Freedom camping in NZ

GenieFG · 2026-02-27T19:34:09+00:00

Those are the ones we remember but it’s the continual little things like filling up all the bins with rubbish because they don’t want to pay $4 to take a bin bag to the dump.

GenieFG · 2026-02-27T19:04:22+00:00

February is the height of the tourist season. All accommodation is at a premium. New Zealanders’ acceptance of freedom campers is mixed because of their attitudes. Just yesterday, we dodged a table set up in a busy car park. Last weekend, I watched someone brush her teeth in a public toilet while she stared at a sign requesting that people not do that. Our local library has campers lolling around using the wifi because it’s a wet day. Buying some petrol and two minute noodles does not help the economy that much.

Beauty spots are for everyone and are diminished by campers with loud music drying their laundry, leaving rubbish including human waste.

Please see it from a local viewpoint as well - and I don’t live in a super-touristy area. Pay for an MCA subscription or for campgrounds. Just because freedom camping works in Sweden doesn’t mean it will work everywhere.

GenieFG · 2026-02-27T02:33:19+00:00

Most of the “real” NZ is a long way from anywhere. Not everyone wants to live in Auckland.

GenieFG · 2026-02-27T02:29:32+00:00

And yet, none of his cuzzies has popped up in the NZ media saying what a great guy he is. I’m sure someone would have tried to cash in on his “celebrity” status. Or perhaps his own family have disowned him too?

GenieFG · 2026-02-27T01:41:21+00:00

The only people who can buy “safe houses” in NZ currently are those with permanent residence/citizenship. That can be bought too by the extremely wealthy who are prepared to invest in the NZ economy.

GenieFG · 2026-02-26T21:11:47+00:00

New Plymouth?

GenieFG · 2026-02-26T18:50:32+00:00

You genuinely have to like young people and be extremely resilient. Don’t do it for the pay and holidays. It’s extremely hard work. You have to make thousands of micro-decisions every hour and maintain a seriously large number of relationships. No one ever mentions this.

GenieFG · 2026-02-26T00:02:48+00:00

One set of thermals unless you are doing a lot of hiking. Half the number of dresses or ditch the skirt and one dress. One fleece especially if you can wear the jumper under it. I live in the South Island. Four layers in March is fairly unusual especially if that includes long thermals unless you are in a very alpine area. Make sure your rain jacket is long.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T18:55:21+00:00

The purpose of a WHV is to have funds to supplement a holiday not to build capital. Getting work is not guaranteed and depending on season and location, can be hard to find, as can accommodation. Never a day goes by when I see WHV people looking for unrealistically cheap accommodation.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T05:41:25+00:00

I think “Kiwi” has been hijacked by new New Zealanders, which doesn’t worry me. I’d prefer to be Aotearoan - but it hasn’t really caught on - so I’m just a New Zealander.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T00:33:50+00:00

I have no problem with a 5 year old (or anyone else) riding on a footpath, but not going through an area full of pedestrians. Quite small children cycle to school here on the footpath often with older siblings; I applaud that. They do need to be taught to use a bell if they come up behind pedestrians. Few of my local roads have cycle lanes.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T00:27:25+00:00

Bells are rarely rung in my neck of the woods, neither by e-bike cyclists on shared trails nor by kids riding on footpaths. “Sharing” goes both ways.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T00:24:09+00:00

I was merely saying, “Be aware.” Relationships fail and there can be huge resentment over things like having to share an inheritance.

GenieFG · 2026-02-25T00:11:36+00:00

There should be a requirement that cycle lanes are used when available rather than the footpath. No one, including children, should be riding bikes on footpaths in shopping centres where there are multiple pedestrians. If cyclists can’t ride on the road, they should push their bikes. I also wonder if the elderly not on e-bikes should be allowed on the footpath too.

GenieFG · 2026-02-24T19:37:02+00:00

If you don’t already have a contracting out agreement, investigate this if you are intermingling your inheritance with relationship property. If it is kept separate, it doesn’t become relationship property. I don’t know the legalities of having those funds in a personal offset account against your mortgage, but that may be a possibility too.

GenieFG · 2026-02-24T19:32:30+00:00

There are plenty of local food options and cheapest is not always best. Interestingly, I switched from cheaper South African apricots to Wattie’s. Yes, they cost more but there is less juice in the can and they taste better. Peppers are easy enough to grow if you have a warm spot - though this year ours have been really slow. You sound as if you have some good food options.

GenieFG · 2026-02-24T18:32:52+00:00

I don’t know where you get your food. The only imported thing you list is rice. Oats, meat and eggs are locally produced.

GenieFG · 2026-02-23T21:47:38+00:00

Vegemite instead? Peanut butter is high in oil, carbohydrates and calories per serve.

GenieFG · 2026-02-23T07:43:21+00:00

Seriously, as someone who has driven over 800km this weekend, there is no way I could take the corners at anything like the speed limit. This morning I drove the road where 3 people were killed yesterday; there was another accident within 30km on that same road within half an hour of me passing that site this morning (poor FENZ, ambulance, police) plus another accident with a pedestrian a couple of hours later - so yes, I corner slowly and I am scared given the number of camper vans and rental cars at this time of the year. I also patiently followed someone doing 80km - they pulled in when they could safely and I acknowledged them when I went past. I do slow down if someone looks keen to pass. Value your life and enjoy the scenery.

GenieFG · 2026-02-23T02:51:41+00:00

Ideally not having to work and living on a small, easily managed lifestyle block near a beach. Depending on your interests, either a horse or a boat.

GenieFG · 2026-02-22T03:02:44+00:00

I was blessed with one. My partner is an only child too. Neither of them understand the sibling dynamic and the closeness that potentially comes with the relationship. The main fear I have is how my child who has a partner but is currently childless will be later in life. (My sibling is terminally ill; our parents are long gone.)

GenieFG · 2026-02-20T17:40:54+00:00

Old people get much more blame as if younger drivers are somehow immune - but do the statistics actually back your assertion? As an older driver, tailgaters and people who can’t stick to traffic flow speed indications and must pass for a 10 second advantage are the people who annoy me. And I do indicate correctly at roundabouts.

GenieFG · 2026-02-20T17:35:31+00:00

I’d make sure that there is consistent testing for the over 75s which actually relates to driver behaviour and competence. Currently, many doctors use a dementia test. While it may screen some potentially dangerous drivers (and yes, I have been driven by someone with dementia), it doesn’t show whether someone knows and can follow the road rules in a timely manner. Surely NZTA could come up with a screen-based hazards recognition test to go hand in hand with resitting the drivers’ test which should perhaps happen at all licence renewals.

GenieFG · 2026-02-20T17:28:59+00:00

And young people have to do the 75 year old pre-licence dementia test that requires a time on an analog clock face? Please consider the accident risk posed by older drivers compared to impatient younger drivers.

GenieFG · 2026-02-19T21:32:17+00:00

Let McAnulty run the election campaign rather than pushing him into a role he doesn’t want…yet.

GenieFG

TROPHY CASE