'Where was anybody to warn us?': Camper blasts lack of evacuation before Mount slip

Author: Garth Bray,
Publish Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026, 8:18am

An Auckland woman who fled the scene of Thursday’s landslide at the base of Mount Maunganui with her 16-year-old son is in disbelief they weren’t evacuated a day earlier, as weather reports worsened.

“I do feel angry about it, because there are people that are not going to come out alive, and we could have been among them as well,” said Karyn Henger, speaking exclusively to the Herald.

“Where were the campground staff? Where were the council? Where was anybody to warn us that we needed to get out of there?” she said.

The North Shore resident had made the call to end her stay at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park after 36 hours of heavy rain, when disaster struck.

She was packing to leave with son Mikey Te Paa when friends returned from a walk to tell her there was a campervan in the hot pools.

“We saw a helicopter go over the top, and then we started seeing police appearing everywhere. And then we looked down, and all these people were walking out, down on to the main street.”

Karyn Henger is in disbelief that campers weren’t evacuated a day earlier than the deadly landslide, as weather reports worsened.

Henger had rented a cabin about 100m from the area swallowed up by the landslide.

“There was a retaining wall a metre behind where we were staying, and there was water pouring down all night, like a waterfall.

“We [were] sleeping right under that mountain, and then we wake up in the morning, and that happens, and I can’t believe that we were not evacuated 24 hours earlier, when they knew how bad the weather was,” she said.

Damage to the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park and nearby hot pools after a slip.

Henger said she would have expected campground staff to talk to guests on Wednesday morning when it was obvious rain was going to get worse and to recommend evacuation, or to seek advice from Civil Defence and pass that on.

“When you’ve got families camping at the base of a mountain, you need to take responsibility for their safety.”

Henger said she felt lucky to be alive and very sad and upset for families still awaiting word of missing relatives.

Rescue efforts are continuing at the Mount Maunganui campground after the landslide.

“I can’t even describe how awful it must feel for them,” she said.

“I think the Mount has probably been ruined for a lot of people now. There will be people that will never want to go back there because of what’s happened.”