Tourists Robbed At Kerosene Creek

A group of four "international tourists" have been attacked and robbed whilst swimming at Kerosene Creek, near Taupo on Monday night. Their car and a number of possessions were taken during an attack which has left them deeply shaken.

Information as to the tourists' nationality or country of origin seems to have been withheld from the press for the time being, no doubt to reduce the amount of exposure the story gets? (it's already appeared on sites around the world)  but the attack does bear similarities to the attack on a group of Chinese tourists in Te Paki, Northland, which leaves us thinking that this may have been a group of Chinese people too.

Local wary of parking at Kerosene Creek
Those interested in such things may like to familiarise themselves with the findings of a 2009 Safety Perception Survey carried out for Rotorua District Council. 400 local residents were questioned about their perceptions of safety in the area.

63.0% of respondents felt there are unsafe places to park a vehicle in...areas around Rotorua, an increase year on year - 61.5% in 2008, 67.1% in 2007 and 54.3% in 2006. Of those, the most common mentions included:

• Blue/Green Lakes (Tikitapu/Rotokakahi) and Okere Falls (62 responses each)

• The Redwood Forest car park (61 responses)

• Kerosene Creek (37 responses)

• Waipa (26 responses)

The locals obviously know where the unsafe places are but is this information being passed on to tourists?

One can only speculate if it was a copycat crime, but what is rather disturbing that the high profile arrest and punishment of the Northland offenders seems to have had no deterrent effect whatsoever, attacks on unwary tourists are still occurring in New Zealand, and if anything, seem to be more frequent.


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