Mountain Scene
By MARJORIE COOK
Rural Queenstown residents are up in arms over council plans to put freedom camping sites in their neighbourhood reserves.
City Hall’s investigating options to locate sites around the Whakatipu, including at White
chapel, near Arrowtown, and Morven Ferry.
But neighbours are worried there’ll be a repeat of issues seen at Lake Hayes a few years ago if they go ahead.
Queenstown council’s community services general manager Thunes Cloete says on the council’s website staff assessed all potential sites in the district, before issuing a survey to get a feel for issues before more formal consultation starts.
Cullen said the demographic within the association has changed dramatically within the last 10 years. “Sixty-two per cent of members have only joined in the last five years.”
KELLY HODEL/STUFF
Zola Rose s dream of a place to call home rather than rent becomes a caravan uphill battle. Now she s living with an unusable leaky bathroom, outside shower and solar power issues. Matamata joins Cambridge, Te Kūiti, Morrinsville and Te Aroha in welcoming motorhome and caravan visitors to the region. Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Jason Dawson was proud to see another location in the region named as a motorhome friendly town at a time when more New Zealanders were travelling around the country in motorhomes and caravans than ever before.
Campsite search goes on after old netball courts out of bounds stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A motorist is fuming after copping a $200 fine after choosing to not drink and drive and spending the night safely in a public carpark.
Tao Scott is seekin
Ria Akuhata lives in a van to pay off her mortgage faster
It was after midnight in the Auckland suburb of Avondale, and Ria Akuhata was asleep in her van. There was something in the air that night. Outside protesters slept in the branches of native trees, rare kawaka and black maire, destined to be felled to make way for a new housing development. It was a thump against the van’s roof that awoke Akuhata. “Someone’s ripped off our signage!” one of the protesters yelled. Even small movements inside a minivan can be difficult, the 48-year-old says. The space between limbs and vehicle is negotiated through a series of “strange yoga poses”. As she scrambled to her feet, the sleeping bag around her ankles caused her to fall forward on to her palms.