Popularity brings pressure
A Wairarapa campsite offers a classic example of the freedom camping issue. Piers Fuller reports.
Asmall Wairarapa campground tucked away in the foothills of the Tararuas is creaking under the strain of its burgeoning popularity.
There was a time when the Department of Conservation’s free Bucks Rd campsite near Featherston was a gem that only locals knew about.
Now on any given summer morning, there could be as many as 30 vehicles, mostly belonging to budget travellers, at the site.
The single toilet is struggling to cope and campers are finding other, less sanitary, alternatives.
Locals do not begrudge the young travellers having the trip of a lifetime and enjoying these treasured spots. They just want them respected.
Featherston resident Tiff North said it’s neat that people from other places have discovered the spot, but they need to respect it.
‘‘I like the idea that they get to see something that’s kind of special to locals. I hope that they enjoy it the way we do and respect it the way we do.’’
Soiled toilet paper and human faeces just metres from the track down to the swimming hole would suggest that some are not.
Featherstonian Ed Harcourt has taken it upon himself to being the unofficial guardian of the campsite, a role much appreciated by its official guardians. ‘‘The volume of visitors has grown hugely and the nature of the way the place is being used has changed.’’
He said DOC could be doing more and his main issue was the strain on the toilet. ‘‘The facilities aren’t sufficient to cater for the volume with overnight visitors.
‘‘There’s human faeces and toilet paper littering the track. This is where our local kids come for a swim and they have to negotiate their way through human waste to get to this swimming hole.’’
Harcourt, a builder, is an avid outdoorsman and hunter, and has been a regular visitor to the campsite since he moved to town 20 years ago.
Demonstrating that it’s not just travellers making a mess, the first time he went to the campsite he saw some locals dumping a load of household waste over the bank. ‘‘If we want to keep our local special spots the way we like them then we have to step up,’’ Harcourt said.
DOC spokesman Jim Flack applauded Harcourt’s efforts in keeping the campsite clean.
‘‘Having people in the community like this is fantastic. Often locals are better at managing their own spots – better than any government department can do.’’
Spanish traveller Carla Madrid said they found the campsite through a website called Wikicamp and Campmate.co.nz.
She agreed the toilet facilities were inadequate for the number of campers using the site.
‘‘We found a lovely place with a lovely river and amazing nights.
‘‘It’s an amazing place to stay but the only thing is, you can improve the bathrooms.’’ Carla Madrid, Spanish tourist
‘‘It’s an amazing place to stay but the only thing is, you can improve the bathrooms.’’