Camping ground handover delayed

Ben and Pat Johns at Johns Landing.

By Margaret Maccoll

Johns Landing camping ground has been given an extension until 21 November to close, with all but two residents having been found accommodation and the clean-up nearing completion.
Camp grounds owners Pat and Ben Johns sought an extension of the Noosa Council takeover scheduled for 31 October to move a lifetime of their own possessions after they helped tenants move.
“It got a bit hectic,” Ben said.
“There were a lot of people who left a week ago”.
Only two tenants remained last week waiting for accommodation to become available.
“They didn’t kick anybody out that didn’t have a place to go,” he said.
Last month council workers helped shift cars off the property.
Ben said Gagaju Bush Camp had shut, pulled down their building and sold the cabin to his brother who was in the process of dismantling, moving and rebuilding it.
Ben said he and Pat would be retaining some land at John’s Landing but moving to a unit in Tewantin.
“She’ll enjoy the lifestyle. It’ll be more social. And I’ll still have access here to do some crabbing,” Ben said.
“It’s amazing to go from what we were doing to nothing.”
Ben said it was their advancing age that convinced them to sell the camp ground when council approached them to purchase it.