Soiled reserves spark freedom camping call

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne has called for a nationwide single policy on freedom camping, after concerns that some of the most beautiful spots in the district are being spoiled by irresponsible freedom campers.

His comments came during a Golden Bay Community Board meeting yesterday at which a Takaka backpacker hostel owner expressed her "disgust" at the amount of rubbish and human excrement found at Anatori, on Golden Bay's west coast.

Jules Adam said the Anatori Rd Reserve had been "turned into a toilet, with poop and paper behind every single bush".

"I've been camping there since I was a child, and I don't want to stop people from camping, but the council needs to take a step up and put something in place.

"It's an absolutely amazing site, but now it just makes you want to cry," she said.

Ms Adam said there was a need for toilets on the site and called for a working bee to clean up the place, volunteering her own help.

Mr Kempthorne said he was aware of at least 12 beauty spots in the district where there was a problem, near Motueka as well as in Golden Bay. A bylaw was needed, but it was difficult to police, especially in remote areas.

Freedom camping was a problem all over New Zealand, including areas such as Coromandel and the West Coast of the South Island. "We would like to have a policy that we [all councils] are implementing, but the process is time-consuming. It's a difficult issue, he said.

Community board chairman Joe Bell said the issue had been brought up many times and the board had written to campervan companies asking them to remind their clients to use camping grounds.

- © Fairfax NZ News