What will happen to Riverside?
24 April 2007 - 3:20pm
I've been camping occasionally at the unofficial campsite at riverside for the last year now and the changes are saddening.
I know camping is not allowed as do most others so discretion was always good. But some time in the last year the word is out that its the place to be.
Just before easter we camped there to find about 8 vans and several tents in residence, maybe 20people in all. hmmm.
This weekend we stayed a night there and found two german girls about to light up a campfire. We politely advised them of the access and suggested they dont light up. They promptly got defensive, claimed you can camp anywhere in NZ if theres no 'no camping' signs, and lit up. hmmm.
The next morning we decided to do our bit rather than just winge and managed to fill up two grocery bags with shit paper and cigggy butts from around camp.
WARNING: riverside camping area now resembles a euro crag! outside the immediate perimeter its a turd minefield! with no attempts at burying shit or removing paper.
How do so many 'foreign' climbers know about the campsite?
What is the official access situation?
I am fully prepared to stop camping there but what can we do to stem the situation?
26 April 2007 - 11:31am
#2
yep interesting all right... the wanaka rock club installed a nice long drop for just this reason, and published the guidebook which stress's no fires, camping etc... so the officill version is simple, no camping.
heaps of people have ignored this which is very fucking frustrating, even those who do it discretly are contributing to the perception that camping here is ok. It isnt
Sooner or later some half wit is going to accidentally burn the place and then the shit will really hit the fan.
tenure of this area is complex with parts owned by farmers and others by DOC which makes decision making tricky
to be fair to the climbers , many of those campoing here are non climbers/campers, picnicing locals etc. but there are a heap of climbers who do stay here, please dont!
Thanks for doing your bit to tidy up and educate others. We may look at signage ...
26 April 2007 - 6:34pm
#4
Or do you bring in the officials? I hope not.
I was walking round between The Fish Wall and the Red Wall recently on the rambly track and there was again a big - fuck like half a roll of loo paper just off the track - they certainly would have been embarrassed if someone had wandered past, I hope in a way it is visitors because I would hate to think Kiwis would treat there own country that way but I know there is as much chance it is some of us... how many ( for example ; I am not getting at anyone) young gym rats making the transition to the outdoors actually know much about it?
14 February 2008 - 3:13pm
#5
for some reason there are heaps of previously quiet spots in Wanaka that are now "out of the bag"
The worst i recently saw was over 50 people (20 plus cars) at the upper mototapu gorge.
A group of mates were hassling there friend "nobody knows about this place he says, secret spot eh" classic.
Probably doesnt help that there is now a fenced and signed carpark at the bridge.
if you are serious about preventing change and are prepared to camp elsewhere, then maybe its best to simply lament the change, post a sign that says 'no camping and no littering - wanaka climbing community' and camp elsewhere.