Hubs draw 3000 campervans in 5 weeks

Dan Bell and Katie Pollard will spend the summer educating freedom campers in Queenstown. Photo:...
Dan Bell and Katie Pollard will spend the summer educating freedom campers in Queenstown. Photo: Guy Williams
Daytime pit stops for campervan users in Queenstown and Wanaka are proving popular.

In the five weeks since they opened, nearly 3000 vehicles have visited the two hubs.

Funded by a $530,000 Government grant, they are part of a responsible camping strategy adopted by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in October.

One is located near the Pak'n Save supermarket in Frankton, and the other in Wanaka's Ballantyne Rd.

Open from 8am to 8pm for those travelling in certified self-contained campervans, they provide toilets, showers, rubbish disposal, dump stations and an hour's free Wi-Fi.

Project manager Craig Gallagher said about 1300 vehicles had visited the Queenstown hub since it opened on November 10, while about 1500 had passed through the Wanaka site.

Most campers had learned about the hubs through the Campermate app or website.

More than 200 non-certified vehicles which had called into the hubs had been sent on to camping grounds, he said.

Each hub now had six staff, who as well as managing the sites, drove around the district to monitor and educate freedom campers about where they could legally camp overnight.

Council community services general manager Thunes Cloete said the results were pleasing so far, and the incidence of illegal camping "much lower" than at the same time last year.

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