Luggate, Kingston to get overnight freedom camp sites

Two overnight freedom camping sites will be established near Luggate and Kingston from mid-November until late March, while service hubs will be set up at Frankton and in Wanaka.

QLDC recently received $530,000 from the Tourism Facilities Development Grants Fund to be put towards educating campers and trialling further initiatives that could guide the future strategy for managing camping in the district.

The two sites - at the Red Bridge, near Luggate, and the State Highway 6 layby, near Kingston - would cater to a ''limited number'' of certified self-contained campers, for a maximum of two nights.

Additionally, the service day hubs - comprising toilets, rubbish disposal, a dump station and WiFi - would be set up at Frankton, behind Pak'n Save, and on Ballantyne Rd, with a maximum use of two hours.

In a statement, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said 12 full-time camping ambassadors would be based at hubs, key locations and roaming throughout the district to provide education on ''responsible camping''.

Increased monitoring of the hubs to ensure compliance was also planned, as were more signs, new information boards, real-time maps and updates and a new education brochure.

Mr Boult said it was important the community understood the initiatives were ''trials''.

"We will make sure we are agile enough to alter our approach if required.

"If something isn’t working, we’ll change it,” Mayor Boult said.

A multi-agency model has been used to ensure a well-managed and coordinated approach to the plans for managing camping this summer, as well as the development of a Responsible Camping Strategy, due to be presented to the council at its meeting in Queenstown tomorrow.

"We’re grateful to our colleagues at the Department of Conservation, New Zealand Transport Association, Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation and Land Information New Zealand for the support and input as we work together to strike the balance of addressing the community’s concerns and providing a good camping experience for visitors,” Mr Boult said.  

“We believe the steps we’re taking will do just that, and align with our emerging Responsible Camping Strategy... ”

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