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Large numbers of illegal guides continue to operate in many of the country's tourism hot spots, potentially putting the tourists they lead at risk.
The Department of Conservation has stepped up its monitoring and warns it will take action against guides who flout the law by failing to obtain the required concessions to guide on public land.
Many of these illegal guides are foreigners and "just haven't got a clue" about the areas they are leading people into, or the hazards, says DoC concessions supervisor Doug Sowman.
In the 2006-07 summer, 11 illegal guiding operations were detected in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park and an Australian climbing guide was fined $1000 for illegally guiding clients in the Mount Aspiring National Park.
While numbers dropped in those parks over this summer, recent monitoring by a DoC contractor in the Waimakariri Basin in the central South Island had found 35 "incidents" of apparent illegal guiding in just three weeks. These require further investigation.
The busiest days for the contractor were when cruise ships were berthed in the closest port, Lyttelton, and tour buses were coming to see attractions in the basin.
"Some of these [guides] are historic repeat offenders and they may well be prosecuted this time if they do not obtain the necessary concessions," said DoC community relations ranger Bruce Pryor.
Mr Sowman said many illegal guides were people who arrived in New Zealand with Asian or European tourist parties. Most knew they needed a concession, but went ahead anyway. Concessions made safety a paramount consideration.
"We have all seen the pictures of people going into the glaciers and they are a prime example where people cross the safety barrier," he said.
While getting a concession could be costly, it did provide a five-year permit across the guiding areas.
Registered guides are frustrated over the illegal activity of their rivals
"We pay a fortune in concessions for our guides," said Denis Callesen, manager of Mt Cook Village's Hermitage Hotel.
Mr Sowman said DoC was using a database to detect repeat offenders who had been guiding without concessions in different areas throughout New Zealand.
