Clutha District Council moved to address issues with unregulated freedom camping in the area in 2019, following growing unrest among local people. In response, the council established a freedom camping site for self-contained campers behind the Catlins Inn in Ōwaka and adopted a proactive, educational approach for its freedom camping wardens. "[It’s] been effective in helping manage freedom camping." Miss Hintner said apps such as CamperMate made it easy to find and use official freedom camping sites. "Some areas have more freedom camping available than others, but I can understand if people want to keep things clean and under control.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 29, 2025 16:33 UTC