Having been involved in the tourism industry for 15 years and seeing it evolve, and after spending a lot of time travelling NZ staying in many camps, there is a huge problem now not just with Otago, but the whole country with freedom campers.
The main problem is the huge explosion of rental van companies over the past 15 years and the recent introduction of new apps promoting freedom camping spots,
In the past you might have one or two camper-vans parked up at a beach and no one would really mind, now with the introduction of apps for the profits of a few, councils have had to deal with the problem of hundreds of tourists turning up at a given freedom camping spot, which destroys it for everyone.
A solution for this problem especially for Dunedin and similar problem areas is to have low budget or DOC camps, 2-3 of them scattered around the city such as in Warrington.
These camps which are relativity cheap compared to private camps $6 -$7 per person per night and tourists love staying in them as they are cheap and provide a safe place to stay for the night.
Tourists (freedom Campers as some people like to call them) don't mind staying in private camps, but when you're staying in a camp that charges $20 - $100 per person per night, that adds up quickly ( 3 people in a van at $20 equals $60 per night or $420 per week, that's more than renting a house ) to pay this to stay on a 12m-square bit of grass is quite a lot, and some of these tourists are here for a year travelling NZ, so thats a large chunk of their spending money, which is why they turn to freedom camping.
Some of these camps you can't even get into over the holiday periods such as in the Bay of Plenty and the charges sky rocket to up over $80 per night per person, so they are forced to freedom camp whether they want too or not.
It's not to say private camps aren't needed, it's always nice to have a hot shower and plug into power, but a lot of time travellers don't need this as camper vans these days are fully equipped, this is where DOC camps or council run camps can play a bigger role.
Having an area such as Warrington domain turned into a DOC camp means someone can camp there for $7 per per person night, which is affordable and tourists are very happy to pay this, just so long they have toilets and water available, it is all they require, having a charge will dampen the numbers also which is what is needed, the money then raised in these camps which can be run electronically booked, can then be channeled back into the area for planting and beautification or improving the camps parking etc, there is no reason locals cant stay in these camps as well as Dunedin is seriously lacking areas where you can go camping that is nice for a family to camp at a beach somewhere.
The main point that Dunedin and NZ needs to adapt though is unless your vehicle is self-contained with a toilet and waste tank there should be restrictions where you can camp, which Dunedin City council has implemented and seem to be working well for self contained vehicles. Having the DOC camps will solve the problems for vehicles that are not self contained.
Pushing the point (we have a freedom camping area) sends the wrong message, that it is ok not to have a toilet in your camper van, and these camper-van companies that rent vehicles without toilets such as in people movers need to wake up to the problems they are causing, how hard is it to slip a $ 100 port-a-loo under the bed in their vehicle to use in case of emergency.
The main idea though is to have a mix of low budget ( DOC ) camps mixed with private camps through out NZ especially around cities so there is plenty of cheap places to stay, and then having restrictions for vehicles that aren't self contained.
This will go a huge way to fixing the problem throughout NZ
Dunedin could set a example for other areas to follow such as Queenstown, Raglan and Coromandel which have huge problems and it then this could be possible implemented though out the rest of the country.
- Steve McGregor
