Long-term freedom campers outstay their welcome
Underneath the Waitapu Bridge last Friday, after its occupants moved on. Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
A group of freedom campers who have been living under the Waitapu Bridge for the past couple of months were finally encouraged to leave last Friday (16 April) morning, taking their possessions—minus two comfy armchairs—with them.
The series of events leading to their departure started the previous day at around 8.40am when a concerned driver phoned 111 and reported thick smoke billowing out from under both sides of the bridge. One appliance from the Takaka Fire Brigade responded to the call, and upon their arrival the crew found seven people circled around an open campfire immediately under the bridge. Chief fire officer Philip Woolf explained the reason for the callout to the group and advised them that their fire would have to be extinguished because none of them possessed a fire permit.
“They were totally oblivious to this requirement. I gave them the opportunity to shift their personal belongings to ensure that none of it got wet before we damped the area down. By the time we left, they all fully understood the reason for our attendance and we left on a handshake.”
However, later that afternoon and early the following morning, at least two locals turned up to talk with the encamped squatters with the idea of encouraging them to move on.
One Pupu Valley resident, who in fear of being seen as some sort of vigilante asked not to be named, said he had a very frank discussion with the group that lasted around 45 minutes.
“At first they were adamant they had a right to be there. One man told me he had nowhere else to go, and couldn’t even afford a tent site in a motor camp. Another told me they were an asset to the area, bringing peace and love into the community. I guess I just wanted to make the point that the area had to be treated with a little more respect, and that more than a few locals had had a gutsful of freedom campers who overstayed their welcome. I warned them about rumours going around about what some locals wanted to do to them. I wasn’t threatening them, merely telling them the facts. In the end they must have got the message, because they all packed up and left.”
In perhaps what may become the postscript for the once-happy bridge dwellers, who at their peak this summer numbered around a dozen, Rural Fire have now been advised (by the Takaka Fire Brigade) to reinstate a “high profile sign” at the entrance to the under-bridge area, confirming “NO FIRES”.
Nelson Tasman Tourism CEO Paul Davis commented in its newsletter this week: “Last week The Nelson Mail ran a series of articles on freedom camping, outlining a growing concern about the impact this activity is having on our environment.
“While The Nelson Mail’s focus on international travellers in rental vans and selective interviews didn’t paint the most objective story about freedom camping, it is clear change is needed in the tourism-related freedom camping sector.
“Better education is needed for clients by campervan companies at booking source, better information is needed for visitors who are here, more consistency is needed in local government regulations around the country, better regulation on self-containment of vans, and, it also looks like stricter enforcement is going to be a future fact of life with fewer areas available to freedom camp.
“Apart from the environmental impact, a small minority is turning off local communities and the welcome mat is wearing thin in places.”
Gerard Hindmarsh
