Queenstown residents mark careless camping changes with hair-cutting travellers

Sunday, 4 February 2018

Cutting hair - don't care, at Lower Shotover Bridge on Saturday evening.

Freedom campers were cutting their hair and washing in the river as Queenstown residents gathered to mark a win over careless camping.

About 80 people, mainly Quail Rise residents, marked the end of Lower Shotover Bridge reserve no longer being a dedicated freedom camping spot for hundreds of travellers on Saturday evening.

Over 80 residents gathered by Lower Shotover Bridge to celebrate the council's decision not to turn the reserve into a dedicated freedom camping zone in Queenstown.

A petition against careless camping had over 7500 signatures and its creator Justine Farquharson said it was great to be heard by the council.

'The signatures had certainly untied a few hands and that's definitely a positive step. We don't want it where it's by rivers and waterways, lacking respect for community and environment,' she said.

Lower Shotover Bridge reserve will not expand into a dedicated freedom camping area, Queenston Lakes District Council announced.

Joy and Raymond Keys collect up to three bags of rubbish on their 30 minute walk in Queenstown.

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Farquharson hoped the careless camping discussion would move to the national level.

Queenstown resident Raymond Keys said campers cutting hair and having beers on the cycling track were 'inconsiderate'.

'We see all this nonsense and we don't want it.'

He and his wife Joy often saw toilet paper and human feces in the bushes and collected about three bags of rubbish after a 30 minute walk.

'I think we are going to see more of this because these people will go back home and tell how beautiful this country is – which it is. These young people want to explore and not spend a fortune in the process.

A bed tax and more toilet facilities could fix the problem, Keys said.

The council would consider installing gates and locking them between 10pm and 5.30am at the northern end of Lake Hayes and the Shotover Delta, in the paper presented to them on Thursday.

The paper also suggested an urgent review of Council's Freedom Camping Control Bylaw, which had originally been scheduled for mid-2018.

Council's Community Services general manager Thunes Cloete said the overnight restrictions would retain the quality of the reserves whilst preserving public access.

The council was seeking community feedback and suggestions regarding the challenges posed by increasing numbers of freedom camping in the district.