As much-needed seasonal and hospitality workers descend on the region for the busy season, a growing number are opting for a van-based life in the face of a worker accommodation shortage. 

Unlike the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), the Central Otago District Council (CODC) does not have a bylaw to regulate freedom camping.

The absence of some enforcement measures a bylaw would provide may have provided a solution (of sorts) to the current worker accommodation shortage in the district.

The Central App has spoken to workers who can’t find accommodation and have instead begun living in vehicles, moving between locations every few days.

Contact Energy Clyde Dam Camp Site 

One couple, who did not want to be identified, said they had looked for rental accommodation in either Clyde or Alexandra for two months before purchasing a van.

“We were left with no alternative; we either left our jobs and moved on or brought a van. We would happily rent a house, but what suitable rentals we find are either way too expensive, or they go so fast we miss out,” the young couple said.

The couple is moving between campsites with others who share their circumstances. 

“There’s a community rotating around secret park-up spots and campsites. We’ve got some great van-life friends out of the situation.”

One man working in the hospitality sector said he would struggle to pay the rent being asked for a room in Cromwell even if he could find a space.

“My boss is paying me just over minimum wage. If I park in random spots or driveways, I can afford to live here. If I had to pay high rent, I’d probably have to go back home to Southland, which would be a bummer,” he said.

The LINZ Lowburn campsite   

The bill to replace the 2011 Freedom Camping Act has just entered the select committee stage in parliament.

In a submission last year, CODC indicated a preference for centralised regulation of freedom camping to avoid the financial responsibility of monitoring and enforcement falling on Central Otago’s small ratepayer base. 

The CODC was recently granted $110,000 from the government to go towards formulating a bylaw, public education and enforcement while awaiting the passage of legislation through parliament.

A CODC spokesperson said it would be enforcing the three-night stay limit at its Pinders Pond site in Roxburgh.