Lake Hāwea residents fed up with finding human waste at a popular recreation area have built a wall of rocks and soil to block freedom campers.
Lake Hāwea Photo: RNZ
It's the second time the small community has acted to keep out visitors - in 2010 they paid to install lines of boulders to block roads to three lakeside reserves.
Craig Burn, a popular recreation area about 15 minutes from Wanaka, has become increasingly popular with freedom campers and locals said numbers have reached a tipping point.
Last month, Queenstown Lakes District Council took steps to clamp down on wayward freedom campers.
But those measures did not extend to government department areas, such as Craig Burn, and Lake Hāwea residents want the government to intervene.
Local farmer Richard Burdon said the mess freedom campers were leaving behind, particularly their poor toilet habits, had incensed residents.
"We are constantly seeing the numbers grow everyday and we are seeing a lot of rubbish - bottles, plastic bags, human waste - and I think it's the human waste which is bugging our community," he said.
"I nearly ran one of them over. She was pulling her gear back on as she was running out of [the] bush.
"It is out of control."
The daily mess had become too much, which was why he was willing to lend his tractor earlier this week to a man who built a wall to keep them out, Mr Burdon said.
"The regulations in New Zealand are not clear enough to the tourists that are coming here about the standards that we set as a country.
"It's absolutely out of control. When you've got 3.7 million tourists they've got to be managed."
Conservation and land information minister Eugenie Sage should step in and regulate freedom campers to protect local communities and environments, he said.
Land Information New Zealand deputy chief executive Jerome Sheppard said the department was working with locals to address issues with "unofficial camping" in the area.
A toilet was installed in the area due to its popularity, but Craig Burn was not an area designated for freedom camping and signs would be installed soon stating it was not allowed there, he said.
"We will [also] investigate the dumping of gravel and debris at this site," Mr Sheppard said.
"Until recently we have not been aware of any issues or complaints regarding the use of Craig Burn, but we will now be discussing this further with the Lake Hāwea Community Association to help determine appropriate solutions."
Land Information encouraged people with concerns to follow it up through the "appropriate channels" so they could discuss potential solutions.
Hāwea Community Association chairman Paul Cunningham said he understood residents' frustration.
"I think it's fair to say we have reached a tipping point in the community where everyone has had enough and this is a reaction to that," he said.
Issues with freedom campers in Queenstown Lakes prompted the council to ban them from two reserves and Wanaka's lakefront, with penalties ranging from a fine to clamping their cars and confiscating their possessions.
But that was not the right approach, Mr Cunningham said.
You could not encourage tourists into the country and then clamp their vehicles and run them "under bridges", he said.
He wanted the facilities at Craig Burn to be improved for locals and visitors alike as a first step, and for the community to work with government departments and others to address the problem long-term.
