The Whanganui River Road will be off-limits to freedom campers from November 1. Photo / NZME
Freedom campers have been “dumping rubbish and toileting” along Whanganui River Road, but the whole stretch will soon be off-limits to them.
The change comes as part of Whanganui District Council’s new freedom camping bylaw, signed off at a meeting last month.
Freedom camping on the road will be banned from November 1, with another review in five years.
A report from research and policy adviser Tamsin Eggleton said the road, from Whanganui to Pipiriki, was included as a restricted camping site in 2021 as it was the only way at the time to make campers be certified self-contained.
But changes to the Freedom Camping Act meant campers needed to be certified self-contained on local authority land by default, it said.
Currently, campers along the road can stay for a maximum of two nights.
“While the River Road was included as a restricted site in the bylaw in 2021 to offer it more protections, an unintended consequence is that restricted sites tend to be visited by tourists more,” the report said.
Eggleton told councillors at September’s meeting that three options were presented to the public for consultation, with 40.8% (51 people) preferring to limit camping to one site at Otumaire.
The council’s “strictest possible option” (option three), prohibiting freedom camping along the road, had 9.6% support, while removing the road as a restricted site from the bylaw got 15.2%.
Those who did not know comprised 22.4%, with other options at 12%.
People supporting prohibition did so because of the special nature of the area, as well as the road not being suitable for camper vans, and feeling the council should focus its resources on other popular freedom camping sites, Eggleton said.
“Throughout and following consultation, we have been engaging with hapū, specifically Ngāti Hineoneone from Atene, and this is where the bulk of freedom camping issues occur.
“There isn’t necessarily an opposition to freedom camping per se. However, there is a very strong feeling that infrastructure to support it is currently inadequate.”
Her report said the council and the Department of Conservation (DoC) had received complaints about campers “dumping rubbish and toileting” along the road.
“Freedom campers have also been observed camping on the roadside, which poses a considerable safety risk to both the campers and passing cars, cyclists and Te Araroa walkers, given the narrow and windy nature of this road.”
DoC supported option three.
In its submission on the bylaw, it said the issues would continue to grow with the rise in traffic and usage as tourism increased on the Te Araroa Trail.
“Now, the road is tar sealed the full length to Raetihi. DoC sees about a 5-10% growth in tourist numbers every year.”
The Flying Fox, an accommodation provider near Koriniti, said in its submission it had witnessed the aftermath of campers who had little respect for the environment they were staying in, leaving behind trash and human waste.
“Given that a good part of the road borders or goes through the Whanganui National Park, we think that this is an important consideration.”
But it did not support a total ban on freedom camping, saying the site at Otumaire seemed an ideal place to provide a stopover, about halfway between Pipiriki and Whanganui.
“There will always be a percentage of people who refuse to pay for campsites and may be deterred from visiting the area entirely if there is a complete ban.
“We feel that this space [Otumaire] should be available not only for motorhomes but also for tents. In fact, it is more important to provide a safe space for tents than it is for motor vehicles.”
All councillors present voted in favour of the bylaw. Deputy Mayor Helen Craig was absent.
Other changes to the bylaw include permanently shutting freedom camping sites at Taupō Quay and Anzac Pde, both of which closed temporarily last year due to issues such as property damage, intimidating behaviour and assaults.
Castlecliff Beach’s upper carpark area will be removed as a restricted site, with freedom camping to be contained in an area above and adjacent to the Duncan Pavilion.
Eggleton’s report said council officers had committed to forming a working group with Ngāti Hineoneone and other relevant parties.
“The exact nature of this group is still to be worked through and negotiated, but Ngāti Hineoneone advise that any future discussions on tourism and infrastructure in this area should be hapū-led.”
She told councillors prohibition would provide the greatest level of protection for the area while a suitable plan was worked through.
“We don’t anticipate there will be any particularly negative consequences as a result.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.