Andrea Beryl: Save Clean New Zealand Spokesperson on the proposed freedom camping bylaw in the Queenstown Lakes District

Locals are raising eyebrows at the camping areas selected within a proposed freedom camping bylaw that goes before council this week.  

The Queenstown Lakes District Council bylaw proposes 15 designated freedom camping sites for the district following a surge in freedom campers. 

Save Clean New Zealand spokesperson Andrea Beryl says she's not against freedom camping, as the area relies on tourism. 

But she told Ryan Bridge the places given the green light for camping are bizarre.  

Beryl says it's like they've just pointed at places on a map. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Queenstown Lakes Council voting today on Freedom Campus thirty percent
jump and overnight stays there region is the most popular
for them, double the number of the next most popular,
which was Nelson Tasman. Pressure on roads, lakes, waterways, all
that stuff. Andrea Beryl is with Save Clean New Zealand,
joins me this morning. Andrea, good morning, Good morning Ryan.
How are you very well house beautiful Queenstown this morning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm in Monaca and I've not had too many cups
of tea yet, so I think we're all good. It's
it's still pretty dark, but yeah, it's all good.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Andrea. You're not against freedom camping, but what's wrong with
some of the places where they are doing it.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
I mean, I've worked in tourism for nearly over twenty years,
so you know, we know that the region heavily relies
on tourism. The problem is some of the areas that
they've chosen are just a little bit bizarre, like right
in front of people's houses. So I look after a
property on Bickon Point Road, which is heavily used by locals, tourists, travelers, bikers,

(00:56):
people walking their dogs, runners, and then they want to
five parking spots right outside this house. There's no rubbish facilities.
There's no toilet facilities and on rubbish we can't even
get our own rubbish picked up by the council because
the road is too narrow. So how on earth are
they going to deal with the rubbish from people leaving

(01:16):
it behind? Because not all campers, sadly, are responsible.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
This is by laws. This is one of the fifteen
designated sides. Why how are they picking these signs?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
That's a very good question. So it started with us
thinking about Beacon Point Road, but then it expands to
other areas in the region. We've got Allenby Park, which
is a car part right by Iron, which raises you know,
fire hazards. If someone sparks a fire, then Mount Iron
goes up and flams. You know, that's alarming. All the
rural roads, you know, they've got these rural roads that

(01:49):
have said, yeah, yeah, come and park on the rural roads.
But all the people that live on these rural roads
have said, there's actually no way safe for people to
pull over. It has to be five meekers from the
road on a hard surface or a heavy gravel sort
of area, and that's pretty much someone's driveway because the
rural roads don't have those. There's some of them are
so narrow that you can't turn around. So it's like

(02:12):
it's like they've just looked at a map and went
they're there, there and there, that they haven't really done
it by sight.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Andrea, what's it like? I mean, it's been a while
since we've hit a camera down there giving us an update.
But what's a lot? I mean, if people still doing
their business in the trees and on the streets and stuff,
or is a lot plainer than what it used to be.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, no, the water quality is deteriorating and why is that?
You know? And if we allow people to have these
so called self contained camper vans, you know, you know
these little backpack of vands, they don't they have a
little blue sticker saying that you know, they're going to
have a pee or a pooh in they're in their van.
They're not using those you know. The Camper Van Association, Yes,

(02:49):
they've got some beautiful big motor homes and camper vans
and they travel around and they're really for this and
we agree with them, like we want people to come
in their camper vans, but not everybody is going to
be using the toilets on board. And one other issue
is there's not that many public dumping stations for people.
If they are the responsible people, you know, they need
to empty the sewage. And I was looking the other

(03:09):
day and from Half to Queenstown there's only two dumping stations.
Two but gross, where are people supposed to dump that poop?

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Well, that's what we're all now thinking about. Andrew, thank
you for your time this morning. Andrea Beryl save Quean
New Zealand spokesperson For more.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
From Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
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