Demand for the Tōtaranui campsite, one of the most popular summer holiday sites in Nelson Tasman, took down the Department of Conservation website when it opened for bookings this morning. 

Hordes of holiday planners rushed online for 9.30am, as they tried to nab pitches for Christmas and New Year. 

High demand was anticipated by the DoC bookings team. Tōtaranui was given its own booking window to cope with the expected rush. 

DoC staff for Whakatū / Nelson said they were aware of the issues caused by summer demand, but were back online and taking bookings again with half an hour. 

Despite the brief hiccup, by 10:30am all 269 tent sites were reportedly completely sold out. 

Families who have spent the past summers in the north of the Abel Tasman National Park are familiar with the rush to book.  

Totaranui beach at the campground was named one of the “world’s best hidden beaches”, despite hosting thousands of campers every summer and even receiving a royal visit by Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018. Something one would expect would put it firmly on the map.  

The DoC has been rolling out 2024/25 summer bookings in tranches since last week, so as not to overload the system. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex battled rain in the normally sunny Abel Tasman National Park when they visited in 2018. Photo / Robert Kitchin 

The only other campground to get its own booking slot is Momorangi campground outside of Picton on April 23, which is expected to be equally busy next summer. 

This is despite 21 high-demand sites having price increases to offset what DoC says are rising operating costs. 

“More people using DOC’s most popular huts means higher upkeep and maintenance costs,” said Cat Wilson, director of heritage and visitors for DoC. 

The popular Great Walks network is expected to open for bookings from May, to great anticipation. 

Last April the Milford Track - the most sought-after multi-day walk on the network - crashed the DoC website on opening day. The bookings team told the Herald its site was able to handle 6000-7000 simultaneous bookings, not the tens of thousands that turned up early to book bunks. 

The booking window was delayed by four months to July to address its IT issues. 

DoC said it would be staying with its IT supplier US eDirect, which has run facility bookings since 2018. 

Bookings open at 9.30am on the following dates for the 2024/25 season: 

- South Island campsites: April 9, 2024 
- North Island campsites: April 11, 2024 
- Huts: April 16, 2024 
- Tōtaranui campground: April 17, 2024 
- Sole-occupancy lodges, cabins and cottages: April 18, 2024 
- Momorangi campground: April 23, 2024 

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.