More free camp sites eyed

Campers and local authorities alike in Wairarapa are applauding the Conservation Department's plan to offer more campsites around the country.
Free camping spots at beaches are becoming especially harder to find as coastal property prices escalate to astronomical levels.
Masterton District Council records show that land values alone for a beachfront property at Riversdale Beach hover around the $500,000 mark.
So, if you're not in the league to buy your holiday spot, camping is the option many go for. The region's councils all take similar approaches to campers, preferring people to gather in designated spots. But what is an official spot and what's not, appears to be unclear.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter's announcement this week that he wants department staff to look at ways of opening more DOC land to the average kiwi camper has the thumbs up from most, but it does leave council officers wondering what they are allowed to offer.
Brian McWilliams, the Carterton District Council's parks assets manager, said an inquiry by the Times-Age about the camping spots in the Carterton district initially seemed straightforward ? until he started thinking of the ramifications of scores of people camping in one spot.
"Realistically a camping spot which is being offered to the public needs a toilet and running water and that means the only place we have apart from our town camping ground is The Cliffs at East Taratahi," he said.
He was under the impression there was also a free campsite on the coast around the Glenburn/Flat Point area, but now wants to clarify this.
Mr McWilliams said he had ideas for another site at Gladstone but wanted to investigate the whole process of offering campsites before elaborating further.
Alec Birch, the Masterton District Council's urban roading engineer, says although "a certain amount of tolerance and bluff's law" can be applied to free camping, there are many issues to consider.
He says places like Percy's Reserve near the Te Ore Ore Bridge, the esplanade at Mataikona and at Otahome on the coast are favourite areas for people to stop overnight. He says said it's very difficult to police such activity especially on esplanade reserves.
"The trouble is some areas are public land, but there are still many that go on to private property and that's where problems can occur." Mr Birch said.
The only camping areas administered by the Masterton District Council are Mawley Park in Masterton and the Clarke Memorial Reserve, run by a domain committee at Mauriceville.
"Bylaws permit camping on reserves with permission from council officers, however given that there are not sites that have any sort of facilities, that permission is rarely given."
Mr Birch said fire is always a serious risk along with health issues.
"We are keeping a watching brief on DOC's proposals and what opportunities may arise for Masterton," he said.
The South Wairarapa District Council operates camps in Greytown, Martinborough and Lake Ferry.
The council's manager of works and services, Ravi Mangar, said the council has designated free camping areas for a maximum of two weeks at Tora and Te Awaiti Reserves, Sandy Bay and Awhea camping areas and the East-West recreation area on the East-West Access Road beside the Ruamahunga River.
People are not allowed to camp freely along the coastal road from Whangaimoana to Cape Palliser.
DOC in Wairarapa offers by far the most free camp sites and in places which allow people to get away from it all. It has camps at the end of Underhill Road in the Tauherenikau Gorge, Walls Whare up the Waiohine Gorge, the Pinnacles at Cape Palliser, Mt Holdsworth and at Kiriwhakapapa, north of Masterton.
DOC's Wairarapa manager, Derrick Field, said the decision to open up more departmental land for camping was very much a national exercise and he wants to talk further with his head office before discussing options in Wairarapa.
The latest purchase by DOC in Wairarapa was just last week with the sale of the Ngapotiki Fan on the south Wairarapa coast.