Campers leave mess at ‘shanty town’
Cars and campsites have been abandoned at a popular freedom camping spot in Golden Bay as illegal campers clear out for the winter, leaving piles of rubbish behind.
Dozens of campsites and selfmade structures have been abandoned in the rubbish-strewn bush along the riverbank at Reilly St, located behind the Takaka Memorial Library.
Residents are concerned the area is being turned into a ‘‘shanty town’’ and one has called for a community meeting to take action.
The area has been occupied by up to 400 illegal campers a night during the summer sleeping in their cars and tents along the riverbank, in the carpark, and along the side of the road.
Another group, known as the River Tribe, have also been living permanently along the riverbank in self-made structures, tents and tree huts. They claim to be grassroots revolutionaries living in harmony with nature.
When Fairfax visited, there were dozens of rubbish piles littered throughout the bush and three abandoned cars, including one with all its windows smashed in. Two of the cars had been blocked in by the gate and a rock wall the Tasman District Council erected in April as a solution to the problem of people staying at Reilly St.
At least 12 campsites in the bush appeared to have been abandoned. However, 18-year-old River Tribe occupant from Germany, Leander Rose, said there were actually 11 people living there, and only about 4 campsites had been abandoned.
Rose said he moved into the River Tribe about six weeks ago, right after a big flood cleared many of the former occupants out.
There were still new campers arriving and moving into abandoned campsites and building new structures out of the old materials.
Residents and business owners frustrated with the mess at Reilly St installed compost toilets, portaloos, signage and recycling bins over summer.
Tasman District Council spokesperson Chris Choat said the landowner, dairy farmer David Rose, could call the police and trespass the illegal campers if he was concerned. However, Rose said there was still a difference of legal opinion about who owned the land.