Three German tourists have lost most of their belongings, including their passports, after their rental car was broken into.
The trio were visiting Kaiate Falls on Tuesday afternoon when the theft occurred.
Moritz Grossman, who has been in New Zealand for around six months, was showing his brother Hannes and his girlfriend Stephanie Kahler the falls during a stop on their way to Taupo.
'We went for a little walk and left our rental car in the carpark. We came back after half an hour to find the back corner window was smashed and our bags taken out,” says Moritz.
A GoPro and $120 was also stolen, as well as Moritz's laptop and smartphone, containing photos from his time in New Zealand.
'My brother lost all of his clothes, as well as small backpacks with iPads and passports in them. It was very unfortunate.”
He says they called police and reported the incident, before heading to the Mount Maunganui police station.
Unfortunately, they have no idea who might have committed the theft.
'There was one car when we arrived, but it was just people who were walking their dog,” says Moritz.
'I just wanted to show my brother and his girlfriend New Zealand, so it was a bad incident for their trip.”
The passports are probably the most important things to get back. After that would be Hannes' iPad, which has his university work on it.
'My brother is studying at the moment, and when he gets back home he has to make a presentation,” says Moritz. 'But all that stuff is gone now.”
He says they would be willing to pay a reward if their property can be located/returned.
Anyone with information should phone the Mount Maunganui police station on 07 575 3143.
9 comments
This is very embarrassing for us
Posted on 21-06-2017 09:18 | By Papamoaner
Unfortunately we kiwis have some animals amongst us, just like other countries, but it doesn't have to be like this. Why is it they rarely have this kind of crime in Singapore? Once the Rattan has been tasted, they never come back for more. All we need is a politician with the guts to introduce a private members bill allowing corporal punishment. Nothing else works. But Singapore's system has been proved to work, and work well. Did you know they had to cancel two prison construction projects a few years ago due to a "shortage of inmates" ? Imagine how much money that saves a small country.
So true
Posted on 21-06-2017 10:21 | By hapukafin
Papamoaner,its so tru e,its all too PC here and what punishment is handed out only gets laughted at ,thats why there are so many repeated offences.If I remember correctly every thursday was cane day in Singapore
Security at Falls
Posted on 21-06-2017 10:36 | By Denny G
I believe its about time the council installed some CCTV camera's at the site so that these low-life's can be bought to justice. Name and shame them. When they commit crimes , they should loose all privacy rights, regardless of their upbringing and we, the public, have a right t know their names and see their faces so that we can be aware or their presence.
Such sad specimens
Posted on 21-06-2017 11:10 | By penguin
Unfortunately the low lifers that do these things dont have enough brain cells to understand the consequences of their actions with regard to the victims. We often label the perpetrators as animals but animals dont generally do such actions to their own kind. Besides the obvious consequences for the unfortunate tourists, it does serious harm to our countrys image of being a safe and secure place in which to travel. The comparison with Singapore is valid. Ride your bike in a pedestrian underpass and the fine is $1000! Other countries have much tougher penalties for law breakers. The difficulty is being able to catch the offenders. A further sad commentary is that tour guides now have to advise tourists against walking alone, at night and putting belongings down. Such a sad indictment of our safe place.
nothing has changed
Posted on 21-06-2017 11:39 | By Angel74
Use to go to the falls when i was a teenager, break ins were happening then and they are stilling happening now and im in my forties..........such a shame but its just a risk we all take parking and leaving our cars, especially in remote places.
@penguin
Posted on 21-06-2017 11:50 | By Papamoaner
Yes, and even dropping minor litter like a lolly paper attracts quite harsh fines. These are not the petty penalties some might think on the face of it. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a very smart guy. He figured if he enforced small rules, it would have a trickle-up effect and encourage respect for society and the law in general, and at all levels. It worked! And continues to work, and when we go there, the people seem to be very happy and content. We enforce road rules here pretty well, but have dropped the ball on community living rules, inadvertently leading to the breeding of a sub-life underworld.
Low life scum
Posted on 21-06-2017 12:26 | By comfortablynumb
Feel real sorry for these poor tourists have been victim to these low life's. What's wrong with these idiots in NZ who tarnish its reputation ? I lived in the UK most of my life and parked up in out of the way places with a car full of expensive fishing gear and never had a problem. Yet I have been warned certain areas around Lake Taupo and the Rotorua Lakes not to leave valuable items on show and to leave the glovebox open to show nothing of value is stored away. Maybe I've just been lucky.
I agree with Denny G's ...
Posted on 21-06-2017 14:29 | By morepork
...sensible suggestion. The only problem with it is that they will smash the cameras. Kaiate Falls is a known "blackspot" for petty theft (I had cassettes stolen from the car, back in the days when we used cassettes). The walk down to the falls is pretty long and they can be sure of a good period of time uninterrupted. They can also see people on the track so they have plenty of time to scarper. The people who did this could easily return the passports (which are no use to them) and maybe a USB stick with the student's work on it, but there is only a very slim chance this will happen. It really doesn't help our tourist trade or image and the people responsible should be shown that this is a serious matter, if they are ever caught. Meantime, watch and report if the booty is offere
i would not go there
Posted on 21-06-2017 21:26 | By Capt_Kaveman
for this main reason, our parks and walking places are insecure and penalties not strong enough and there is a camera on the corner
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