Responsible camping work to continue over summer
Travellers using cheap, privately owned vehicles will be targeted with information on how to camp responsibly this summer.

Most rental vehicle companies now actively recommend their clients stay in holiday parks, Department of Conservation (DOC) camping grounds or other designated camping areas.

But the New Zealand Responsible Camping Forum wants to ensure travellers who buy cheap cars or vans to drive around the country are also aware of the behaviour expected of them. So responsible camping information has been placed in car yards, internet forums and backpacker notice boards, as many of these vehicles are traded through the backpacker community.

For the second consecutive summer, the Forum is working with the Interislander and Bluebridge ferry companies which are handing out responsible camping brochures to campers crossing Cook Strait.

“Many of the visitors here for Rugby World Cup enjoyed camping while they were in New Zealand and received great welcomes from the communities they visited. We want to ensure that campers continue to be welcomed this summer and have great experiences on their travels,” Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) Advocacy Manager Geoff Ensor says.

Mr Ensor chairs the New Zealand Responsible Camping Forum which brings together New Zealand’s leading campervan companies, the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association, local government representatives, government agencies and tourism organisations.

The Forum is behind the ‘Where can I camp?’ campaign which provides camping information to travellers hiring campervans or wanting to camp in New Zealand. It has also developed the www.camping.org.nz website which offers comprehensive information on camping in New Zealand.

The www.camping.org.nz website is receiving about 60,000 hits a year, and the most viewed pages are those carrying regional information.

“A key spin-off of the Freedom Camping Act has been that communities and councils are producing much better information, so that campers know what the local rules are. And they now have the tools to better enforce those rules, through the website and other information sources, and using fines as a last resort.”

For more information on the New Zealand Responsible Camping Forum, visit www.tianz.org.nz/main/nz-freedom-camping-forum

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