Campground almost killed off by ‘disastrous’ road closure
The situation at Mistletoe Bay Eco Village in the Marlborough Sounds is so “precarious” it came close to closing.
And despite a major sponsorship deal coming in at the eleventh hour, the popular school campsite and tourist destination is “not out of the woods yet”, says Mistletoe Bay Trust chairperson Cathie Bell.
The situation would be reviewed again in March, Bell said.
Mistletoe Bay Eco Village was nestled amongst the native bush of Onahau Bay in the Queen Charlotte Sound. The site had been giving young people a feel for the outdoors for 60-odd years, but it was also popular with campers, Queen Charlotte Track walkers and day-tripping locals. While boat access was from the Queen Charlotte Sound, road access was from Kenepuru Rd. At least, it used to be.
The Kenepuru Rd had been closed to the wider public for more than two years following storm damage in 2021 and 2022.
Bell said Mistletoe Bay lost 75% of school bookings and 50% of general revenue after the road closed. Of course, there was Covid before that too.
The closure of the road had been “disastrous”, Bell said. “All our reserves are eaten up.
“We are not the only business on the road finding it hard. Talk to other operators on Kenepuru Rd, it’s the hardest they've ever seen it, and we’re talking [in] 30 to 40 years ... We are by no means unique. That road is diabolical.”
The review in March would look at how the site fared during its first summer without any road access. In previous summers, since the flooding, the road opened for a short stint to visitors. Access this summer remained restricted to residents and emergency and essential services.
The day-to-day running and general maintenance of the site had become “horrendously expensive” and difficult to organise, Bell said.
“It’s a whole different way of thinking about things.”
The trust was established in 2003 when the Department of Conservation ( DOC) was looking at options for the ongoing management of Mistletoe Bay Reserve and Campground.
The trust was granted a permanent concession in 2014.
The trust needed about $100,000 to $150,000 a year to keep the place open, which included the old Vogel cottage, the lodge, eight whare cabins and the camp kitchen.
In November, the trust secured $100,000 through “significant donations” from Strait Shipping, which operated the Bluebridge ferries, Simcox Construction and Port Marlborough.
The site would have closed if the deals hadn’t gone through, Bell said. “It was that tight.”
But even with the money, the trust still didn’t have enough to build on what was there, and press ahead with “all these cool ideas”.
The trust celebrated its 20-year anniversary in January by “sending a few emails to sponsors”, Bell said.
Queen Charlotte Sound resident Peter Thorne George was a patrol leader for the Sea Scouts in Wellington when “cousin Jim” Vogel first opened up his property to young people in the 1950s or 60s.
He would teach them how to handle a boat, tie knots and “find out where their limitations were”.
“The difference from when they started to when they left was amazing,” Thorne George said.
“The confidence they ended up with. They had a different perspective on life.”
He understood the closure of Mistletoe Bay was “very close to happening”, and was glad the trust had managed to find some more money.
“If they can carry on Jim’s view – to give these guys an opportunity and get the same results we got when I was helping Jim – I would be really, really happy.”
Bell had been a parent on a school camp and agreed it had an “amazing impact on kids”.
The trust had spent the past few months reconnecting with schools and principals again, to make sure there was still a need for Mistletoe Bay, Bell said.
“We have been educating schools about what we offer, what Mistletoe Bay is all about ... If Nelson or Wellington or Christchurch provide a better experience, there’s no point trying to flog a dead horse and offer something people don’t want. It appears there is still a demand.”
But it was a use it or lose it situation, she said.
Bell urged Marlburians to “come and check out Mistletoe Bay again”, reminding people of the council’s water taxi subsidy as the Kenepuru Rd remained closed.
Water taxi services could be booked through the Picton, Blenheim and Havelock i-Sites.
“Talk to other operators on Kenepuru Rd, it’s the hardest they’ve ever seen it ... We are by no means unique. That road is diabolical.”
Cathie Bell,
Mistletoe Bay Trust chairperson