Freedom camping notices on DOC land: South Westland

What the notices mean in South Westland

DOC's South Westland district has 18 current freedom camping notices on public conservation land. Of these, 17 prohibit camping outright and just 1 is restricted. These are DOC notices for land it manages, not council bylaws: on roadsides, reserves and car parks the council controls, the Westland District Council freedom camping rules apply instead.

The one restricted area is Whakapohai Road, South Westland, covering 3.1 ha. You may freedom camp there only in a certified self-contained vehicle, and for no more than 4 nights in a calendar month. Every other area on the list is closed to freedom camping, whatever you are driving and however self-contained it is.

The prohibited areas are mostly small car parks at the places visitors stop: Fox Glacier Visitor Centre Carpark, Franz Josef Glacier Road and Carparks, Lake Matheson Carpark, Haast Visitor Centre Carpark, Knights Point Viewpoint Carparks, Ship Creek Amenity Area and Carpark, Monro Beach Walk Carpark and Westland National Park Visitor Centre. Many cover less than 1 ha, and Wharekai -Te Kou Walk Carparks is the smallest at 0.1 ha. Roaring Billy Walk carpark is the largest notice area at 18.4 ha, ahead of Okarito Recreation Reserve at 9.9 ha, and prohibited land totals 41.9 ha of the 45 ha covered.

Three notices are recent. MacDonalds Creek and Peak Viewpoint were prohibited on 13 November 2021, and Southside Road, Fox Glacier Carparks on 13 December 2021; the other 15 date from 1 December 2012. Notice numbers run from 84 to 304, the notices sit on 12 distinct conservation land parcels, and 1 older notice for the district is historic and no longer current, so check an older list against these before relying on it.