KICKED out of their home away from home with just 90 days' notice, long-term casual visitors to Hawks Nest Holiday Park have called their shock eviction "callous" and "cold".
John Shaw and his wife Ellen have been long-term casuals at the park, owned and operated by Reflections Holiday Parks, for close to 25 years.
In true caravan park spirit, their neighbours became close friends, having cracked open countless cold ones in a camp chair and shared stories over a charcoal snag on a slice of white bread.
"We're being uprooted," he said.
"You become a part of the community, you build a lot of friendships, so it's very devastating for us people who are being evicted.
"The Reflections management group are very unsympathetic to this sort of stuff, we're just a number, they don't care who you are because there's no emotional ties to anybody."
The couple are among the first 29 caravaners to be kicked out, as Reflections gears up for a $6.5 million renovation to the park it claims will attract another 10,000 visitors and $1.2 million in economic benefits to the Port Stephens community each year.
It plans to build 14 new cabins, 17 extra powered caravan or camping sites and make improvements to the park entrance.
Mr Shaw said there are no permanent residents left at the park and a lot of the long-term casuals have packed up and left because of fee increases.
He said that when he first came to the park, annual fees were about $1800 with one month free if you paid upfront.
Now, Mr Shaw said the price has more than tripled, forcing people who couldn't afford the financial burden to pack up and leave.
"Some of the people that have been in the park have been there for about 40 to 45 years, so it's almost a lifetime," he said.
Even during the height of COVID, long-term casuals like the Shaws continued to pay their yearly fees - keeping the park in business when even domestic tourism had come to a complete halt.
They, along with the other evictees, were offered a 30 per cent discount on casual holiday accommodation at the park for the next 12 months - which Mr Shaw called "a kick in the guts".
A Reflections spokeswoman told the Newcastle Herald the park infrastructure is tired and isn't meeting the expectations of guests.
"Many sites are occupied by older holiday vans which are only visited infrequently," she said.
"As a consequence, many sites within the park are only utilised by a small number of people, which doesn't align with Crown Lands principles around providing equitable access to public land.
"It also means that local small businesses aren't receiving the level of support that they would if the park was fully utilised by tourist guests year-round."
Under a long-term casual contract, caravaners can stay at Hawks Nest for a maximum of 180 days of the year.
Reflections is a Crown Land manager, and the spokeswoman said it has an obligation to share the land in an equitable way.
"Very few people or members of the community have an opportunity to holiday in this location and we need to ensure the land is enjoyed by as many NSW communities as possible, as well as visitors from interstate and abroad," she said.
The spokeswoman said some people only use their caravans for one week of the year and many are "going to ruin" and "don't comply with current building standards".
For the remaining holiday van owners, the clock is ticking, allowed to stay until the next round of park improvements start at a later, unknown date.
Some of Chris Schuck's favourite memories are at her humble Hawks Nest caravan, which she shares with her younger brother, daughter and nephew.
It's been in the family for nearly 40 years, passed down from her mother and step father and enjoyed for four generations.
"It's just always been there," she said.
"It's the end of an era, I'm really quite sad, it's just horrible.
"It's very much a community, you make a lot of friendships over the years and all these generations - it's pretty special."
Ms Schuck said she'd heard whispers around the park that changes could be in the works, but thought they'd have four to five years until they had to leave.
The first real notice she got from the park was an email and a note stuck in the door of her caravan, there was no consultation or opportunity to give feedback.
"That was a real shock," she said.
Her children are now in their 40s, inside the van craft they made as kids hangs on the walls, which have borne witness to years of memories.
It's not "real flash" but it's the family's home away from home.
"I don't want to be over-dramatic, but I feel like somebody has died," Ms Schuck said.
"I do, I feel like someone has died, it's just always been there so we just assumed it always would be.
"When I found out I spoke to my daughter and I couldn't talk, all I could do is cry."
Reflections has said it will help affected van site holders to book casual caravan or camping sites close together where possible in the future.
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