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The Milford Track is hugely popular, attracting thousands of trampers every year. Photo: Doc
The Milford Track is hugely popular, attracting thousands of trampers every year. Photo: Doc

Tourists will soon have to pay double what locals do to stay in tramping huts on the country's four main Great Walks.

Conservation minister Eugenie Sage announced this afternoon the fees will be introduced as a seven month trial from October to see if they ease visitor pressure on the walks.

The new foreign tourist fees will help the Department of Conservation maintain the nine Great Walks.

They are at Lake Waikaremoana, Tongariro, Whanganui, Abel Tasman Park, the Heaphy Track, the Routeburn Track, the Kepler Track, the Milford Track and the Rakiura Track.

Ms Sage said international tourists make up 60% of national park visitors.

 

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I'd be interested to know how this is going to policed. Will NZ citizens need to produce a passport? Producing a New Zealand drivers licence won't suffice unless a New Zealand residential address is printed on it. Not everyone elects to have their address printed on their drivers licence. For privacy reasons, we don't. The only other option would be to carry a passport which many NZ citizens don't have so how do they prove that they're NZ citizens?