Campervan advice agreed

Campervan rental companies have agreed to push a message to their customers that freedom camping at non-designated campsites is unacceptable in New Zealand.

The agreement comes after a national meeting of the Freedom Camping Forum, held in Auckland on Wednesday, which brought together about 20 groups to discuss how to combat the escalating issue.

The forum, organised by the Tourism Industry Association, included representatives from rental vehicle operators, local government, tourism organisations and the Government.

Association advocacy manager Geoff Ensor, who chaired the meeting, said the forum was held to respond to growing concerns about the impact of freedom camping in several parts of New Zealand.

The forum had agreed campervan hirers would be told it was not acceptable to camp anywhere but designated camping areas, Mr Ensor said in a media release yesterday.

The 39,700-member New Zealand Motor Caravan Association has also welcomed the move to ensure non-self-contained vehicles camp in designated areas only.

The Motor Caravan Association's acting president, Bruce Stanger, said problems came from people camping in vehicles which were ill-equipped for sleeping in overnight.

The association wanted local councils to take responsibility and apply resources to the enforcement of responsible freedom camping standards, he said.

While the association was doing its part to educate members about responsible freedom camping, the message was not always getting through to rental campervan users, he said.

Hawea Community Association president Rachel Brown said the forum was "saying the right things" and she was glad they had committed to taking action.

The community association paid to block vehicle access to three lakeside reserves at Lake Hawea last week.

She was unconvinced that people who rented campervans without toilet facilities would pay to stay at camping grounds.

"We've created a popular culture and it will take a concerted effort to change that," she said.

All groups who attended the forum recognised the increasing public antagonism to freedom camping and were committed to taking action, Mr Ensor said.

The forum agreed on more than 30 actions which would be undertaken by rental vehicle operators, local government and tourism organisations to improve campers' behaviour.

These included a commitment from the rental vehicle operators at the meeting to inform clients from the time they book vehicles that it was not acceptable to camp outside designated camping areas.

If the issue of messy freedom campers improved during the next few months, as the forum claimed it would, the community association looked forward to removing boulders from the blocked Lake Hawea reserve areas, Ms Brown said.