OPINION: To research our show New Zealand Today, I search tirelessly for a freedom camping van without a toilet.
Pre-COVID-19, I used to love the months when nothing would happen in New Zealand. Literally nothing. We would go weeks, months and sometimes years without anything happening. Be honest, what do you remember about 2008? Nothing! Why? Because nothing happened!
During this time we have to make up stories to keep ourselves interested, and my favourite was freedom camping. For the uninitiated, freedom camping is when you camp on public land that isn't a recognised camping ground or holiday park - which can sometimes be quite distressing to local residents.
Basically, the freedom camping 'movement' was a direct result of New Zealand being a great place to visit. Young people would hire campervans and travel around the country having a great time - and rich people lucky enough to live near beaches hated it.
Why? They are often annoying, they contribute very little to the local economy, and worst of all, they occasionally don't clean up after themselves.
Most noticeably, some of them, sometimes, have a little too much freedom with their toilet habits - and I have to agree, if I was living in paradise it would drive me crazy.
Of course, once I started interviewing people on the topic, it was much more complicated than the headlines and social media might suggest. Some people freedom camp because they're poor, and most importantly, it's hard to legislate against freedom camping without also affecting people who are forced to sleep in their cars due to the housing crisis.
In a town like Tākaka, a mecca for freedom camping in the Nelson-Tasman region, I found locals divided on the topic, mainly depending on their jobs.
Motel owners and campground operators obviously loathe them, but bars and supermarkets love them.
Most locals' opinions were divided between rich people who wanted the campers away from them, and less rich people who had freedom-camped themselves.
However, there was one thing everyone in Tākaka could agree on: the vaccine was invented by Bill Gates to microchip the population and at the behest of the Pope.
I’m joking, naturally. Shout out to the one man who told me he was only getting vaccinated to go to Snoop Dogg in 2022 - only for Snoop Dogg to cancel last month. Maybe Snoop Dogg was a false flag set up by the Illuminati to trick young Tākaka people into getting vaccinated? Maybe Snoop Dogg is a member of the Illuminati?
Whether they're sleeping in vans or houses, vaccinated or unvaccinated, I hope everyone in Tākaka is staying warm and dry this winter.
Watch the video above.
