Freedom Camping in the Mackenzie

Welcome to our District, we hope you enjoy your stay!

The Mackenzie District Council asks that all independent overnight campers behave in an acceptable manner while camping in the District.

This includes:

1. Leaving camp sites in a clean and tidy state;

2. Limiting stays at any one site to a maximum of two nights and this period shall not be exceeded in any calendar month;

3. Disposing of all toilet and wastewater at a Council approved dump point (one in Fairlie and Twizel, two in Lake Tekapo);

4. Disposing of all other refuse in approved bags and at approved locations;

5. Following safe fire practices at all times, including fire bans;

6. Keeping dogs under control at all times.

The Mackenzie District is a Zero-Waste District. All rubbish is sorted carefully to ensure that the majority of waste produced is able to be recycled. The Council provides rubbish bags available for purchase black bags for residual rubbish, green bags for organic, compostable waste, and clear bags for clean recyclables at supermarkets in Tekapo and Twizel, the Cuncil office in Twizel & Fairlie and Fairlie House & Garden.

Please help us to support this policy by sorting rubbish as follows:

1. Clean recyclables: paper, cardboard, glass, plastic (these should be separated);

2. Organic compostable waste: food;

3. Residual waste: batteries, nappies, items made of mixed materials etc.

These bags are collected kerbside each Monday or, alternatively, the bags can be dropped off at the Resource Recovery Parks in Fairlie, Tekapo andTwizel.