The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1975. Camping at Mount Cook

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 14

The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1975. Camping at Mount Cook

The .Mount Cook National Park Board has decided not to allow visitors to the Park — except climbers in the park's least accessible areas — to camp. This decision lays the board open to the charge of failing to administer the park in accord with the spirit, if not the letter, of the National Parks Act This act requires park boards to administer national parks “ in such a manner as to secure to the public the fullest proper use and enjoyment of the park consistent with the preservation of its natural features and the protection and well-being of its native flora and fauna ”. By banning camping, the board is excluding from full "use and enjoyment of the park " the very people who are likely to use the park in ways most consistent with the ideals written into the National Parks Act.

Until this year, visitors to Mount Cook were allowed to camp at White Horse Hill, about a mile up the Hooker Valley from the Hermitage. This attractive site was poorly provided with facilities, but used heavily, particularly in the summer months. The board has.claimed that the site is unsuitable for a permanent camping ground because of the climate. In fact. White Horse Hill is a reasonably sheltered spot which provides generally pleasant camping conditions. Occasional strong winds make conditions unpleasant for camping, but campers are generally prepared to take risks like that and are generally philosophical about being occasionally washed out or blown away. The ban on camping may be welcome m certain other circles, because a properly equipped camping ground close to the Hermitage would provide competition for the recently completed chalets. If the chalets were not fully occupied during the holiday season, those who have been urging the provision of reasonably inexpensive familv accommodation at Mount Cook — among them lhe Minister of Tourism (Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan) — would be embarrassed The board is probably anxious also to prevent development in the lower Hooker Valley above the Hermitage in order to protect the area’s scenic attraction. This concern is commendable, and prohibiting camping at White Horse Hill would be justified on these grounds But the ban should be imposed only after the board has developed a camping ground, or has licensed someone else to do so. elsewhere in the park or on the park’s peripherv An amendment to the National Parks Act. passed last year, gave park boards the power to administer property outside the parks themselves Areas suitable for development as a camping ground exist down the main highway, within four or five miles of the Hermitage The site of the village that was planned by the board, but never built, is one such area If an area outside the park were chosen, fast-growing exotic trees could be planted to provide the necessary shelter The closing of the motor camp at Pukaki next summer (the site will be submerged) will leave campers visiting the Mackenzie Basin very poorly served. But even if provision for a camping ground is made in the new village at Pukaki. the onus is still on the Mount Cook National Park Board to ensure that campers are provided with adequate facilities in or very near to the national park. If access to the park is confined to day-trippers and tourists, the park will not be providing as many New Zealanders as it could with opportunities for “ inspiration, enjoyment and recreation ’.