26/08/2026
Taking a moment to celebrate Pete and our amazing Facilities crew! 💙🌿
For those who don’t know Pete, he’s our Facilities and Environment Manager and has been part of the Kaiteriteri team for the past three and a half years.
During that time, Pete has championed plenty of new ideas and initiatives alongside our Maintenance crew, much of which happens quietly behind the scenes to keep Kaiteriteri looking its best.
And there’s a lot to look after! Across our 250-hectare Reserve, you’ll find our campground, cabins, apartments, Mountain Bike Park, Kākā Point Historic Reserve, estuary, On the Spot Store, Waterfront Restaurant and, of course, our iconic golden beach.
From replenishing and caring for the beach to maintaining our grounds and natural environment, our Facilities crew plays a huge role in looking after this special place every day.
So, with Pete hanging up his hat and heading into retirement this Friday, we thought we’d share a few of those stories...
🌱 It turns out, the grass doesn’t just grow itself!
With thousands of campers enjoying our campground each year, our sites take a real hammering. Pete introduced new fertilising practices and invested in a seeder drill to establish new grass and core the campground sites to aerate the soil and improve drainage.
Every autumn and spring, our Facilities crew work their way around the campground, aiming to replenish each of our 437 campsites twice a year, when there isn’t a camper enjoying it, of course!
♻️ Then there’s Pete’s passion for sustainability.
Always looking for ways to reuse and recycle, Pete came across an old can crusher and decided it deserved a new life at Kaiteriteri.
It’s now a favourite at one of our recycling stations, particularly with the kids who love seeing just how flat they can squash their cans!
Those little cans have added up. To date, around two tonnes of aluminium cans have been sold, helping fund more than 600 native trees.
Across the campground, initiatives like these have also helped our team reduce annual refuse from 140,000kg to 112,000kg over five years.
🐟 Even fish frames have found a second life.
Pete established our fish composting project, combining discarded fish frames from the summer season, with winter tree pruning's from around the Reserve. Around six months later, the finished compost is now sold back to the community, with proceeds helping purchase even more native trees.
And when Pete isn’t busy finding the next clever solution, he’s the kind of person who will happily lend a hand wherever it’s needed, even if that means becoming the model for a photoshoot which our marketing team are very grateful for! 📸
This Friday marks Pete’s last day with us before he swaps his work cap and trusty bike for retirement with his lovely wife.
Pete, thank you for the ideas, care and energy you’ve brought to Kaiteriteri, and for everything you’ve contributed alongside our fantastic Facilities team.
We’re going to miss you around the Reserve. Enjoy that golden Tasman sunset, you’ve certainly earned it! 🫶🥹💙
