THE best place in Australia a veteran "van-lifer" has ever free camped is the Horseshoe Beach carpark, and he hopes it never changes.
He's in luck, because despite signs that claim overnight stays are not allowed, there's been more than a decade of confusion about regulation of the East End parking area.
The van-lifer the Newcastle Herald spoke with on Wednesday had stayed in the lot, near Nobbys and Horseshoe beaches and a short stroll from the CBD, half-a-dozen times in his 12 years on the road.
He said he had never had a problem with rangers, police or locals.
"This is like the best place I've ever stayed," he said.
"This place is chill as."
He collected rubbish and looked after the environment because he wanted to be welcomed back to Newcastle again.
He said if a crackdown on free camping came at the carpark, "it would be the worst".
"No harm, no foul," he told the Herald.
"I'm not camping on your front lawn."
The carpark has found itself at the centre of controversy again, with City of Newcastle clocking nine complaints in two months about camper vans, and people living in their cars, at East End locations.
But Transport for NSW owns the carpark at Horseshoe Beach, so council rangers and parking officers can't undertake any enforcement action.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said it was aware of the "issue of free campers utilising the carpark" and was working with Newcastle council on "management of the area".
The spokesperson said community members should contact police if they wanted to report "trespassing".
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about when a Transport for NSW officer last went to the carpark or whether any compliance action had been taken in the past two months.
A decade ago, in January 2014, a Herald poll revealed that 85 per cent of the 1500 people that voted thought council should ban camping near Horseshoe Beach.
An Italian tourist camping in that same carpark 10 years later said it was recommended to her by locals as a safe spot to spend the night.
She's been on the road for more than a month, heading south from Cairns, and said Newcastle had been very welcoming.
She said police had passed by her on Tuesday night and it was "fine".
"The camping life gives a good vibe to the area ... this is one of the best spots," she said.
"I feel very in contact with the nature here but at the same time you have the city just one step from the beach.
"We are quiet, we maintain everything clean ... we're not bothering the locals."
The City of Newcastle spokesperson confirmed council staff cleaned Horseshoe Beach and maintained the grassed area at Camp Shortland "in the absence" of Transport for NSW doing so.
Camper vans and motorhomes have also been spotted at King Edward Park and Fort Drive, where overnight stays are not allowed, according to signage.
The City of Newcastle spokesperson said each time a complaint was made, a ranger went to the location, and if campers were on land where council had regulatory powers, action could be taken.
The spokesperson said state government laws limited the enforcement powers council rangers had.
Transport for NSW does not have powers to move people on from public lands.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said he had not received direct complaints recently about long-term free campers.
"I have sought an update from Transport for NSW in relation to this issue," he said.
