Source: Radio New Zealand
Queenstown Lakes District Council introduced new freedom camping rules in December, restricting campers to designated sites. Supplied
Freedom campers are falling foul of new Queenstown Lakes District Council rules, with about 18 people per day stung with $400 fines.
Campers in self-contained vehicles were restricted to 141 designated spaces across 15 sites in the district over summer, plus a handful of rural roadside spots and a free campground in Luggate
Between 1 December and 2 March, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) issued 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements, largely for people parking in the wrong spot or overstaying time limits, and 108 Reserves Act infringements for parking on reserve land.
Freedom Camping Act infringements carried $400 fines, while Reserves Act breaches carried $800 fines, the council said.
QLDC responsible camping programme manager Amy Galloway said it was the highest number of infringements the council had issued since about 2019, but it had also been a bumper summer for freedom camping.
She said more than 7000 freedom campers used a new check-in feature on the QLDC website throughout summer, although the true number of campers was likely much higher.
“Observationally, we see those 15 restricted sites plus the Luggate Red Bridge pretty much full every single day. Campers are using our sites extensively,” she said.
She said the system was working well overall and people were pleased to have a regulated freedom camping system again.
“Generally speaking, campers are going to where we want them to go. Amongst that, there is some behaviour we need to correct, but like everything we’re constantly reviewing and trying to improve operations,” she said.
German traveller Fynn Stolz says he was stung with a $400 fine after parking outside a designated freedom camping site in Queenstown. RNZ/Katie Todd
Campers say demand outstrips supply
Camper Fynn Stolz from Germany said there were not enough spaces to cater to the number of freedom campers visiting the district.
He said he had struggled to find a park for his van each night.
“We go from one to another and see if any of the spots are free. Usually, at 4pm all the spots are taken, so you have to be really fast, one of the first. It’s kind of a race,” he said.
He was fined $400 this week after arriving at the Queenstown Events Centre late at night, when he missed out on one of the nine designated spaces and instead stayed overnight in a regular carpark several metres away.
“It wasn’t a good idea,” he said.
Another camper, Svenja Steger from Switzerland, said Queenstown’s rules were much “more difficult” than other places in New Zealand.
“It’s not as easy as other places to find a park,” she said.
When asked if the QLDC would consider adding more spaces to meet the demand, Galloway said the council encouraged campers to look at other options.
“I think if we provided more spaces, they would be full, but we would also like campers to consider using one of our great commercial campsites that we have in the district and also the many Department of Conservation campsites across the district as well. There are a variety of options for campers, ranging from free up to your more luxurious campsites,” she said.
She said freedom campers had flooded parking areas across the district last summer after the council’s previous bylaw was quashed by the High Court.
“I think sometimes when campers turn up, and they see a site is full, and they think, ‘oh well, I can just park here’. If everybody did that, then the carpark would soon become full, which is what we saw last summer as well – just the insatiable demand for free camping,” she said.
Fines in the Freedom Camping Act 2011 rose from $200 to $400 in 2023.
“I think word is spreading amongst campers that these are the rules and we take them seriously and they will be enforced,” she said.
‘Shitting in the bushes’
In Wānaka, the council temporarily closed a freedom-camping site at Allenby Place because of traffic-related safety concerns.
A group called Save Clean New Zealand has also been petitioning for the removal of three freedom camping spaces at Beacon Point.
Spokesperson Andrea Beryl said it was a pristine stretch of shoreline not fit for freedom camping, or at least the type of behaviour she had seen and photographed.
Freedom campers at the site were “clearly not using their onboard facilities,” she said.
“They’re shitting in the bushes. They’re meant to be self-contained and they’re not. It’s just being abused,” she said.
“We want responsible campers to go to responsible places where there are toilets and places to clean up.”
Data from the QLDC showed that of the 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements this summer, 71 people were fined for being in a vehicle that was not self-contained.
One person was fined for depositing waste.
Beryl said damage was often done by the time the council issued an infringement notice.
“I don’t know how we change their attitude or how we educate the campers better, but it’s just not working. Then the council fine people after the fact that these problems have already occurred. It’s not preventative,” she said.
In a statement, a QLDC spokesperson said the council was watching to see whether the bylaw needed refinements and valued community feedback.
“Council fully acknowledges ongoing concerns within our community relating to freedom camping, including at Beacon Point,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s important to emphasise that the Freedom Camping Act applies nationally and permits this activity by default on most council land. Local bylaws are limited in both what they can address and the specific area to which they can apply. By balancing community concerns with what the Act requires us to do, the new bylaw is designed to ensure visitors continue to enjoy the experience of freedom camping here while addressing the concerns of residents,” they said.
“Councils, especially those with high volumes of visitors and low resident populations like QLDC, do not have sufficient tools to regulate freedom camping or fund visitor-related infrastructure to support this increasingly popular activity.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
