No freedom food for camper
Police stopped to speak to a freedom camper who was spotted cooking breakfast at the side of a road in New Plymouth yesterday morning, despite the nationwide four-week coronavirus lockdown.
The camper, on Mangorei Rd, was one of a number of people who were seen out, a police police media spokesperson said.
Where required, officers had been ‘‘providing advice and encouragement about complying with the Alert Level 4 requirements’’. But the spokeswoman said: ‘‘We are not aware of any major issues involving campers in New Plymouth.’’
On Sunday, New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) shut 14 of its car parks and directed freedom campers to the Belt Road Motor Camp during the lockdown.
An NPDC spokesperson said three groups of freedom campers were found to be staying at the Lake Rotomanu/Waiwhakaiho area when they were closing the car parks.
Belt Road Seaside Holiday Park owner Peter Crawford said three groups of campers had come to the campground since the car parks were shut.
‘‘I didn’t even realise the car parks were being closed,’’ he said.
The park, which can house more than 500 people was ‘‘not even close’’ to capacity,
Crawford said.
‘‘It’s not my expectation they come to a holiday park but it’s certainly my expectation they find somewhere safe to stay.’’ He said some campers were paying standard tariff, some were paying more because of the increase in cleaning and others were paying less due to reduced facilities.
They also working with agencies such as Work and Income and Civil Defence. Crawford said all campers on site had been following the were guidelines of staying in their isolation bubble, remaining two metres from other campers and using the facilities wisely.
‘‘It’s a good safe place for them to be.’’
South Taranaki District Council has closed its freedom camping sites and campers are being directed to Ha¯ wera Holiday Park.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police were still having trouble with tourists not getting the message to stay put.
‘‘Tourists can’t drive around the country from destination to destination. Stay where you are those are the rules,’’ he said.