Less trouble from freedom campers

Ron Pryce enjoys his motorhome beside Tauranga's Sulphur Point boat ramps. Photo / John Borren

Freedom campers are relishing Tauranga being opened up to their vans, with Marine Parade no longer a huge magnet to motor homes.

Marine Parade resident Dawn Marshall said the situation had hugely improved since the council put up no camping signs. Instead of counting up to 30 vans parking overnight, she estimated there were now fewer than 10. "Ever since they put up those signs it's been really good."

The clampdown on Marine Parade followed the number of reserves where self-contained motor homes could legally park up increasing from five to 27, together with opening up some streets and carparks.

Check out Jo Raphael's editorial on freedom camping here.

New Zealand Motor Caravan Association chief executive Bruce Lochore said the situation in Tauranga had improved and he was getting nothing but good comments from members.

The association had decided not to challenge the council's decision to impose a year-round ban on motor homes parking along the whole of Marine Parade. He said they did not want a confrontational relationship with the council.

Mr Lochore said the association was continuing to try and find farmland near Tauranga to build an area for members but they could not compete with developers. Mrs Marshall said she tolerated the rules being flaunted in the 10-day Christmas-New Year period.

Tauranga City Council monitoring officer Paul Mason said the council had received 128 complaints about freedom campers in the past 12 months, with 46 since the start of summer. Most complaints related to the campers exceeding the vehicle limit at each location and campers not using self-contained vehicles. Some complaints were about people tenting in reserves.

"The use of roads and reserves for freedom camping is very popular," he said. Mr Mason said Marine Parade was monitored over summer and had not been of "particular concern". There had been no prosecutions or infringements since the new rules came into force.

Couple hit the highway to enjoy a life of leisure

Touring New Zealand at a leisurely pace has become a way of life for a retired New Plymouth couple who are proud to call themselves freedom campers.

Ron Pryce and his wife spend six months each year on the road in their fully self-contained motorhome which they bought about a year ago.

"There are no restrictions. If you don't like a place, you go somewhere else," Mr Pryce told the Bay of Plenty Times at Tauranga's Sulphur Point freedom camping site.

The Pryces caught the bug 20 years ago when they spent two years touring the UK in a mobile home before shipping it home.

Now they wouldn't exchange their lifestyle for anything else.

"We don't see ourselves as gypsies. It is a way of seeing the country at a leisurely pace," Mr Pryce said.

His wife, who preferred to keep a low profile, said freedom camping was not for everybody, but they loved it. Tauranga was one of their favourite stopovers, she said.

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