\u201cThe Queenstown Lakes does seem to be a very popular place for tourists to visit,\u201d Galloway said.<\/p>\n
Freedom camping is more popular in Queenstown Lakes District than any other region in New Zealand. Photo \/ George Novak <\/p>\n
\u201cSince Covid, the numbers have clearly been rising, and unfortunately, our infringement data indicates that same trend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most freedom campers in the district were young Europeans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround 75% of those we surveyed were between 18 and 34, and just over 60% were from Europe. Domestic tourists made up about 15%,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s previous 2021 bylaw was quashed after a judicial review brought by the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association (NZMCA), which argued it was too restrictive.<\/p>\n
That decision left the district without a bylaw for the 2024-25 summer season, and Galloway said the impact was noticeable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was quite a lot of camping on some of our urban roads that we hadn\u2019t seen for many, many summers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new bylaw, which goes before councillors this week, proposes 15 designated freedom camping sites across the district, up from one under the previous rules.<\/p>\n
Queenstown Lakes District Council is floating a new bylaw to regulate a boom in freedom campers in the region. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n
\u201cOur enforcement team has been enforcing freedom camping bylaws for several years now,\u201d Galloway said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe landscape of 15 new restricted sites will be new for us, but the way operations are designed means we can scale up or down depending on demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galloway said most campers \u201cdo want to do the right thing\u201d, but enforcement remains essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe warning of a $400 fine can be a really positive motivator,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
NZMCA national manager of property and policy James Imlach said the association recognised the need for regulation but urged councils not to \u201coverreach\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all want clean, safe camping environments,\u201d Imlach said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut too often, bylaws are used to effectively ban responsible freedom camping, when better management and infrastructure could achieve the same outcome without locking people out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Imlach said the association\u2019s members supported consistent national standards and clear information for campers.<\/p>\n
\u201cQueenstown Lakes has unique pressures, but the solution isn\u2019t to make it harder for people to travel affordably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about balance, maintaining access while protecting communities and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local group Save Clean New Zealand is urging the council to pause the bylaw until further environmental assessments and community consultation are done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe potential for contamination, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient enforcement demands a more thorough investigation before implementation,\u201d group secretary Andrea Beryl said.<\/p>\n
She warned that Lake W\u0101naka\u2019s water quality had already declined from excellent to merely good and that improper disposal of human waste from some \u201cself-contained\u201d vehicles risked contaminating lakes, rivers and ecosystems.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreedom camping should only happen where there are proper facilities in place,\u201d Beryl said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany so-called \u2018self-contained\u2019 vehicles have no functioning on-board toilets, raising the question: where is that waste going? Unfortunately, due to disrespectful individuals who defecate, urinate or wash with soaps, it ends up in our bushes, waterways, and along our shores, further contaminating already vulnerable ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas QLDC fully considered the environmental impact of its proposed Freedom Camping Bylaw? While many campers are responsible, there are limited facilities for disposing of sewage. In fact, there are only two of those public facilities between Queenstown and Haast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Makaroa locals Colin and Liz Pine called the council\u2019s approach \u201cscattergun\u201d, saying, \u201cWe don\u2019t understand why QLDC would opt for a reactive system and not go proactive and identify suitable spots for freedom camping together with waste disposal sites.\u201d<\/p>\n
They also raised concerns that many unsuitable rural roads were marked as potential camping locations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll rural roads are highlighted on the map, whether they are suitable for freedom camping or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple said it was \u201creally concerning\u201d that despite residents\u2019 formal submissions about these sites being unsafe, they remain on the map.<\/p>\n
They believe that, if adopted, the bylaw will create ongoing frustration for \u201ccampers, residents and law enforcement people\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025 will go before the full council for adoption this week.<\/p>\n
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Queenstown Lakes does seem to be a very popular place for tourists to visit,\u201d Galloway said. Freedom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2840,25441,12067,19721,18987,1853,10474,5205,2841,24267,4729,189,53356,3096,5983,440,3025,8599,111,43,139,69,9629,10903,48047,17159,544,1240,1515,4728,42773,53355],"class_list":["post-65893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-across","tag-adopt","tag-aimed","tag-bylaw","tag-camping","tag-central","tag-control","tag-council","tag-country","tag-freedom","tag-highest","tag-holiday","tag-hotspots","tag-islands","tag-levels","tag-local","tag-most","tag-moves","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-otago","tag-popular","tag-prompts","tag-proposal","tag-some","tag-south","tag-surge","tag-surged","tag-tightening","tag-tougher"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}