Camping Education Making A Difference | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

Problems with freedom campers around Marlborough have reduced significantly since all the recent publicity about responsible camping behaviour. The Marlborough District Council has been working closely with the Responsible Camping Forum and Council Reserves and Amenities Manager Rosie Bartlett says the education campaign seems to be working. The Forum is behind the “Where can I camp?” campaign, which provides camping information to travellers hiring campervans or wanting to camp around the country. “We’ve had far fewer cases where we’ve had to move people on this summer and the number of complaints from locals complaining about these campers has also dropped,” says Rosie. Council staff dealt with 57 cases in January this year, 20 fewer than the year before. The level of public complaint dropped right down over January too, from almost 80 complaints a year ago to less than a dozen this year. “The rangers have definitely noticed a huge improvement in campers’ knowledge,” says Rosie. She says the Council has had to issue only one infringement notice this summer and that was to some vineyard workers who didn’t respond after several warnings to move to a designated campsite The Interislander and Bluebridge are handing out responsible camping brochures to campers heading our way and the Forum’s website www.camping.org.nz is getting about 60,000 hits a year. The most viewed pages are those with regional information. The information, coupled with the new regime of fines, has encouraged campers to use the holiday parks and official campsites. In Marlborough, we ask freedom campers to stay only at the following designated sites and for no more than two nights in any month: <ul> <li> Elterwater near Lake Grassmere</li> <li> Blairich Reserve, Awatere Valley </li> <li> Collins Memorial Reserve at Koromiko</li> <li> Double Bay in Mahau Sound</li> <li> Ohingaroa Bay in Mahau Sound</li> <li> Ohauparauparu Bay in the Kenepuru Sound</li> </ul>   Only fully self-contained campervans – with their own toilet and greywater storage capacity – may use the three freedom camping sites in the Marlborough Sounds.