newhue wrote:Mated with an on the spot stiff fine the word would get around the back packers pretty fast.
People do get fined from time to time, especially for camping infringements (sometimes by councils rather than DOC). Problems with fines in NZ include that there's no guaranteed way to be sure that a person is who they say they are, that DOC staff in remote places can't necessarily exert much authority over other people who don't cooperate because what are they going to do anyway (keep in mind that we're often talking about volunteer wardens who'd much rather be helping people than punishing them and creating uncomfortable situations!)...., and that backpackers often simply leave the country without paying fines.
I don't personally understand why NZ immigration doesn't have a working system for stopping people at the border when there are certain types of fines owing, and at least forcing them to swipe a credit card or something, but I think that problem is also larger than DOC and the conservation estate.