Tourism business angered by comments about lengthy road closure

Monday, 9 December 2019

The road north of Franz Josef on the West Coast was expected to be closed until at least Christmas after heavy rain caused slips and flood damage.

A West Coast tourism industry leader says the Westland mayor's comments about lengthy road closures were 'more damaging than mother nature'.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) said it aimed to have State Highway 6 between Hokitika and Haast road fully re-opened by Christmas or shortly after, clearing damage from slips and flooding a month earlier than first predicted.

Westland mayor Bruce Smith said he had been told at a Civil Defence briefing that a massive landslide at Mt Hercules, between Harihari and Whataroa, would close the road until the end of January.

A slip brought a huge rock down onto the the dairy farm Samuel Walsh manages near Harihari, in Westland.

Glacier Country Tourism Group represents more than 100 Westland tourism businesses and chair Ashley Cassin said he had heard from operators who 'took large scale offence' at the mayor's statement, which had been reported in overseas media and on travel blogs.

**READ MORE:

Debris covers a large paddock on the farm Samuel Walsh manages near Harihari.

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'I would suggest that the comments would be more damaging that what mother nature herself has dealt us.'

A worker moves debris from a slip caused by heavy rain on the West Coast.

NZTA systems manager Pete Connors said crews had also started tackling multiple slips on the Fox Hills, between the two glacier townships, and he hoped the road south of Franz Josef would be open by the end of the week.

Civil Defence incident controller Te Aroha Cook said arrangements were being made for a one-way escorted convoy leaving Franz Josef at 2pm on Tuesday to clear traffic all the way through to Wanaka.

Supplies are being flown into Franz Josef from Harihari.

Her focus was to evacuate as many tourists as possible, starting with families and those with 'critical needs', and they had been making sure there was enough food in places still cut off, she said.

Cassin said some businesses had already had cancellations through to February.

Slips and flooding are causing issues for motorists and authorities on the West Coast of the South Island. Here, the damage to the road at the foot of Mount Hercules, near Whataroa is apparent.

They were going back to travel agents to reassure them about the timeline for road repairs and that tourism attractions in Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and the rest of the West Coast were still operating.

Cassin said he raised the issue with Smith. 'I don't believe there was an apology, no.'

SH6 from Makarora to Haast is open to one lane at Clarke Bluff, between 10am and 4pm each day until further notice due to a slip.

Most of the 970 tourists in Franz Josef on Saturday had since left on helicopter shuttles, but about 80 rental vehicles were in the area and it is not yet clear how many travellers had to abandon their vehicles to catch international flights.

Scenic Group managing director Brendan Taylor said it was unhelpful the mayor had overestimated how long it would take to reopen the roads, as it would put tourists off visiting the area.

Latest MetService National Forecast.

The highway around Haast is prone to slips and closures.

Westland mayor Bruce Smith has angered local tourism operators by overestimating how long the state highway will be closed.

'A lot of people on the West Coast are reliant on tourism,' he said.

There were only a handful of tourists left in the Franz Josef hotel on Monday.

'Most tourists have been helicoptered out [Monday] morning. We had a tour group leave by helicopter and the bus driver is left behind waiting for the road to open.'

Smith said he flew over the area with Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare to assess the damage and meet locals and tourists trapped by the road closures.

'There are 13 slips on the Hercules road and four of those in my opinion are significant. We have three or four fine days coming up and I saw the crews out there already clearing slips. They've got serious machinery out there and I think it's looking good they will get it done before Christmas. It's looking more positive now than we first thought,' he said.

About 600 people attended a public meeting in Franz Josef on Monday morning.

'Most people are accepting that they are caught in a weather event, but several are very stressed and upset they can't get where they want to go,' he said.

National's West Coast-based, MP Maureen Pugh, said some farmers had to dump milk because the tankers could not get through from the Hokitika milk factory.

'That means loss of income for the factory and the farmers. There will be compensation but it takes a bit of time for that to come through – and after a cold wet spring that's the last thing our farmers need.'

The region had major roading issues, with several large slips and road washouts, but she was confident the region would bounce back quickly.

'It's the terrain we live in. We're designed to cope,' she said.