of mankind."

    This philosophy underpins the hapū commitment to restoring access to Motutere Bay to preserve the natural beauty and cultural integrity of Motutere Bay lakeshore reserve for future generations, and support respectful recreational use of Motutere Bay for all.

  • The current campground lease began in 2005, 19 years ago, and is set to expire in 2038, 14 years from now.

    Asking Taupō District Council for no lakeshore camping from 2038 honours the campground owners' existing lease, which has no renewal options for extension. This approach respects the reliance that lakeshore campers have placed on the lease. It also gives them 14 years' notice of the need to move from Motutere Lakeshore Reserve.

    The campground area on the Motutere Main Reserve across SH1 will still be available to campers, and restoring public access to the Motutere lakeshore will make the bay accessible to everyone, including campers.

    No lakeshore camping from 2038 is fair in every possible way.

  • Join us on online or at Waitetoko Marae throughout September and October for Submission Drafting Workshops.

    Learn more