Motorbike Mayhem
adventure tours in New Zealand often have to share the wilderness with illegal motorbike riders. Department of conservation (DoC) rangers recently issued quite a few infringement notices to drivers found operating vehicles inside restricted areas of South Westland World Heritage Area following reports of unauthorised motor vehicle use.
Illegal use of motorbikes and four-wheel drive vehicles on fire breaks and management roads causes significant impacts to our sensitive ecosystem, park visitors, and neighbours by: causing substantial erosion and degradation of breaks and roads, subsequently hindering the Department of Conservation’s response to wildfires and requiring expensive repairs to infrastructure; introducing and spreading weeds along the trail network; polluting watercourses with sediment and nutrients that diminish water quality and threaten the health of dependant plants and wildlife; creating negative experiences for park visitors; endangering the safety of walkers, mountain bike riders and horse riders; and creating noise pollution and unrest for local residents.
