Gang's patch not so idyllic

A German tourist who pitched his tent on the wrong patch of land now has Kawerau's Mongrel Mob asking around town in a bid to recover his vanished gear.

Helmut Harmann, a 74-year-old German, thought he'd found the perfect spot to spend the night last Friday when he set up camp in a quiet meadow between Whakatane and Rotorua.

After going for a stroll the next morning, he returned to discover his tent and nearly everything in it - including a sleeping bag, an airbed and a knife - had been stolen.

"I ... came across a piece of meadow that nobody had worked - the grass was about a metre high and the shed looked all closed up," Mr Harmann said.

Little did he know police had raided the same quaint "farmer's shed" in 2002.

The land where he set up camp was owned by the Kawerau Mongrel Mob.

Senior Constable Brian Parker of Kawerau police admitted there was a humorous side to the story, but also embarrassment at being a New Zealander.

Mongrel Mob senior member Frank Milosovic was surprised to hear the victim was a German tourist.

He had understood that the person was a well-known homeless man, a "squatter who pitched his tent up just behind our pad".

Mr Milosovic agreed it was a bit hard on an elderly tourist, and the action wasn't in the Christmas spirit.

"I don't think it was any of the boys," he said. "The law came around and asked us what's going on.

"It's just those fellas [police] trying to make a big story out of nothing, putting Kawerau back on the map.

"He's lucky none of the boys turned up anyway," Mr Milosovic laughed. "He's lucky he just got his tent taken."

Mr Milosovic said he would see what he could do. He would ask around about the items to see if they could be recovered.

Meanwhile, the owner of a Whakatane camping store, Brent Smith, has sponsored a new tent for Mr Harmann's continued travels.

Mr Harmann, on his fifth visit to New Zealand, has headed to Opotiki and will tour the East Coast before his flight back to Germany.