PFW News Update: January 2021
/Tourism in the time of COVID
It has been a gratifyingly busy summer holiday period for the island’s visitor services and local businesses. Although visitor numbers were down, the total spend in December 2020 was only 2.3% less than the same period last year. The numbers reflect a rise in domestic tourism, with Kiwis from all over the country enjoying our beaches, walking trails, wineries and restaurants.
However, tourism providers are worrying that with the school holidays ending and most New Zealanders returning to their everyday lives, the picture for the next few months is far from rosy. In their latest newsletter, Waiheke Island Tourism Inc (WITI) posed the question of ‘the Waiheke wear-out factor’. “Once Kiwis have ticked Waiheke off their to-do list, do we get classified as ‘been there, done that’, and they’re off looking for somewhere new to go?”
The good news is that in our island community there are plenty of group projects and business initiatives providing forward-thinking answers to this question - initiatives that offer support not just to local businesses but also to conservation, bio-diversity and community resilience. Here are a few of them (and this list is by no means exhaustive).
Waiheke Resources Trust (WRT)
WRT was established in 1998, responding to island needs like waste minimisation, improved environmental outcomes and community economic development. Since 2010 it has broadened its focus to include other important aspects of sustainable living: biodiversity, energy, food resilience, transport, and water usage.
Working initially with Volunteering Auckland, WRT embraced the concept of ‘voluntourism’ on the island, attracting people from all over the country to come here and lend their minds and muscle-power to various conservation projects. Love Our Wetlands Waiheke, for example, works with the Waiheke community and volunteer groups towards the ecological restoration and protection of four significant wetland habitats – Te Matuku, Te Whau, Rangihoua and Matiatia Headland. WRT has added to the experience enormously, not just by educating volunteers but also rewarding them for a day of hard work with a visit to one of Waiheke’s celebrated tourist attractions as part of the package. This has worked so well that WRT now has many repeat visits from individuals and corporate groups, all offering their time and energy to do something meaningful and worthwhile, and enjoying a bit of Waiheke hospitality and recreation at the same time.
The concept has been fostered enthusiastically over many years by other conservation organisations on the island, including the Kaitiaki of Newton Reserve, Friends of McKenzie Reserve and Forest & Bird (Hauraki Branch).
Bioshelter Backpackers Waiheke is a quirky, eco-designed house set in native bush and totally run on solar and wind energy. Proprietor Ivan Kitson provides a thorough education in sustainable living, where guests can learn about proper recycling, water conservation, composting and other planet-friendly practices. A big bonus – it’s the cheapest accommodation on the island. Ivan also established an organic native plants nursery on Waiheke and will trade accommodation for work in the nursery.
Terra and Tide
Terra and Tide offers a unique experience to visitors who want to get off the usual tourist trail and find out what makes Waiheke so special. Visitors can take a guided walk, led by long-term Waiheke locals, through forests and farmland and along stunning coastlines, learning about Waiheke ecology, plants and wildlife, perhaps even spotting some endangered species. Or explore the marine environment aboard a 41-foot catamaran, and learn about the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park and its inhabitants, above and in the sea.
For those who are not so much into action and adventure, Terra and Tide also offers workshops and retreats designed for both individuals and groups, with a focus on enhancing wellbeing through experiencing the natural environment.
Potiki Adventures
Potiki Adventures is a Māori owned and operated company based on Waiheke. The company offers small group tours to explore the island from a tikanga Māori perspective, at the same time providing employment for Māori people in an environment that celebrates living and working by Māori customs, values and culture. The company also offers individual and group stays at Piritahi Marae, with a focus on educational culture-based workshops and outdoor adventure activities.
Eco-Zip
Now that this well-known adventure tourism company is operating without the usual influx of international tourists, they are working closely with WRT to attract more conservation-minded New Zealanders.
“Conservation is at the heart of our business… by zipping with us you’re directly contributing to the preservation and protection of a beautiful, yet once threatened, piece of NZ rainforest.” The company is currently putting together packages that focus on eco-tourism, with $5 from every zipline rider’s ticket going towards tree planting on the island.
Stony Batter tunnels
After a six-year closure, locals and visitors can now explore the newly reopened Stony Batter tunnels, which formed part of the coastal defence gun emplacements installed at the height of the Second World War. Archaeologist/island resident Tim Moon and Treaty Partner Ngāti Paoa have done an excellent job of preparing this historic site for public access.
A visit to Stony Batter can now include a 60-minute guided walk through the 1.2 km network of tunnels, with stories about their purpose and construction. “I have loved the opportunity to reopen the Fort so that the public can visit and pay homage to its architectural and engineering genius,” Tim says.
Everyone who has experienced the wonder of the night sky on Waiheke will appreciate the need to protect it, in the same way we endeavour to protect our air quality, water quality, land and marine environments, ecosystems and biodiversity.
With the support of the Waiheke Local Board, the team from DarkSkyNZ and other members of the Waiheke community are applying to the International Dark Sky Association for Waiheke to become an accredited Dark Sky Park in the East and a Dark Sky Community in the Western end. Dark sky status will add immensely to the island’s allure, and attract many nature-loving, conservation-minded visitors.
Regenerative tourism – a win-win for Aotearoa
The final word should go to respected business journalist Rod Oram, who in a recent publication succinctly sums up the current situation for tourism in NZ and suggests how we might “pivot” to a more sustainable future.*
“But to absolutely thrive, the tourism sector needs to radically rethink its role in our natural environment, society and economy. Its greatest opportunities lie in tackling its greatest liabilities….We could be a leader, making carbon-neutral tourism a defining goal of our ambitious new strategy… Developing such a programme first with domestic tourists would be a way for us to learn about the journey to a deeply sustainable country, thereby increasing tourism’s social and cultural value to society. It would also be an incentive…to accelerate the shift to clean tech and energy, thereby increasing tourism’s economic and ecological value to society.
“We could help nature rebuild its diversity and vitality, resilience and fecundity in all of Aotearoa’s land, waters, atmosphere and oceans… We must learn how to work with nature, not against it… This is the journey tourism reinvented can take us on. As we regenerate our ecological, economic, social and cultural capitals, we in turn will richly reward tourism.”
*100% Pure Future: New Zealand Tourism Renewed, pp 29-43. Edited by Sarah Bennet, BWB Texts (bwb.co.nz).
