A caravan left idle on the Taranaki coast has been devoured by an encroaching sand dune - and a nearby bach could be next.
Responsibility for managing the dunes has been denied by both the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the South Taranaki District Council, which says the problem is the property owner's to fix.
"When we first come here you could see all of the caravan, but now look at it - she's nearly buried," Oaonui resident Doug Campbell said.
Next in the firing line is a bach which sits on the same Tai Rd property. Its Auckland owners couldn't be contacted, but locals say they only bought the property about six months ago and since then, the sand has kept rising.
"This house here - if they don't do something soon it's going to get buried like the caravan," Mr Campbell said.
The Coastal Restoration Trust identified the section of coast as a problem area three years ago - with a photo from March 2014 showing how far the sand has moved.
"It's a pretty extreme site, so there's lots of sand moving about and the wind channelling through sand dunes," Coastal Restoration Trust chair Greg Bennett said.
Mr Bennett says shifting dunes are a problem for many coastal communities around the country - but he's adamant there are ways to stop it.
"We at the trust advocate planting native sand-binders - and around the country that's been quite successful in stabilising dunes."
The council says it has no responsibility for the sand dunes, which sit on DoC land.
Both DoC and the council say once sand moves onto a private property, it becomes the responsibility of the landowner.
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