Posted 24th June 2017 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill NZ
An Invercargill Man lamented in Wednesdays edition of this paper that Freedom Camping was once a New Zealanders rite and Camping grounds are far too expensive now.
Yes back in the day Kiwis could pull off the road any old where and set up camp without breaking any rules but mostly they stayed in basic budget campgrounds set aside for them.
However the Campgrounds Associations kind of broke this deal when the split into referral groups to cash in on the boom of overseas visitors, not only did they have to increase prices to
Afford the huge joining fees but they had to upgrade their facilities a great expense, then the Property Market in resorts went crazy and the rates shot up accordingly and workers then became harder to get.
Travel agents overseas discovered that selling Campervan Holidays was way more lucrative than cumbersome Motel based itineraries and would even lie about accommodation availability in New Zealand .
As the Airlines dump more and more shoestring travelers on this finite industry camps could also raise their rates without any kickback for all but the most destitute visitors..
Unfortunately governments are slow to respond to new problems and things are a tad out of control and the poor old rate / tax payer are having to foot the bill for this mess.
In Manapouri at least we try to stick to the pubic service campground idea but times and habits have changed and now people expect something for nothing especially those who have money to burn.
For all this it is still a short unreliable season for the private sector. Lament all you like but it’s only going to get worse the way things are going. Our rest areas & beaches will be festooned with toilet paper unless we act.
Aaron Nicholson Published 28th Jun 2016
Yes back in the day Kiwis could pull off the road any old where and set up camp without breaking any rules but mostly they stayed in basic budget campgrounds set aside for them.
However the Campgrounds Associations kind of broke this deal when the split into referral groups to cash in on the boom of overseas visitors, not only did they have to increase prices to
Afford the huge joining fees but they had to upgrade their facilities a great expense, then the Property Market in resorts went crazy and the rates shot up accordingly and workers then became harder to get.
Travel agents overseas discovered that selling Campervan Holidays was way more lucrative than cumbersome Motel based itineraries and would even lie about accommodation availability in New Zealand .
As the Airlines dump more and more shoestring travelers on this finite industry camps could also raise their rates without any kickback for all but the most destitute visitors..
Unfortunately governments are slow to respond to new problems and things are a tad out of control and the poor old rate / tax payer are having to foot the bill for this mess.
In Manapouri at least we try to stick to the pubic service campground idea but times and habits have changed and now people expect something for nothing especially those who have money to burn.
For all this it is still a short unreliable season for the private sector. Lament all you like but it’s only going to get worse the way things are going. Our rest areas & beaches will be festooned with toilet paper unless we act.
Aaron Nicholson Published 28th Jun 2016
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