No room for locals as campers arrive en masse at New Plymouth's Waiwhakaiho river mouth

Wednesday, 17 January 2018

In 2018 New Plymouth's Waiwhakaiho river mouth was looking more like a campground than a scenic reserve.

An unexpected invasion of dozens of campers has left a popular New Plymouth surf spot looking more like an overcrowded campground than a scenic reserve.

The reserve at New Plymouth's Waiwhakaiho river mouth has recently been inundated with up to 80 vehicles a night.

The campers, a mixture of self contained campervans, converted vans, cars and tents, pay nothing to use the area, which is just five minutes drive from the central city.

A bylaw which resulted in an influx of freedom campers at a scenic reserve in New Plymouth will be reviewed.

A visit to the site at 7am on Wednesday found all car parks occupied by more than 60 vehicles and four tents pitched on the grass areas.

There was a steady stream of people lining up to use the one toilet and two portaloos while others washed dishes and left food scraps scattered around an outdoor shower. Rubbish bins were overflowing and empty beer bottles were scattered around some vehicles.

Not everyone sleeps in their cars. Tents are often erected on the grass verges.

Rubbish bins were overflowing with waste from an influx of campers at Waiwhakaiho.

* Only self-contained freedom campers welcome under proposed New Plymouth District Council bylaw

The influx of visitors has angered many locals who say they have been pushed out of the area and are now having to foot the bill for the visitors to stay for free.

Empty beer bottles and rubbish are not hard to find.

New Plymouth District councillor Murray Chong said the visitors had ruined the charm of the area.

'This is now a campground at one of our most scenic spots,' he said.

There is one permanent public toilet at the Waiwhakaiho river mouth.

'It has ruined the atmosphere of the whole place.'

Chong said he had been receiving up to 10 complaints a week from people angry about what was happening.

A camper washes his dishes in an outdoor shower.

'All for tourists that don't want to pay $20 a night to come and visit the so-called second best region in the world to visit.

'We have made it the second best region in the world to visit with ratepayers dollars yet we are not taking advantage of it by making sure people pay for the privilege to visit.'

The New Plymouth District Council has installed two portaloos at the Waiwhakaiho river mouth to cater for the influx of campers.

Chong said even the addition of two portaloos was not enough to cater for the number of campers at the site.

'Based on the rules we have set up for campsites that's still not enough, there should be six or seven toilets.'

In December, New Plymouth District councillors threw out a proposal to ban non-self-contained freedom campers.

A bylaw was passed allowing council officers to fine campers $200 for staying more than three nights, and leaving rubbish.

However the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has now had to provide portaloos, extra rubbish collections and increased patrols of the area at an estimated cost of $5084, through to March.

NPDC Customer and Regulatory Solutions Manager Katrina Brunton said the growth in numbers at the site had caught the council by surprise but had been offset by a reduction in other areas.

'Waiwhakaiho was busy last year and we expected about the same this time around but it's been even busier than expected,' Brunton said.

'However there's been much less demand than last year at Kawaroa Park, Corbett Park and Back Beach, resulting in a concentration in one place.'

Brunton said council staff were welcoming and educating the visitors about how to look after the environment during their stay.

'When we see issues that need addressing, such as over-demand on a public toilet, we'll look to resolve that issue for the benefit of the environment, locals and our visitors.'

Fitzroy Beach Holiday Park spokesman Peter Crawford said he had been surprised how long it had taken for people to realise the extent of the problem.

'Everyone knows that the underlying principle of freedom campers is to stay at no cost to you, so who covers the cost - the local economy, the local wage earner is paying for their holiday.' he said.

'There is always a cost, it's just the ratepayers are paying for them.'

Crawford said the situation at the river mouth was taking its toll on established campgrounds and he questioned what value the visitors were bringing to the district.

'Our site occupancy is slightly down, our costs to council are rising significantly and ratepayers are now funding portaloos for free camping.

'There's not a single business that has come out to say we want these people because they spend money, not a single business.'

He said the area used to be a pristine spot but wasn't any longer.

'We don't send people down to the bridge anymore because of the feedback we are getting from them.

'The feedback we've got is parking is just impossible down there.'

New Plymouth man Ted Burrows said he walked his dog through the area every day and was shocked by the number of people camping there.

'It's getting more and more. It's totally out of control,' Burrows said.

He was concerned at the extra costs the campers were creating for the council.

'It's all costing the ratepayers, so the locals are losing out big time. It can't go on like this.'

Katie Tahere, who was walking around picking up rubbish, said she had initially been divided about the freedom camping issue.

'But now that I've seen this, I think that they should be using a campsite,' she said.

'It has been clogged up.'

A passing cyclist also expressed his disapproval.

'There's a bit too many now, isn't it,' he said as he rode passed.

Sarah Ogle said in an email that the river mouth looked like a campground, not a reserve.

'All rubbish bins overflowing, food scraps dumped on ground these people have no respect for the environment.

'We witnessed a lone female armourguard officer trying to issue infringement notice being argued with by illegal camper.'

Brunton said campers were required to be good guests by not littering or fouling the environment.

'This is part of our education programme and we'll be reinforcing this message each day in light of the food waste that's been seen at Waiwhakaiho.

'People have been good about not staying for more than the three nights allowed in any one space – we haven't had to move anyone along yet.'

Brunton said the visitors provided immediate benefits for food and beverage retailers and petrol stations while the long term benefits would be when the travellers returned in later years with more money to spend.

Exceptions to the NPDC freedom camping rules are the bottom carpark at Back Beach where camping is banned year round, the Oakura beach front and at Fitzroy Beach carpark where freedom camping is prohibited from November 1 to April 4 each year.

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