A guide to what you can’t bring into New Zealand’s national parks – Stuff

Cats in jackets going for a walk with their owners on Taranaki Maunga is one of New Zealand's biggest biodiversity chuckles in two decades.

But the Department of Conservation (DOC) is not amused, and rightly so. It's using the threat of a fine for the Auckland tourists as a way to educate people about the dangers of bringing pets into our protected reserves and our 13 treasured national parks.

Aotearoa has more than 10,000 protected areas, covering more than 8.6 million hectares (about 32% of our total land area).

As soon as you enter one of those areas your pet is no longer a pet it's a pest. But what else can't you take in? Here's what you need to know before you make your next trip.

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No, you can't take your cat. No, you can't take your dog. No, you can't take your pig. And no, you can't take your goldfish.

Leave them at home or leave them in a kennel. Otherwise, you could face a fine of up to $100,000.

Tom Lee/Stuff

New Zealands national parks are fragile ecosystems.

DOC spokesman Herb Christophers said threatened species can be wiped out by the arrival of just one pet that gets loose.

Cats and dogs, the most common companion animals, are natural predators even in their domesticated form, no matter how well trained they may be.

Christophers said dogs were invaluable for DOC in species management roles, but its specially trained dogs were muzzled when they were on the job in national parks.

"The Department of Conservation is continually dealing with feral cats and wild dogs not just in national parks but in many areas of high natural value."

One of the most flagrant breaches in Christophers' memory came in 2002. The owners of five ferrets took them on a yacht ride and then a leashed walk on environmentally sensitive Great Barrier Island.

Because of its isolation, Great Barrier is free of major introduced predators and DOC's Great Barrier area manager, Dale Tawa, said at the time he'd rushed to the beach after the report with his "heart in [his] mouth".

Those on the boat had been planning to stay for a week, and Tawa said he was horrified to think of the damage one ferret could do to wildlife if it escaped.

"They eat anything and everything," he said. Ferrets were banned as pets in New Zealand later that year.

Introduced animals are a problem, and so too are plants. Wilding pines continue to be a major issue in many national parks, particularly in Mackenzie Country and the central North Island.

Then there's heather in Tongariro National Park. Christophers says it was planted by a Scottish DOC ranger 100 years ago to provide a habitat for grouse and a taste of home.

Although the birds were never introduced, the plant flourished and was soon widespread through the parks red tussocklands.

"It's become the biggest weed this side of the black stump, the absolute bane of our lives," Christophers says.

While the introduction of seedlings is a far less common occurrence than a family pet being brought in, it's worth noting that you should never do it.

Take only photographs, leave only footprints. We all know this one. You can face big fines (once again up to $100,000) for littering or abandoning things like cars or planes in national parks.

Often it's not rubbish when you bring it in, but it is by the time you leave. If there's no bin around, or if it won't fit in the bin, just take it home with you.

Te Papakura o Taranaki (formerly Egmont National Park) is a hot spot for whiteware and weed clippings, and roughly two years ago, DOC uncovered a pile that really sucked 100 abandoned vacuum cleaners in Southland.

Mike Watson/Stuff

The Pouakai Circuit track in Te Papakura o Taranaki.

While DOC doesn't have much else that it can prosecute you for bringing into a national park, it goes without saying that you can't just bring anything.

National parks and conservation sites are often, understandably, sacred sites for local iwi.

In 2011, a group of 25 young climbers took a barbecue to the summit of the mountain but were later condemned for their actions, which were labelled a tapu offence.

Then in 2013, a group took a trampoline to the Pouakai Range, which also raised eyebrows.

Christophers said DOC has increased searching powers at national parks. That means rangers can stop and search your vehicle at any time if they believe you're breaching the National Parks Act you'd struggle to get away with bringing in something weird and threatening like a barrel of oil.

Weapons are another thing to leave at home.

"You probably can't park your nuclear submarines out at Abel Tasman. And putting intercontinental ballistic missiles on the top of Ruapehu that'd get people involved, I'd say."

Last but not least, Christophers, like so many of us, likes the quiet of the backcountry.

Mytchall Bransgrove/Stuff

Aoraki/Mt Cook. The quiet of the backcountry is one of its great allures.

Our national parks are one of the few places where it remains, though helicopter tours have eroded parts of it in recent years.

While it's not illegal to bring and play your portable sound systems, have a really long think about whether that's going to be the right thing to do.

Once youve done that, leave it at home.

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A guide to what you can't bring into New Zealand's national parks - Stuff