Letters: Freedom campers abusing our reserves

Freedom campers are flocking to reserves and ignoring the rules, but councils should do more to stop them. PHOTO/FILE

There is a "no camping" sign at the eastern entrance to the Hamurana Reserve opposite the golf course. We are seeing an annual influx of tents, panel vans, and full campers.

Many of these vehicles will not be toilet equipped. Given Rotorua Lakes Council has closed the eastern toilet block to local and visitors there will be an increased dumping.

The article (Rotorua Daily Post, January 14) is timely but it does highlight the council are very slow in putting in place robust bylaws. The same exist with no robust bylaw to prosecute those who dump household rubbish. What do they do with our Money and their time (which we pay for)?

Freedom camping is defined as the practice of putting up tents or parking up campervans in areas not designated for camping.

Free camping typically means that freedom campers cannot access facilities such as clean drinking water, toilets (either flushing or long drop) and waste disposal facilities.

Some define freedom camping as for those who are self-contained. Ninety nine per cent of campers at Hamurana are not self contained. As mentioned below there were 32 campers there (on Monday).

Who in the council is monitoring the Hamurana Reserve to ensure visitors are respecting our reserve and using the only surviving toilet?

Why has the council not dropped a couple of portable toilets at the eastern end of the reserve to service campers, fishermen and boaties at least during the peak usage months and until the location of the new toilet is confirmed?

ROGER WOOTTON
Rotorua

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Te Ngae Rd solution

The traffic problems associated with the Te Ngae/Tarawera Rds intersection (Rotorua Daily Post, January 14) could be ameliorated (if not solved) by re-opening the road which is behind Scion, and once connected Sala St and Tarawera Rd via the Long Mile Rd.

It was closed many years ago for what I understood to be after-hours security reasons.

Perhaps now is an appropriate time to re-open this alternative route from the city to the Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest, Lynmore and the lakes, etc.

This could be a low-cost, safe solution to the Te Ngae/Tarawera Rds intersection problem.

DAVID PREEST
Rotorua