Beach caravan's holiday heaven

For a couple having just returned from a wintery United Kingdom, the simplicity of a caravan on the beach was all that was needed this Kiwi summer.

Gemma McArthy took the chance to bunk down in her parents' permanent caravan at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park to see in the New Year.

Joined by partner Steven Pask and two friends, the Morrinsville-based woman said there was no better way to enjoy the new year.

"Why spend heaps of money for a flash apartment when you can get the same thing from down here," she said.

The caravan was located on the hillside facing Marine Parade.

"My dad reckons it's the best spot on the campsite. He's a bit biased, though," she said.

Miss McArthy's parents have owned the caravan for five or six years but this is the first summer she has been able to take advantage of it.

"We've been overseas so we haven't been able to enjoy it until now. We've been based in the UK," she said.

Mr Pask said they had missed the Kiwi summer. "This is what we have been looking forward to. It's just nice. It seems so New Zealand," he said.

"It makes it even more like a holiday."

The couple planned to spend two weeks at the campsite while r Miss McArthy's parents worked in Morrinsville.

They would take over for their holiday then.