There have been a number of examples of desecration of taonga over recent days and now this - freedom campers shitting on a pa site - FFS - listen up freedom campers - your goddam arse is going to fall off for this type of offence.
From EMMA DANGERFIELD - The Marlborough Express
"Freedom campers have desecrated a pa site in Kaikoura with human waste.
Te Runanga O Kaikoura member Maurice Manawatu of Maori Tours Kaikoura visits the site daily as the starting point of a cultural tour.
"I am fuming," he says. "The whanau is really upset too. It's just desecration of land that was gifted to the community and it's not on."
The pa holds important cultural significance for Maori and is a place where many visitors go to understand the area's native history, with its fortified walls, now raised mounds of grass, telling the story of how the area was once protected.
One German tourist spoken to on Monday who had been sleeping in his car at the pa, suggested facilities in Scarborough St needed to be "improved" to prevent people such as him from using the bushes as toilets.
The man, who declined to be named, said he had camped at the pa because there was no sign telling him not to.Nice one german tourist - another fine example of arrogance and stupidity. I suppose you have a shit next to stonehenge do you?
it is very simple - if they abuse maori hospitality then send them back to where they came from. The almighty dollar is nothing compared to respecting maori culture. How long is this going to go on? How long?
14 comments:
Kia ora Marty,
It all just smacks to me of how many people are so disconnected from any connection at all to the land, to the earth, much less grasp the importance of any particular patch as being significant to a group of people. Very sad that visitors can travel so freely amongst such a place, and yet feel no remorse about dumping their human waste where ever it may suit. This says a lot about the emerging human condition.
Cheers,
Robb
Kia ora Robb
Yes very true mate, all of these areas are inconnected. I am always amazed how people can feel nature is out there and that they are not part of nature - when the opposite seems so self evident.
agree with you and rob. i think there is also a lot of arrogance among tourists (even the enlightened backpacker kind) that leads them to believe a place exists for them to come and 'see'. that somehow they need to be 'catered to'.
many years ago, tourists were banned from a sacred hill near where i lived. while it seemed close-minded at the time, i see now what they were attempting. looking back, i am glad they did. hopefully things will not need to get so bad here.
I wish I had sufficient words for my whanaunga from Ngāti Kurī for the gross insult that has been shown to them by these particular people.
For several years I lived very close to a site much frequented by freedom travellers. It had a notice that was always ignored so, unfortunately, I fear that signposting may not be of much assistance.
Likewise, I remember vividly being 'threatened' with deliberate acts of defecation when permission to put a paku was declined for the top of Motupōhue, a tōpuni site. It seems many people have no control of their bowels and bladders or are too lazy to take themselves to places where conveniences are available.
Are tourists from other countries really worse at this than New Zealanders? I am unsure. Perhaps it is the 'free' from freedom that makes them think that they don't need to be responsible for the environment, respectful of the law and considerate of the rights and property of others.
Sorry anon - too personal, but your second paragraph was good.
Kia ora Marty,
Another point that needs to be raised is exactly who it is renting these to tourists and making money off it. Perhaps there should be additional charges or a bond posted to go towards clean up costs. Seems just handing over the keys and a road map with no education or introduction to Aotearoa is a bit slack. I am in no way condoning the actions of tourists being ignorant and piggish, but they get these vans from here.
Cheers,
Robb
Good point Robb
In some ways it is the responsibility of our whole society too. The attitude of the tourists in not being aware of the significance of te ao maori is really a reflection of our countries attitude to te ao maori. We can't really expect too much from tourists when the fundamental foundations of our society are crooked. Not withstanding all of that - everyone knows where and where not to do a poo.
The companies who work with tourists could be at the forefront of creating the right attitude towards this country and the people. Hell it could just be a little bit of paper with the do's and don'ts.
These pa sites are some of the best places to encourage understanding of maoritanga. They are a pretty premanent reminder of maori society before settlers and the story of these sites is our story and valuable for all of us to learn.
I have recently had several conversations with "freedom" campers/ backpackers, car and van sleepers etc. (many of whom have NOT rented vehicles from anyone but purchased cheap second hand vehicles to travel around and sleep in while they are in NZ and then sell them when they leave).
While it has traditionally been the case in NZ for residents to camp in designated camping areas (until the recent move to self- contained campervans), I am told that the opposite is the understanding of foreign tourists - any morsel of our countryside that is not littered with "NO CAMPING" signs they will consider fair game to stop at, and if there is no toilet in sight, they will neither travel to the nearest public toilets nor take the trouble to even bury their waste.
I think the best way to combat this is by a POSITIVE publicity campaign by the Govt or Tourism NZ or whoever, perhaps with a bit of humour, such as having a house (in an obviously foreign location, or several separate national locations) with a Kiwi bird squatting in the backyard and saying "we don't come and pollute YOUR backyard - please don't pollute OURS!" (with a generic montage of roadsides, rivers, mountains, lakes etc. with various obviously non-NZ people doing their business -tastefully of course!)
Plus publicity everywhere tourists go (including the hire companies for campervans etc.) to educate visitors that in NZ if it doesn't say you CAN camp, then you CAN'T. I shudder to suggest roadside hoardings such as the road safety messages use to good advantage, but that might be one way to get the message across.
Perhaps also developing inexpensive and practical to use "poo pots" for people genuinely caught short, and making it as easy as possible for people to empty portable toilets to encourage their use would help?
Despite their behaviour to the contrary, most of these tourists are attracted by NZ's "Clean Green" reputation - before we get hostile and start prosecuting people (which is MY instinct!) some way of levering off this sentiment might work?
In this case the "cultural" insensitivity is not specific to Maori sites but to EVERYWHERE in Aotearoa!! (I have heard tales of people taking a dump on paved public car parks.)
good ideas anon and I agree we need to come up with a positive approach for these people caught short, after all having a poo is one of the things we all have in common.
Humour is the way to go.
I think maybe it needs a bit more then a sign, but rather harsher penalties when people are caught desecrating sites. If you go over to other countries such as Japan/Singapore people receive major fines when they spit or litter in the streets. Maybe we need to bring in penalties, after all you currently receive a fine of 500.00 if you kill a red bill gull why not for camping in the wrong places, such as wahi tapu, tourist sites or cemeteries.
These sites are generally well sign posted even if they don't have "no camping" signs.
Another way to attack it is to possibly reduce the costs of camping areas, especially DOC owned ones or opening up alternative areas where people can park.
I am astounded by your comments.
If a tourist is too bloody lazy to use a public, or a pub's toilet then they are the sort of person that we do not want in our country.
Moving one's bowels, in any place other than a flush toilet, is too offensive to even think about.
Okay, like the mayor of North Shore I have had a leak or three against a tree, but number twos in a public space is the pits.
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