Restricting the number of vehicles that can be parked at a riverside freedom-camping site near Queenstown is one option the Department of Conservation is investigating to help with overcrowding.
Last month the Otago Daily Times reported up to 200 people a night were cramming into a car park next to the Rum Curries camping area at Gibbston, beside the Kawarau River.
The area, accessed via Rafters Rd, has just one long-drop toilet, with some campers opting to defecate outside.
Yesterday, Doc Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen said he met representatives from the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Otago Regional Council last week and there had been ‘‘some progression''.
Mr Owen said while the idea was still in its infancy, the number of vehicles which could park there could be halved by restricting parking to the legal road.
‘‘The other consideration I've got is chaining the access road through the marginal strip to the river, which would stop cars parking on the slope and potentially becoming an accident waiting to happen.''
In the past few weeks the situation - described by neighbouring resident Brandon O'Callaghan as being like ‘‘a Syrian refugee camp'' - had not escalated further, Mr Owen said.
‘‘But ... we know it's there and it needs a solution - ideally sooner [rather] than later, but certainly before next summer.''
While the problem with freedom campers was not limited to Queenstown, with other regions of New Zealand having similar issues, Mr Owen believed this summer the situation had been exacerbated by more independent travellers looking to enjoy the country on a budget.
‘‘I think the challenge, if I understand correctly from the district council, [is] there are sufficient facilities around the Wakatipu basin for people to camp, but I guess it's that fundamental [issue] of wanting to do it without paying.
‘‘I guess how we're responding right now is a bit like squeezing a balloon - we may be effective in one area, but the balloon will bubble somewhere else; people will just move on and find that next location.''
Long-term, Mr Owen said, it would be a difficult problem to solve but would require investing in tourism to meet the ‘‘challenge of growth in tourism''.
‘‘I guess the challenge is what sort of infrastructure do we need to have in place to meet that challenge and find that midpoint where yes, people can travel independently at reasonable cost versus having everything put into a paying regime.
‘‘How do we actually keep it at a manageable level where [freedom campers] get the experience and I guess we don't get the consequences of overcrowding, or overuse, or inadequate facilities?
‘‘I'm just not sure how far we may be behind the eight ball so there's a little bit of catching up to do.''
Mr Owen said the Gibbston Community Association had invited him to an informal meeting next week to discuss some of the issues the area faced.
