"Poo in a Loo"

On the Routeburn this winter: big healthy human poo, right on the track, just up from Routeburn Falls hut. Gross! I nudged it off the track with a stone. Later that same day, came across a woman pissing on the track. There was grass and tussock either side of the track but nope, she just went right there.

Happens on the streets of Paris. Yay Diversity !.

There was one right on the track of the Tongariro Northern Circuit. I reached down to pick up some paper that I thought was mere litter. It was sitting on top of a poo right there on the track. No effort to carry it out (obviously). No effort to get off the track. No effort to dig a hole (it was low enough for that). Not even an effort to cover it with rocks. Yip - adults need training, but I wouldn't assume they are foreign.

i first did the routeburn 11 years ago. never saw any human waste on the track or loo paper I did it again recently and saw two dumps inc toilet paper.... one in a wide flattish area where people move around to look at the view, the other right next to the track.. both were near some shrubs, but they just did it on the open ground... ranger told me she had to clear one of the track the day before and it was a regular occurence they are organised enough to have toilet paper and to get it out to clean themselves up. but zero effort to bury it or even go off the track. there are a lot more runners now on the routeburn than i used to see... how many of them bother to bury their waste... theres obviously different types of people that didnt use to frequent the track as much...

NZ has totally urbanised people like any other nation. They drop their business in a toilet without even having to look at it if they don't want to. Press a button and it's gone. 'Ew, the thought of being a responsible human be damned, my poo won't make any difference. Bears s--t in the woods too. Lucky buggers don't even have to wipe. I'm not walking amongst the dirt and grass to squeeze that out when i have a clear space here right on the track. Keep an eye out for anyone, will ya?' or maybe it's more like, 'hey, this'll create a laugh. i'll snap one off right here.' People can be so far removed from natural living. A couple of co-workers i've spoken to recently, from Brazil, say that toileting in their country requires people to dispose of their own paper elsewhere because the sewerage system simply doesn't accommodate the workload.

Re pissing on the track. In sone US parks I've visited thats what you're asked to do. The cascades specifically. Can't recall the logic but suspect it was about limiting the human footprint on the park. Urinating within the area thats already human affected, scented.

In the USA currently, they're closing parks, or their campgrounds, as the Govt. shut-down bites into funding. Staff levels are way down. Toilets are locked, over-flowing, or nearly so. ""“At Joshua Tree and Yosemite, impacts from human waste is a concern, which includes people relieving themselves in public places, such as behind buildings [and] on roadsides,” said Andrew Muñoz, a park service spokesperson. He described the situation as a health hazard and said that the litter increased the risk of dangerous interactions between people and wildlife."" ""Ken Yager is a well-known local and climbing enthusiast who has spent 15 years organizing trash pickups in Yosemite at his own expense. He utilizes staff and supplies from his personal cleaning business to arm volunteers with hundreds of trash-collecting claws, gloves and bags as they spread through the park .... many Yosemite visitors “don’t know how to poop in the wilderness.” They aren’t digging what are often referred to as “cat holes” and burying their waste.... he has noticed some trash off the main roads and recreation areas, but most of the considerable littering has been done on trails or off the beaten path – where he believes visitors feel they can get away with it."" ""STAY OUT OF THE PARKS UNTIL THEY'RE FULLY STAFFED! These are the current conditions in Yosemite National Park due to the government shutdown. There was so much I didn't photograph because I was too disgusted to touch my phone. Human waste is EVERYWHERE but there is also SO MUCH regular TRASH... so much! In addition, people are parking wherever they want and driving through the forests and meadows (and unleashing their dogs, because they feel they can get away with it). Please, share this message. STAY OUT OF THE PARKS!"" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/04/national-parks-government-shutdown https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/political-notebook/article223827330.html It's somebody elses problem in a foreign country, but I still don't like mass tourism treating my country like an open sewer.

Took some mates out recently for an overnighter in Aussie. Nothing like NZ and not many loos around. Had no idea about pooing in the woods and had to do a full rehearsal for them right down to giving the poo a good stir with stick to break it down quicker. Needless to say they all held on till we got out. It's all about how you've been brought up and what you have been taught. Train em, don't blame em. I think with the amount of tourists on the more popular walks packing it out may have to become an option.