Time to expand camp site network

You see them here and you see them there. The motor homes that seem as long as a bus, with names like ‘‘Dunroamin’’ and ‘‘Dunworkin’’, that suddenly appear in front of you as you start driving up a particularly windy or steep hill.

Say ‘‘freedom camping’’ and it conjures images of young visitors from overseas parking up for a couple of nights close to a municipal toilet and shower block.

It is less likely you will think of the 10s of thousands of retirees who are hitting the roads every week and looking for places to stay each night.

This is also freedom camping, but not necessarily as you might think about it.

These freedom campers come in homes equipped with loos so have no need to overwhelm public facilities at our most beautiful sights.

At Labour Weekend, several hundred South Island motor-caravan owners met in Marlborough to compare notes and chart a way ahead to improve their lot.

Basically, as the president of the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association, Bruce Stanger, says, their most pressing need is to find and secure more sites able to accommodate their motor homes.

There are 32 sites around the country now owned or leased by the association but, as Stanger says, that is nowhere near enough.

Auckland is one of the worst pressure points for camping because vacant land there is quickly snapped up for housing.

The association now has more than 61,000 members who own more than 40,000 motor homes, with selfcontained freedom camping becoming increasingly popular among those who have retired.

In 2014, association members were away from home for an average of 75 nights and each spent close to $80 a day in the area in which they were camping.

The national economy benefited to the tune of $4.2 million from area rallies alone that year.

Freedom is the key word here. Motor-caravanners are able to stop wherever there are local attractions they wish to see or experience.

Often these are in out-of-the-way places, where contributions to the local economy are gratefully received.

There are other attractions to this lifestyle, as pointed out by the association.

You can take pets with you on a motor-caravan holiday; you can go to see family and friends without invading their homes; it allows for more active retirements; and the elderly, less mobile or people with disabilities can travel in comfort to stay in camping areas that would otherwise be inaccessible for them.

Also, as the price of baches, cribs and holiday homes has skyrocketed beyond the reach of many Kiwis, motor homes still allow families to stay in prime locations.

Currently, freedom camping sites are available to association members for $3 a night per person.

A requirement is that members show they can be self-sufficient for several days, including having disposal facilities for grey water and toilet waste.

We welcome the association’s efforts to work with local councils to provide more sites that it can either buy or lease for members’ use.

Freedom camping, supported by the right structure, is a great way to go.

The actions of a few should not be allowed to spoil it for the many.