South Island high country access draft report released

Walkway access has been a part of the rise of freedom camping in the South Island High Country.

A crown entity has released its draft report on public access in and around the South Island High Country, triggered after it heard "concerning messages" from private landholders.

The Walking Access Commission Ara Hikoi Aotearoa is responsible for public access to the outdoors, in particular for access across private land, and access that crosses multiple land tenures.

It began hearing about the potential for withdrawal of access to private land by landholders because of problems and pressures created by increasing tourist numbers and population growth, particularly in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts.

The draft report aimed to find solutions and was based on discussions with 55 people, including farmers and landholders, central and local government staff and community groups last year.

It found the increase in numbers on all tracks was having an impact everywhere.

One landholder told the commission numbers using a walkway across his property had risen from about 30,000 a year in 2013 to 70,000-100,000 last year.

While the percentage of "poorly behaved visitors" was not getting worse, the increase in numbers meant the impact of poor behaviour was growing.

A "single point of information" to provide details about where people could go and what they could do there was raised numerous times.

The commission found a "dual focus" on systemic solutions, such as more rubbish bins and toilets and individual solutions to minimise "bad behaviour", for example, multilingual signs, was needed.

The commission spoke to a raft of user groups, including horse riders, who it said had been the most negatively affected by the growth in cycleways "due to the perception the bikes and hooves don't mix".

Most new cycleways had therefore been built to a standard which meant horse riders could not use them — including some areas where horses had been ridden for "some time".

"To make matters worse, horse riders have some of the same issues that mountain bikers have with the changing nature of farming — increased intensification and changes in ownership — meaning that long-term access on handshake agreements is being increasingly denied."

For duck shooters, one "unexpected problem" had been the rise of freedom camping.

"More people are staying alongside waterways for more of the year than previously, and this has resulted in traditional hunting areas being lost, due to the risk to human life if people want to hunt in them."

The report said the Tenure Review and Overseas Investment Act processes were seen as having a key role in creating new access for hunters to cross farms and reach hunting blocks and for anglers, who sometimes had "tense" relationships with landholders for access to and along waterways.

"Some landholders spoke to us of banning Fish and Game licence holders from crossing their property due to what they perceive as negative stereotyping of farmers from the organisation.

"If this continues and grows, it could result in significant loss of fishing spots across the region."

Public feedback on the draft report is open through the New Zealand Walking Access Commission's website until 5pm on April 10, after which it would be finalised and the "next steps" determined.

tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz