DoC goes to court over Korean guide's tramps

A Whangarei-based company owned by a foreign businessman is to be prosecuted for allegedly guiding tourists in Fiordland National Park without approval.

The Department of Conservation alleges that between January 18 and January 20 the company conducted a guided walk on the Routeburn Track without a concession as required by the National Parks Act 1980.

The penalty for operating without a concession is a fine of up to $25,000.

In late January, department officers interviewed a Korean businessman they believed was illegally guiding on the Routeburn and Milford tracks in Te Anau.

They said the businessman had come off the Milford Track with a group of 17 Korean trampers and that they discovered the trampers were being guided.

The trampers were allegedly booked into department huts as if they were independent walkers. The department claimed that when the trampers arrived on the track it was clear, due to their guide and the group's equipment, that they were one large guided party.

Group sizes are restricted to 12 people plus a guide to reduce congestion along the track.

Also, the department says groups of 18 or 19 people can dominate huts, affecting the experiences of other trampers.

In December last year a compliance check over seven days on the Milford Track found that all of the companies operating on those days were breaching their concessions to various degrees.

Two companies were initially suspended but later reinstated to fulfil bookings. Decisions in those cases are expected to be known by the end of the month.

- NZPA