Queenstown freedom camping changes labelled 'moronic' by disgruntled residents

Friday, 26 January 2018

The only freedom camping area in Queenstown will be the Shotover Bridge Reserve, which will be extended.

Changes to where visitors can freedom camp in Queenstown have been labelled 'moronic' and unfair to locals.

Queenstown Lake District Mayor Jim Boult announced on Thursday that freedom campers would be banned from Lakes Hayes and the Shotover Delta.

The current freedom camping area at the Shotover Bridge, near Queenstown, in blue, and the proposed expanded area in red.

The council planned to build facilities and expand the 'less prominent' Shotover Bridge Reserve as an alternative spot for campers.

More than 20 campervans have been parking at the reserve each night this summer, leaving human faeces by the Shotover River and Queenstown bike trail for residents to find.

Quail Rise resident Shai Lamel says there will be fatalities at the Tucker Beach intersection when hundreds of freedom campers start using the already dangerous road.

Quail Rise resident Terri Anderson says a 'precious' reserve will suffer from the newly-proposed freedom camping area.

* Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult announces freedom camping ban at two popular spots

* Locals fire up as freedom campers abuse Queenstown reserves**

Quail Rise resident Shai Lamel, who lives near the reserve, said relocating campers there would create a 's…storm'.

'It's taking a s… show on the north of Lake Hayes and turning it into a s…storm down here.

'At least Lake Hayes have some facilities, but we have nothing here.'

He was also concerned about the hundreds of extra vehicles that would turn into Tucker Beach Rd from State Highway 6, making the 80kmh road even busier.

Lamel said he often saw near misses at the intersection.

'It would create a whole lot of dangerous situations and fatalities,' he said.

Residents have been urging the NZ Transport Agency to build a bypass there for years. The idea is still on the table, but no funds have been allocated yet.

Cars parked near the Shotover River would also be an eyesore for people coming into Queenstown, Lamel said.

'Tourists taking s…. in the bushes, and brushing their teeth would be the first impression of Queenstown.'

Lamel lodged a complaint about the situation to the council on Thursday, when the freedom camping changes were announced.

Another resident living near the Shotover Bridge Reserve, Terri Anderson, said the announcement was a 'punch in the gut'.

While the Lakes Hayes and Shotover Delta bans would take pressure off those reserves, an 'equally precious' reserve would suffer instead, she said.

'Announcing a ban at Lake Hayes is a great start, but replicating the same model on an equally important piece of reserve with a waterway and a part of the Trails Trust is moronic.'

The ideal solution would be one where the environment and local residents did not get penalised, she said.

'Just moving it to a different part of the basin is not the answer. New Zealand is suffering from it, not just us.'

Darren Craig walked in the area daily and said freedom campers should be spread around the district rather than concentrated in one spot.

'It's on the trail and a lot of people use it. It's going to ruin my daily walk.'

He wanted the council to keep searching for a solution as a 'blanket ban' on freedom camping would not work either, he said.