Temporary prohibition of freedom camping at Wānaka’s Allenby Place carpark

From the QLDC:

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has approved the temporary prohibition of freedom camping at Wānaka’s Allenby Place carpark, exercising clause 9.1 of the QLDC Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025.

 This temporary prohibition will be in place from Friday 23 January to Thursday 30 April 2026, allowing time for Council to determine the long-term suitability of this site for freedom camping.

A QLDC spokesperson said:

“Allenby Place freedom camping area has experienced access and health and safety issues relating to increased traffic that are unique to the layout of this area. As a result, we are temporarily removing the three designated spaces here from Friday next week until the end of April. To balance this, we have temporarily added three additional spaces at the Wānaka Recreation Centre carpark for the same duration,” he said.

“Our district is well known to be one of the most popular camping destinations in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s also the most popular for freedom camping, with more than double the number of overnight stays than Tasman District, which is the next most popular territorial authority area.”

 “Most freedom campers visiting the district this season have been doing the right thing. However, it’s fair to say the sheer volume does create challenges. Since 1 December there have been 3,335 vehicle ‘check ins’ to designated freedom camping spaces alone.”

“Over the same time we have received more than 380 requests for service from members of the public – mostly relating to noise, litter, non-compliance with site limits and requests for enforcement activity,” he said.

“Enforcement of the bylaw has been responsive and effective. To date, Council officers have issued 553 infringements of $400 under the Freedom Camping Act, and 48 infringements of $800 under the Reserves Act. This sends a clear message that unlawful activity will not be tolerated.”

“The bylaw is only six weeks old and overall having a positive outcome. Word is spreading both via our targeted promotional campaign and through the educational efforts of our hard-working summer ambassadors who have racked up nearly 700 site visits to date.”

“We welcome visitors to our beautiful district and will continue to encourage them to camp sustainably and behave responsibly so that both residents and visitors can enjoy our shared spaces.”

“Importantly the Freedom Camping Act permits freedom camping by default on most council land.  Local bylaws such as ours are limited in both what they can address and the specific areas to which they apply. Councils can only prohibit to protect the area, access to the area and the health and safety of people who visit the area,” he said.

QLDC summer ambassadors will be advising campers of the upcoming prohibition at Allenby Place over the coming week. Signage at the site will be updated and there will be online communication and changes made to the QLDC website, freedom camping check-in system, responsible camping map, CamperMate app and other relevant resources.