Alarming problem behind flawless Instagram photos
A farmer in the NSW Southern Highlands is pleading for people to stop taking selfies in his fields fearing it’s destroying his crops.
Berrima canola farmer Peter Brooks told the ABC dozens of cars keep stopping by his property to take photos in front of the golden flowers.
Mr Brooks said the recent Labour Day long weekend saw 30 to 40 cars parked on the road for about 10 hours.
"We had 50, 60 people getting into the crop and you'd ask them to leave and they'd come back and be in it again,” he told the ABC.
"It's a basic premise of life that you don't trespass on other people's property, not to mention there's bees in there and snakes."
Mr Brooks added people have also ripped the mesh off his fence just to get into the field.
Acting Inspector Matthew McCarthy said the other danger is it’s a 100km/h zone with people constantly crossing the road to get to the field.
Canola has proven to be a big drawcard for people on social media.
In Cowra, in the state’s Central West, more than 2160 went to the town’s visitors centre over the long weekend – more than 10 times what the town normally gets, Canberra Times reported.
Farmer Douglas Houston told the publication there is “something about the yellow flower that intrigues people”.
"With the rolling hills, it's a beautiful patchwork quilt,” he said.
Hundreds of pictures have emerged on social media of people nestling themselves among the fields of gold.
Some have even driven hours for the Instagram opportunity.
“So I went to trek the 3.5 hours to do a day trip out to the Cowra region. But 40 [minutes] out of Wollongong I came across these beautiful fields, just as amazing as Cowra,” one who visited Berrima wrote.
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