Man flees freedom camping site in Marlborough over safety fears
Friday, 24 December 2021
A man camped up at a Marlborough freedom camping site found himself cornered by other vehicles, while at least three people started shaking and slapping his van.
The Auckland man, who did not want to be named in fear of his safety, says he forgot the “golden rule” not to choose car park sites – like the one at Renwick Domain – on nights where drunk people could show up.
The incident happened on a Saturday night late last month. It was about eight months into the man’s trip around New Zealand, where he had stayed at a mix of freedom camping sites, paid camping grounds, and Department of Conservation sites.
“I had been driving all day so I was knackered. It was pretty much bang on 11pm,” he said.
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“I’d been watching Netflix, and then I looked out my window, and realised there was a car parked quite close to me.
“I thought that that was quite strange, because it’s a massive car park with loads of space, and it was pretty empty. There was only one other freedom camper van there.”
It was then he realised he was surrounded by two other vehicles. This was when his “alarm bells” started going off.
“I was thinking I should leave, and then someone charged the back right of the van. Then there was a slap on the left of the van.
“Then they kicked my mountainbike on the back of my van pretty hard. At that point I thought, this is not just people having a laugh, they’re trying to damage my van, or they’re trying to get me to come out.”
He said at that point he panicked. He was able to climb through to the driver’s seat and dial 111 at the same time.
“They started rocking the van as I was climbing through. Luckily they hadn’t blocked my straight ahead path. So I just drove off, with things falling off the bench.
“There was something really menacing about it. Normally when you get this behaviour at freedom camping sites, people come and do doughnuts, and then they leave.
“It’s slightly different because there’s usually a drunken fun element. But with this, there was something quite deliberate in the way they parked. To me, it was something more than just some drunk people having fun.
“I was second guessing why I ran away, and it’s annoying that I had to. But I think for a female solo travelling, or a van where you can’t climb into the seat from the living area, you might be in a lot of trouble.”
After being followed by one of the cars for a while, the man managed to get to a side street in Renwick, where he managed to pick up everything that had fallen, and drive to Momorangi Bay, in Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council freedom camping sites, like Renwick Domain, were monitored by rangers from December until the end of March.
A council spokesman said they were aware of the incident, and noted this type of behaviour was rare in Marlborough.
“Council’s rangers are experienced in conflict resolution and take an educative approach to any breaches of the responsible camping bylaw,” the spokesman said.
He said the police played an active role in situations like this, and rangers were supported when needed.
While there was CCTV in the area, it did not cover the parking area where freedom campers were allowed to stay, the spokesperson said.
A police spokesperson confirmed they received a phone call relating to a report of suspicious behaviour in Renwick at 11pm on November 27.
Police responded and conducted area searches but could not locate anyone, the spokesperson said.