She and QLDC chief executive Debra Lawson were taken to several sites beside Lake Hawea by local resident John Taylor so they could see the extent of the problem being created by freedom campers.
The areas have been freshly polluted since vehicle access was restored three months ago, when the Hawea Community Association removed boulder barricades and cleaned up sites at Craigburn, Deep Creek, and a lake lookout.
Ms van Uden said they came across two men and their car at a beer-bottle-strewn site at Craigburn yesterday. She asked them where they were from and what they were doing.
The German men said they were camping at the site, as they did not know it was not allowed, Ms van Uden said.
"I asked them very nicely to pack up all their bottles and pointed them in the direction of the local camping ground. I told them we don't want people freedom-camping and asked them to bear that in mind for the rest of their trip."
The recent mess left behind at the Lake Hawea sites was "pretty disgusting", she said. There was a "horrible, just horrible," amount of excrement, toilet paper and rubbish at the sites they visited, Ms van Uden said.
The QLDC was drafting a bylaw to enable council officers to issue infringement notices to freedom campers, she said.
Mr Taylor said the visit by the mayor and chief executive was a "first". The installation of a composting toilet at Craigburn and signs at a highway lookout near the Neck were two "constructive" initiatives which may be implemented soon, he said.
