Hero camper’s sons face second tragedy after Mount Maunganui landslide
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
The sons of Mount Maunganui landslide victim Lisa Maclennan are facing a second devastating loss, after already losing their father in 2018.
Lisa Anne MacLennan, 50 was one of six victims who lost their life after the hill behind the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park gave way last Thursday after record rain hit the region.
She has been hailed a hero because of her efforts to warn other campers of impending danger after a small slip hit her campervan hours before the fatal landslide.
Now Stuff can reveal Lisa’s two sons have lost both their biological parents after Lisa’s first husband died in 2018. She subsequently remarried Travis Maclennan who is the boys’ stepfather.
As the recovery continues, Lisa’s family and friends continue to pay tribute to a woman they say “always cared for others”.
“Lisa was an amazing woman with the bestest heart,” one woman said. “Her passing happened as she was looking out for others which was so her!”
Both Lisa and Travis were well known in the Morrinsville theatre community. A member has set up a Givealittle page to support the family saying “Lisa's heroic efforts made such a difference during this utter tragedy.”
“My thoughts have been with Travis … since I heard the news, and many members of our extended theatre whanau are grieving.”
A popular literacy centre tutor at Morrinsville Intermediate School, Lisa’s death has been felt widely in the community with many parents sharing online tributes to a “special woman who contributed so much to the community”.
“Lisa, you were an amazing woman who gave everything to those kids! You will be sorely missed,” one parent said.
Another wrote, “This is so sad. Thank you Lisa for helping my boy thru school. We will cherish you forever.”
Following the landslide a camper revealed Lisa played a pivotal role in warning others of the impending danger.
According to Lance Macfarlane who was tenting next to Lisa’s campervan, she tried to warn him and others after a small slip hit her camper.
Macfarlane told the NZ Herald that Lisa said the mud hitting her campervan felt like an “earthquake”.
“She told me if she didn’t wake me up and warn us and then something happened, that it would forever be in the back of her mind.”
Lisa and her husband also tried to notify those in charge of the threat between 5-8am on Thursday morning, but there was no-one at the campground office, he said.
“Her and her partner tried the after-hours number at the camp office, but it just went through to security, and no one came. They tried to ring other numbers to get advice on what to do.”
Eventually, according to Macfarlane Lisa went into the camp’s shower and toilet block, he assumed to warn others of the threat when the hill collapsed, and buried the complex at around 9.30am.
On Tuesday evening, Cambridge Middle School where Travis MacLennan teaches revealed on social media that he had “managed to get out safely”.