Improvised roadblock prevents freedom campers accessing reserve

Friday, 8 January 2021

“Someone with heavy machinery” took protecting Taupata Gravel Reserve from freedom campers into their own hands over the summer period. The TDC will try to find those responsible to have them remove the blockage.

Birdwatchers were taken aback to discover Taupata Reserve blocked off by a mound of dirt, presumably to stop freedom campers using the gravel reserve.

Taupata Gravel Reserve in the Tasman District was removed from advertising as a freedom camping area in December, but the hearing panel making the decision noted that as a roading reserve it was not possible to ban self-contained vehicles from the area entirely.

There has been a long-running Forest and Bird campaign to remove freedom campers from Taupata.

Forest and Bird’s Cynthia McConville, specialising in shorebird protection, said she and her partner discovered the road was blocked on Sunday when they went to the area to birdwatch.

“It must have been someone with some heavy machinery, you couldn’t have done this with a shovel,” she said.

Banded dotterels like this one use the beach at Taupata Point as a feeding and resting area.

* Shock at 'toxic proposal' to turn old dump into freedom camping site

* Tasman District readies for Kiwi freedom campers with extra services

McConville said she believed it was likely the motivation had been to protect birds which used to nest in the area and which still frequent the beach to eat and rest after long migratory journeys.

“I do believe there are a lot of people in Golden Bay that care about our shorebirds. If you look at the submissions [to the Tasman District Council], they were almost 100 per cent for the closure of Taupata [to freedom campers].”

Freedom campers were spotted parked at Taupata Point in late December. Self-contained campers are still allowed to use the site, though non-self-contained vehicles have been banned.

The beach by the reserve is used by banded dotterels, variable oyster-catchers, and Godwits as a feeding and resting area, and though it used to be a nesting site for ground-nesting birds McConville said human activity meant nesting was now unlikely in the area.

“Godwits in particular are very sensitive to disturbances … They've flown 11,000km from Alaska to get here, they need the time here to feed up and rest before flying back.

“I’ve seen children throwing stones at the birds, people ignoring signs and playing Frisbee or soccer on the beach.”

The blockage would prevent not just freedom campers, but likely locals without four-wheel-drive cars and TDC contractors trying to access gravel as well.

She said disruptions to access like this could be avoided if the council regulated campers in the area and prevented overnight stays.

She cited other roading reserves where freedom camping had been banned, like Abel Tasman Memorial, Wainui, and Ligar Bay.

TDC community relations manager Chris Choat said while Taupata Point was no longer a designated camping area for non-self-contained vehicles, self-contained freedom campers had to be prohibited for specific reasons.

“The recent change to the bylaw and what was consulted on was to remove Taupata Point as a designated camping area for non-self-contained vehicles only,” he said.

“In terms of the question of this being inconsistent with bans at other roading reserves … they are prohibited for specific reasons as detailed in the Bylaw.”

He said the council had to have “a valid reason” to restrict freedom camping.

“The Freedom Camping Act allows local authorities to make a bylaw that restricts or prohibits freedom camping only if it is satisfied that the bylaw is necessary … to protect the area, to protect the health and safety of people who may visit the area [or] to protect access to the area.

He said it was difficult to “single out” freedom campers when there was potential disruption to environmentally sensitive areas like bird resting areas, since the general public often also had access to these areas.

He said the Department of Conservation was “very proactive” at education when it identified areas at risk of environmental harm.

In the meantime, the blockage will likely last for the weekend. Choat said the council’s roading team would try to find the culprit and have those responsible remove the blockage, and if necessary the council would arrange its removal.

“It’s likely this won’t happen until next week at this stage.”