We're currently parked up in a legal no-man's land. The Coromandel is the location of a showdown between the local authority (Thames Coromandel District Council) and the NZ Motor Caravan Association. The short version of this story is that the TCDC passed a bylaw which was considered pretty excessive regarding the rights of people wanting to stay in self contained vehicles. This was challenged in Court by the NZ Motor Caravan Association who won the court case.
But on the ground, things are quite interesting - first morning we got a knock on the door at 7:00am: the council officer told us we couldn't park where we were, but they weren't giving out fines and the new rules came into effect on the 1st of December, 2014. Upon closer questioning this meant we could essentially park anywhere until then.
Now this page here sums up the TCDC position with the opening line: "
We welcome responsible freedom campers on the Coromandel.
Good start, but the first officer also told us that the website was out of date. Hmmmm.
The next morning (this morning) another knock on the door - this time at 6:45am. Now the website is unclear at what time the TCDC intends to welcome responsible freedom campers so 6:45am is apparently when they intend to make you feel welcome. Now I'm not a freedom camper. My house is mobile and I'm not camping - I'm living. I know camping - I've done camping. When you're camping however no-one wants their door knocked on at 6:45am; especially when it's a local representative on the council who tells you he'll be writing you a warning notice for parking where you are not allowed. This "warning notice" is in reality a fine for $200. $400 all up as our friends are travelling with us for the week.
We questioned him as to where we could park and his answer was no-where at the moment except for DOC sites.
The officer; I kid you not quoted the website directly as he left: "we welcome responsible freedom campers to the Coromandel" (I did ask him if this was a joke). This indicates to me a council decision to direct him to say this which amounted to: you can't park anywhere, we'll give you a $200 fine if we catch you and "we welcome responsible campers to the Coromandel".
Amusingly Mr Council man returned in about 15 minutes and asked for the fines back as he had to destroy them. He said we were right, there were to be no fines and it was to be like this till the 1st of December. He said we could park anywhere and if we parked at the reserve just down the road we could enjoy the fantastic cafes and the best pizza. He also said the mayors house was down there and that the mayor would love this (tongue in cheek).
Shaky start but now we're getting somewhere. We've had no problems anywhere in NZ so far. We've always been "responsible", even picking up other peoples rubbish and dumping it properly at our own cost and we've hardly ever destroyed some of the stupidest signage we've ever seen. But never before have we been directed to the Mayors place and been told he'd love to see us. Hat tip to the Coromandel and we'd like to put the word out. If you've ever thought a Coromandel road trip was a good idea - November is your month. Seize it. Live like it's 1977. Park anywhere. Enjoy the views. Meet the locals. Make the mayor's day and pay him a visit (we're thinking of dropping in around 6:45am to see if he's up for pancakes). But come December if your planning on staying a week - you may still have to search pretty hard to find an appropriate spot. If you're feeling irresponsible; pack $1400 and get up nice and early each morning so you're all prepared for that special TCDC welcome. They seem to be nice enough fellows so you could always make them pancakes.