New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

i've just noticed Mike''s comment in the Shoutbox about some new restrictions for camping at the moonlight on the coast.

this is yet another means of restricting our freedom as kiwis. absolute bs. this would have been implemented perhaps to stop those staying there for long times and prospecting by whatever means.

it might only be the one location but i would pin my bets on this sort of crap happening in more and more places.

the freedom camping bylaws were needed but what has happened stinks more that the poo and refuse they leave behind.

take a look at what they did at the 12 mile here in queenstown. they closed off all nearby points (i.e. 12 mile creek carpark) to stop freedom campers finding spots to camp. they then spent a fortune moving dirt to get people down at the delta campsite, blocking all creek access to locals and stuffing access for walking tour groups / young families, and the elderly.

you can no longer camp in your van unless you have a toilet. this has to be an approved toilet, not a little $200 one you can buy at a sports goods store. parking up for the night in such a van makes you guilty of shitting all over your own country even if you are a responsible camper.

this is all in the name of stopping foreign tourists literally shitting all over us. of course its also to get some money out of them.

don't get me wrong. i've seen what tourists get up to in some of these spots. disgusting stuff.

so now we all cop $200 instant fines. ironically down here they have issued double the infringements this season. you don't want to know the recovery rate for collections though. LESS THAN 9%!!! a complete waste of resources.

the funny thing is thecouncils think they have won the battle against freedom camping as there is less of them this summer. take a look at the exchange rates at present and you will see why there is less freedom campers!

i think it's time for all outdoor user groups to band together and make a stand. some ammended bylaws would be a start.

personally i would like to see some common sense.

1. make tourists pay on departure any fines owed.

2. allow nz'ers the freedom to camp outdoors as they please.

3. don't allow any type of camping to occur in front of people's houses.

4. only fine people that have been caught defacating on the ground surface / near waterways etc. educate tourists on how to dig a hole in the appropriate manner for such occurrences. and make those bloody hire vans be fitted with a shovel. a national map of public toilets or a phone app of the same would make some sense too.

5. and finally if tourists were charged a fee such as $50 upon entering our country that would go a long way towards some infrastructure to handle some of these problems, rather than finding any old quick fix.


in summary, wherever you live, this affects us all. first they take your rights to camp in suitable locations. next will be the removal of the few public fossicking areas.... soon we will all be confined to the city.

simon your point number 4 is interesting, how do you propose someone catch these people crapping or find their crap and trace it back to them lol? dont think i want that job.

it is a bit of a problem and its not just foriegners there are alot of messy kiwis out there too but i think the majority are from overseas.
hefty taxes on the road maggot campers would be great get a few less of them on our roads maybe even make them get some driving lessons and learn road courtesty while theyre at it.
also a map in there of nearest crappers may be a good idea, but have you seen any of your local crappers after a group of chinks has been there? not pretty i would rather them go in the bush sumwhere.

Some good points, some not so good. In regards to the moonlight, the problem up there is not where people take a crap, it is the "damage" caused by the local prospectors, I believe the offenders up there are locals not tourists, I have spoken the them personally, they always complain about DOC bothering them, just the amount of "damage" they have done to the river banks has made DOC step in and do something about it. I don't believe anything would have changed up there if it were not for the local prospectors drawing attention to themselves. Just a few local ******** stuffing it up for the rest of us. Next time any of you are up there have a look at the river banks, you will see why DOC has acted in this case, "leave only footprints" ring any bells. The moonlight is a popular area for a variety of reasons not just prospecting, if you don't believe me, go have a look on Easter weekend.

Was actually Barry's nephew Gary, in the early-mid ninties, a few others too. A lot of alcohol drunk, some howling at the moon, even got a bit of gold at times. Was fun while it lasted. NUGGY

Yes, I know Phil, have been meaning to call in and see him, so will probably run into you there. NUGGY

Hi there fastangler, Mate....I agree. How have you been doing. Have you picked up some work in Chch?
Ahhhhh the Moonlight. I love the place. You & I know a common "local". I stayed with him in his caravan a few years back for several nights while I was up there detecting some moonlight gold. He & a couple of others were doing well sluice boxing for gold. Had a grand few days in their company.
When it comes to gold & you are seriuos about getting it then you need to be seriuos about getting it. You can pussy foot about on the beaches & pissing about behind big rocks & boulders etc in the stream bed & shoveling that crap through your box. Flood gold. Areas that have been done to death. But if you want some real GOLD then you need to hit places that are a lot harder & requier & lot more labour. Oh yer....the banks & areas further away from the river, because it has been done to death. But oh, how DOC will castise you for digging outside of the wet stream area. Those in the know will know that that is where the REAL gold is going to be.....maybe. But you dont know until you look.
Like fastangler said, The damage was done years ago & the next flood will soon abliterate any sign of what you & I do.
Isnt it ironic now how the powers to be are all hell bent on protercting the mess that was left behind from the old timers raping & pillaging the land. The money from that gold & the roads & infestructure that opened up the country & other wise usless land createated from people getting to the goldfields made the roads, towns etc of what we have today. On one hand they say what a bloody mess mining has made on the land scape but if you so much as remove a rock from a mess off jumbled piles of rocks you will be fined & held to task. TOSSERS.

JW :)

By "locals" I meant people who live in NZ and not your tourist who come over for a month in a caravan. I have nothing against people digging where ever they choose, just don't make it so bloody obvious that DOC has no choice but to step in. I fully agree that the creek has been done to death.

Well said, next we need to educate these tree huggers and show them first hand, a trout feeding next to a dredge nozzel , cannt argue with a fish having a feed---and a good flood cleaning the river bed

Good to see we are all on the same page.

That Moonlight gold moves in a decent flood, so does everything else. To see it really going is a sight not to be forgotten easily, Huge trees coming down at high speed and getting smashed to bits, the rumble you can feel as well as hear of the big boulders moving along the bottom. Every time I walked along the lower parts I found gold mining gear, dredge parts etc. It looks so small in good weather, and you can walk across keeping your feet dry in many places, Hard to imagine it does get 10 meters deep and roaring like a hundred mad bulls. Back in the early 90's it seemed to flood way more often than recently has been the case, though it got a reasonably good flush through not long ago. NUGGY