From the moment we drove through the gates we fell in love with Ashley Gorge. Just prior to this we had just returned from a Months road trip in our campervan around the North Island.
As we stayed at different motor camps we met & talked to the owners and managers and began to see a new way of life. On our return to Diamond Harbour, we decided we didn't want to go back to work. I worked for an ITO in Christchurch and Wayne was in Real Estate. Although we loved our home in the harbour, we also had a yearning for something different. We began to look for motor camp management opportunities first but when the Ashley Gorge Holiday Park came up for sale we couldn't wait to take a look. Needless to say we immediately fell in love with the place. Once inside the gates you could be anywhere and its sometimes hard to believe we are less than an hour from Christchurch.
Its certainly a different way of life and the busy periods are crazy but we have met some amazing people. We have been given fresh trout caught from the river, homekill meat & even whitebait from campers. How long will we be here? Who knows, but we are aiming for the long term. In the meantime we get to enjoy Paradise on our doorstep, the Moreporks calling at night, the sound of the river & when its just too hot the ability to pop the sign on the door, grab a couple of tubes and disappear up river for an hour..... Paradise Found
Kind Regards
Sally & Wayne Schist