Test the person not the vehicle Previous Next Responsible Campers Association Inc Responsible Campers Association Inc Standing up for the rights of campers in Aotearoa NZ Set up in 2017, the Association (RCAi) surveyed local authorities about responsible freedom camping in their districts, and now focuses on practical management solutions to the many concerns that were identified. Placing the onus on the mode of camping rather than the people, is misdirected in our view. Without even basic camper education, focusing on regulating a campers’ facilities fails to truly solve the problems. RCAi worked on a simple accreditation programme, working with others such as the Department of Conservation and Fire Service staff. Responsible camping — whether using a pup tent or staying in a house-bus — is at the heart of our mission. Our Responsible Camper Accreditation Programme offers a short online questionnaire testing knowledge on water and waste management, environmental fire safety and responsible practices that 'leave no trace'. If you pass you receive an education pack, sticker and ‘Toilet Equipped’ card which is current for two years. Accreditation is open to all campers, no matter how you travel, for a small fee. Councils have been made aware of RCAi's simple solution and many districts unofficially recognise our accreditation. RCAi is a strong advocate for positive solutions to any freedom camping issue, working to protect the right to freedom camp on public land in line with the current permissive Freedom Camping Act, and the Bill of Rights Act. We presented an opposing submission to the select committee that is currently considering Minister Nash’s proposed changes to freedom camping. RCAi members can rely on their volunteer leaders to stand up for their rights as campers in Aotearoa New Zealand. To learn more or gain accreditation go online here: accreditedcampernz.com . Responsible camping — whether using a pup tent or staying in a house-bus — is at the heart of our mission. Previous Next rcai-bike-camper-lake_w_m.webp rcai-bike-camper-lake_w_m.webp 1/1 ​ Advertisment ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 2 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

1 Spring 2022 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Our chance to have our thoughts and feelings heard Time to have your say on the “Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Bill” Wayne Ravelich This bill is in the name of Tourism Minister, Stewart Nash’s proposals on freedom camping and certified self-containment. This Bill has had its first reading in parliament and is now with the select committee to fine tune before going back to parliament for a second reading. The select committee has called for public submissions on the bill. This is our chance to have our thoughts and feelings heard. The bill is an omnibus that amends more than one Act. If passed in its current format the bill will affect the Freedom Camping Act, the Self-contained motor vehicle standard along with NZTA-Waka Kotahi and LINZ land, and how local bodies administer the legislation. This legislation will affect ALL campers and the camping industry in New Zealand for many years to come. The proposed exclusion of portable toilets from the Standard is only one step that affects thousands of responsible campers. We will all be affected on where and how we can camp. We will also carry huge extra administrative costs because of these regulations. Have your voice heard by making a submission. Try and be concise/ to the point, mention how it will affect you and your family. Will the increased cost of self-containment restrict your ability to go camping with friends and family? Tell them what you like and dislike about the bill. Here is the public submissions page. ckw.nz/have-your-say . The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 13 October 2022. Happy camping Wayne Raveich President, All Points Camping Club of NZ Up Up 1 Spring 2022 , p 12

3 Autumn 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption We spent a weekend exploring the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. ©2023 Marty and Diana Ireland We spent a weekend exploring the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. ©2023 Marty and Diana Ireland We spent a weekend exploring the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. ©2023 Marty and Diana Ireland Visitors came for lunch and a swimat the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. ©2023 Marty and Diana Ireland We spent a weekend exploring the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. ©2023 Marty and Diana Ireland ​ Waihopai Reserve Diana and Marty Ireland We spent a weekend exploring the Waihopai Reserve in Marlborough. We came in our Coachman caravan for 2 nights and visitors came for lunch and a swim. The reserve has basic amenities: 2 toilets, kitchen, fresh water, a lounge and a kids play area. Diana and Marty Ireland Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 31

SUMMER 2022 ISSUE 2 BUY PDF INDEX Summer, Issue 2, Camping the Kiwi Way Previous Next Miriam Richardson (Editor) Buy a copy, subscribe for a year's worth of copies, read it on paper, read it here or read the pdf. The choice is yours. Only $12 a copy delivered, $36 for 4 issues. BUY We bring you travel stories, tips, wonderful places to visit, insight into political changes, some solid information, a crossword: light reading, serious reading and some fun browsing. Enjoy Previous This issue is kindly sponsored by the All Points Camping Club of NZ and NZ Lifestyle Camping. Next left-turn-ruapehu_w_th left-turn-train left-turn-pedestrian_w Left-turn-Maungatautari-view_w Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 2 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

SPRING 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF INDEX READ Classified advertising PREVIOUS PREVIOUS NEXT Sell your camping and rv related stuff. Advertise a place to stay. From issue 2 we will be accepting classified advertising. An classified advertisment will appear in the printed magazine, and on the website until the new issue is released. What to send Words and photo. Photo:1mb min. Prices The printed column is 59mm wide, and the charge is per cm. Minimium $30, gives you 3cm; then $5 each extra cm. How to Send your words and any photo to: editor@campingthekiwiway.org BY 1 NOV for the Summer, Deccember issue. ____ BTW: We reserve the right to refuse a listing if we dont feel it is appropriate. ​ NEXT The Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 1 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

SUMMER 2022 ISSUE 2 BUY PDF INDEX Summer, Issue 2, Camping the Kiwi Way Previous Next Miriam Richardson (Editor) Buy a copy, subscribe for a year's worth of copies, read it on paper, read it here or read the pdf. The choice is yours. Only $12 a copy delivered, $36 for 4 issues. BUY We bring you travel stories, tips, wonderful places to visit, insight into political changes, some solid information, a crossword: light reading, serious reading and some fun browsing. Enjoy Previous This issue is kindly sponsored by the All Points Camping Club of NZ and NZ Lifestyle Camping. Next left-turn-ruapehu_w_th left-turn-train left-turn-pedestrian_w Left-turn-Maungatautari-view_w Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 2 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

3 Autumn 2023 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption ​ Mavis at the Pahoia Beach Park Cheine Matheson Here's Mavis hosting the family at Pahoia Beach Park. A must visit place for animal lovers. Bay of Plenty. Cheine Matheson Photo ©2023 Cheine Matheson Up Up 3 Autumn 2023 , p 16

Katikati coastal estuary cycle way Previous Next Bette Cosgrove Cycling on a stunning Spring day around the Katikati coastal estuary cycle way which loops back to the town through the kiwifruit, avo and grape vines. Heard the steady clicking and cracking noises from swift strokes of industrious horticulture workers clipping away at their pruning tasks. Folding bikes are a game changer in our van. An easy way to get around and always safely out of the weather, stored in our under-bed garage. A great transport addition to A Van Called Wanda. Bette Cosgrove #vangranz Photos ©2022 Bette Cosgrove ​ Previous Next Katikati coastal estuary cycle way Cycling on a stunning Spring day around the Katikati coastal estuary cycle way #vangranz ©2022 Bette Cosgrove Folding bikes are a game changer in our van. An easy way to get around and always safely out of the weather, stored in our under-bed garage. A great transport addition to A Van Called Wanda. #vangranz ©2022 Bette Cosgrove Past the orchards, Katikati The cycle way loops back to the town through the kiwifruit, avo and grape vines. #vangranz ©2022 Bette Cosgrove Katikati coastal estuary cycle way Cycling on a stunning Spring day around the Katikati coastal estuary cycle way #vangranz ©2022 Bette Cosgrove 1/5 ​ Advertisment ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 2 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

SPRING 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF INDEX READ Getting the internet on the road PREVIOUS PREVIOUS NEXT There are two ways to get on the internet while on the road: with your mobile phone or with mobile broadband. ONE: mobile phone Modern mobile phones use the internet routinely: have you checked your email? viewed a YouTube video? read Facebook? used Campermate? used Google? All of these use the internet through your phone connection. The plan on your phone determines how much internet you can use in a month. TWO: mobile broadband There is a network of towers through NZ that allows Netspeed and Wireless Nation to give travellers access to mobile broadband. Modem To connect to mobile broadband you need a modem. Generally travellers get an adapter to connect the modem to their 12v/24v power. Choosing: mobile phone or mobile broadband? If you are content to do all your internet connection through your phone, stick with a mobile plan. If you want to connect a tablet, iPad or a computer as well as your phone, you have a choice. To choose a plan you need an idea of • how much data you need, • where you might travel, • what devices you want to connect to the internet, and • whether you want to use your phone as the modem. How much data do you need? What do you normally use? Look back on the last few months of internet use, if you can. Will you continue to use the internet the same? Might you use use less when travelling? Might you watch TV through the internet and use a lot more? Hot spot the phone or use a modem? To use your phone to connect all your devices to the internet, you need a plan that allows you to do it: it is called ‘hot spotting’. When you ‘hot spot’, your phone becomes a wireless network that lets other phones, computers etc get online via the phone. The phone needs to sit where the signal is good while you are using it as a modem. Coverage: where can I get a signal? Your phone/internet provider has an online map that shows their coverage — where you can expect to get a signal. Mobile phones have stronger and more complete cover near towns and cities. Different providers share the towers. The coverage maps show the strength of the signal. There are dead zones with no coverage at all (no towers). Speed The biggest complaint people make is about the speed of the internet when they are travelling. There are several reasons why the internet could be slow. You are comparing it to a fibre connection at home. Mobile broadband is slower than fibre. It just is. You are a long way from a tower, so the signal is weaker, or there is something between you and the tower. Try moving. The nearest tower has lesser capacity. Some towers have greater capacity than others. Areas with few people may well have lesser capacity — and a bevy of motorhomers enjoying the back of beyond at the same time might overload it. You are parked up with a bunch of other travellers who are all using the same tower at the same time to get online. (Netspeed, Wireless Nation and local providers are all using the same towers.) You, or your neighbours are doing something that uses a lot of data: downloading video, visual phone calls, online TV or listening to radio, all use quite a bit of data. The locals are busy and using the same tower at the same time. The modem or its connection needs refreshing: do a speed test (www.speedtest.net ), and then talk to your provider. _____________ I hear people on Facebook saying ‘I am with xxx and I have no speed problems.’ This is not a big help: it all depends where they have been travelling, how far they have been from the mobile tower, when they tend to use the internet, and how many others are using it at the same time. There might be particular times when the towers are being overworked: before work; after school; evening entertainment time (video and TV use a lot of data). Try after 11pm, at 1am, at 6am: if the speed is good, then it is a competition problem. ____________ Aerials Having an aerial on the roof might improve your internet connection. BY: Miriam Richardson Photo: ©2022 Miriam Richardson Next issue: How to choose an internet provider I hear people on Facebook saying ‘I am with xxx and I have no speed problems.’ This is not a big help... NEXT The Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 1 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

SUMMER 2022 ISSUE 2 BUY PDF INDEX Summer, Issue 2, Camping the Kiwi Way Previous Next Miriam Richardson (Editor) Buy a copy, subscribe for a year's worth of copies, read it on paper, read it here or read the pdf. The choice is yours. Only $12 a copy delivered, $36 for 4 issues. BUY We bring you travel stories, tips, wonderful places to visit, insight into political changes, some solid information, a crossword: light reading, serious reading and some fun browsing. Enjoy Previous This issue is kindly sponsored by the All Points Camping Club of NZ and NZ Lifestyle Camping. Next left-turn-ruapehu_w_th left-turn-train left-turn-pedestrian_w Left-turn-Maungatautari-view_w Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 2 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

SPRING 2022 ISSUE 1 BUY PDF INDEX READ How to organise a group weekend PREVIOUS PREVIOUS NEXT We all look forward to the catch ups, the fun, laughter and good times; doing as much or as little as we choose at the venues. I give a venue address and date, at the right price, along with a list of possible activities that members can explore, including just relaxing and lazing and refreshing ourselves. We regularly have around 20–25 people at our camps in a range of motorhomes, caravans, buses and yes tents too, along with up to 6 dogs. We have a wide range of people of all ages and senses of humour. Happy hour (and beyond) can often mean a good belly laugh or three as people get the mood going and the stories flowing. BY: Mary Reid, All Points Camping Club in Waikato/ Bay of Plenty Keep on making memories, having fun, meeting new people and exploring: #campingTheKiwiWay Photo: An All Points Camping gathering on an Ohope orchard (Bay of Plenty). August 2022 Photo: Poptop get together ©2022 Adam Beaumont ​ NEXT The Ad ISSN 2815-827X (Online) | ISSN:2815-8261 (Print) ISSUE 1 editor@campingthekiwiway.org

7 Autumn 2024 BUY AUTHOR INDEX AUTHORS Click on image for full view and caption Camping The Elgrand is self-contained for camping on its own, or I use it to tow the caravan. Flexibility. ©2024 Gary Stoneley I just want to go camping. It’s healthy, its fun, and it keeps me sane. Hey NZ Govt? You are messing with my mental health Gary Stoneley I go camping for my mental health. Bev and I have done this for over 25 years. It is our choice to go camping with a caravan, but I could use my Elgrand van if I wanted. I’m not happy with the NZ Government interfering with my choice of leisure time by restricting how I go camping. I consider myself a responsible camper and pretty much everyone I know is. Whether they have a tent, trailer camper, small van, housebus or caravan I have rarely seen fellow campers not respecting the environment. I remember in the 1990’s staying at a campsite somewhere, or maybe on a caravan club rally and being taught how to remove a patch of turf (to be replaced later) and let the kitchen waste water soak into the ground below the surface, or to have a bucket with a couple of holes in the bottom so all the solids were kept and water drained away. A loose cap on a waste container did much the same. That’s not something you see so much any more. It wasn’t uncommon for the caravan waste water to be used to water trees, away from activity areas. Any residual food matter was soon gobbled up by hungry little animals. Campers now, are far more aware of the negative effect of chemicals and the health risk of not disposing of waste water properly. But it’s not unusual in a rural setting to be told, just dump it on the ground or around trees. Didn’t dishwater deal to aphids on plants? The expectations placed on campers are now much higher than they were 20 to 30 years ago. The first New Zealand Self-containment Standard was published in 1990 and was a joint effort by multiple organisations and government departments working together. Initially only covering motorhomes and caravans — people were living in these it seemed — the Standard set some minimum expectations for both the occupant’s health and reducing environmental harm. A real plus about this was that weekend camping events could be held at venues like schools or reserves without facilities and organisers could say their campers were self-contained and took all their waste with them. It was an extension of the Caravan Club and wider camping adage of ‘Pack in, pack out’. Skipping forward a quarter of a century and self-containment has become a government regulatory tool for NZ’s vehicle campers. Yes, it is targeted and policed at those who chose to camp in a vehicle, with considerable infringement fees. And it is affecting my mental health and the mental health of thousands of NZ campers and our supporting industry. Why is the NZ government restricting and penalising NZ campers, who choose to use a vehicle to camp rather than a tent? Our family caravan has a permanently fixed, sealed, toilet, but the NZ government wants us to fit an external vent to it. It’s pointless and will just fumigate the camper next door. My trusty Elgrand I can’t enjoy for camping anymore, unless I permanently fix a toilet into it. Well that screws up putting sheets of gib in it now. It’s stressful just thinking about all this. Should I even bother getting a new ‘green’ warrant card for freedom camping? If I don’t submit, where can I camp at no cost? Hey, NZ Government, Stop screwing with my leisure time activity! It’s affecting my mental health! I just want to go camping. It’s healthy, its fun, and it keeps me sane. “Camping in all its different forms puts us on the doorstep of the great outdoors and provides a clear pathway to a healthier and happier lifestyle – one in which people appreciate nature more and are active outdoors. Given the many negative events that have been happening in recent times at home and abroad, anything that helps people to feel better about themselves and each other is vitally important.” Sabina Voysey, The Camping and Caravanning Club’s Director General Read the report: ckw.nz/outjoyment Download : ckw.nz/outjoyment-pdf DOC has also given us articles about 'outjoyment' A new free guide to help improve well-being by connecting with nature for therapy is available in Tairāwhiti, Gisborne. Short walks, sightseeing, photography, and bird and wildlife watching were the most popular outdoor activities for kiwi and international visitors. Articles in this issue on the freedom camping law changes: Predictable problems with the new CSC green warrant system (p2) Editorial (p3) Self-containment warrant cards: Which one is yours? (p6) So you want to freedom camp (p8) What is ‘self-contained’, anyway? (p10) Enforcement of freedom camping rules (p12) I am not freedom camping' cards (p14) Do your bit: Task of the week (p16) No more freedom camping (p16) Kaikōura: the freedom camping Wild West (p18) Hey NZ Govt? You are messing with my mental health (p20) 7 days a week (p21) Celebrating Summer (p5) Up Up 7 Autumn 2024 , p 20