Our Mission
We are a Christian camp that brings God’s love to each person who visits. We are especially committed to serving our guests with outstanding hospitality.
Our Vision
To create a life-changing experience for all our guests.
Our Purpose
Seeking to continually share the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ in all that we do, growing our ministry-impact at Tōtara Springs into a centre of excellence.
Our Values
We are a people who are characterised by our love for God & one-another. We seek to serve with a motivated, diligent heart, a can-do attitude and a pioneering-spirit. We strive for excellence in all that we do.
What we offer
Tōtara Springs is the largest centre of its kind in New Zealand and is the ultimate venue for church retreats, school camps, sports activities, business conferences, artistic events, holiday camps and family reunions.
We are situated in a beautiful setting, nestled at the foot of the Kaimai ranges in Matamata. There are 90 acres of park-like grounds and native bush with streams, walks and bush trails. We have a large gymnasium for indoor sports, lecture theatre and breakaway areas, as well as a large hot pool fed by natural hot water.
We have beds for 427 people in 27 motels, 3 lodges and 19 cabins. Onsite there are also powered caravan and practically unlimited tent sites. Camps and events are fully catered by our resident catering team and special dietary needs can be accommodated. A wide range of sports equipment is available as well as a laundry, Wi-Fi, photocopying, microphones and other sound equipment.
History of Tōtara Springs
The story of Tōtara Springs starts back in 1940 at the Te Aroha Sports Domain where an Easter Camp for young people was held for the first time. As the event grew, it moved around a number of locations until a farm was bought and in 1967 the first Easter Camp was held at Tōtara Springs.
It was believed hot water could be found in the area so in 1968 it was time to start drilling. After drilling 235 meters down into solid rock the money was gone and no hot water was found. The committee prayed and decided to drill another 27 meters and still no water was found. The faith of the committee was strong and after drilling another 60 meters hot water was found! This still feeds the swimming pool with a pleasant 36C all year round.
That same year a permanent kitchen and dining room was built and still makes up part of the current dining and admin facilities.
In 1980 the auditorium was built to replace the use of marquees for large events. It was the biggest building project undertaken at the time and was initiated by the need for a covered venue for the international Rally Arura to be held in 1982 with 1500 children attending.
Since then the motels, lodges and conference centre have been built as well as a kitchen upgrade in 2011 and an extension to the dining room in 2013. Over all this time God has faithfully provided Tōtara Springs with what it has needed to continue to do his work in the Waikato.
