A range of issues have been reported around Wānaka freedom camping hotspot Beacon Point Rd, including people defecating in nearby bushes but, by law, the Queenstown Lakes District Council could only act on issues within the camping area, councillors were told at a workshop this week.
The Beacon Point Rd restricted freedom camping area — limited to a carpark on the left-hand side of the road — received 122 requests for service over the past summer, more than any other area.
However, because many of those complaints related to issues outside the specific freedom camping spot — including people toileting in bushes nearby — by law, it could not be regulated through the 2025 Freedom Camping Bylaw.
During a responsible camping debrief of the past summer, policy manager Carrie Williams said there were many issues at Beacon Point, but there was also non-compliance in most of the council’s 15 responsible camping areas.
‘‘If the council decided that non-compliance for Beacon Point means that it should be prohibited for freedom camping, that means we need to look at the areas that have the same — or worse — issues, because they’re implicated through that.
‘‘There’s no threshold of which we can say, ‘above a certain degree of non-compliance, this place should be prohibited’ — it would be really handy if there was that threshold.’’
Ms Williams said while there were ‘‘toileting issues’’ reported at Beacon Point, they were happening ‘‘outside the area’’, because bushes where freedom campers were defecating were not part of the designated freedom camping area.
The argument that freedom camping was causing issues nearby did not stack up due to a 2024 High Court decision ‘‘that said things that are happening outside that area, the values impacted, may not be considered within the area’’, she said.
However, deputy mayor Quentin Smith, of Wānaka, said environmental impacts could not be ‘‘confined to a box’’.
‘‘The environment is the environment.
‘‘I have some trouble with that argument when the criteria includes environmental health, or environmental considerations ... you can’t just contain it to a site.’’
Cr Smith said the Freedom Camping Act ‘‘clearly never anticipated freedom camping of this scale’’, nor demand outstripping supply.
He believed the council needed to communicate more clearly to the government about what it wanted changed in the legislation.
‘‘I’ve probably spoken to four MPs about this directly, and the biggest gap they have is they understand we’ve got a problem, but they don’t know what to ask for.’’
He suggested QLDC, in conjunction with other organisations, such as the Mackenzie District Council, Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, could provide a ‘‘cheat sheet’’ for them, outlining what relief was being sought.
‘‘It’s all about the tools.
‘‘We want to be able to have the power to manage it in the way that we need to manage it, some funding to realise that it costs us money to deliver it ... and ... give us the tools to manage the sensitive locations.’’
Community Partnerships manager Maree Day said council staff would discuss issues with Waitaki MP Miles Anderson soon, and believed he would put some points together for Freedom Camping Minister Louise Upston.
Further conversations were also planned with the Mackenzie District staff.
One of the challenges, though, was the government’s aim to increase tourism numbers by 2034.
‘‘So, it is around us continuing to build ... suggestions of changes to the legislation, rather than necessarily removing it.
‘‘There are a number of communities that really rely on freedom camping, and want freedom campers in their space, and don’t have the same issues that we do.’’
The council has already temporarily prohibited freedom camping at Allenby Pl due to various access issues in the area which led to health and safety concerns.
Three additional parking spots were temporarily added to the Wānaka Recreation Centre.
Community services general manager Ken Bailey confirmed the council had subsequently had to invest in a portable toilet there, ‘‘due to human waste and the ongoing abuse’’.
He said responsible camping ambassadors had picked up about 1620 litres of rubbish and recycling over summer and were confronted with human faeces ‘‘daily’’, as was the community.
‘‘You talk to any number of dog walkers ... they have horror stories, even catching people in the practice.
‘‘We are talking to our communities, daily, about this, and some of them are insulted, if not beyond frustrated.’’
Meanwhile, Ms Day said the council was also investigating a pilot scheme at the Luggate Red Bridge site, using a ‘‘boom gate’’ and number-plate recognition, to ensure the cap there was adhered to, and introducing user-pays facilities, such as toilets and showers, in high-demand locations.
She told councillors there was ‘‘definitely an indication from government’’ they would ‘‘look favourably’’ on the council using some of the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy for user-pays facilities.
