The ‘genie’s out of the
The jaw-dropping views of Aoraki/Mt Cook are now attracting more than one million visitors per year. But the explosion in visitor numbers is putting severe strains on the environment and the town, and leading to warnings it could become ‘‘another Queensto
AORAKI/MT Cook village, population approximately 250, lies at the end of State Highway 80, along one of the most scenic roads in the South Island.
Long known to New Zealanders as an adventure playground and gateway to our famous highest peak, an influx of overseas tourists will likely see the total visitor numbers surpass one million this year – around double the figure of three years ago.
‘‘The genie’s been let out of the bottle,’’ says Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park operations manager Brent Swanson.
‘‘Thanks to social media, everyone’s wanting to get that perfect snap of Aoraki/Mt Cook.’’
With increasing pressures on the park, there are proposals in the offing to limit visitor numbers, including creating a park and ride proposal, which would see visitors to Aoraki/Mt Cook stopped 11 kilometres from the village.
Other measures being looked at include a booking system, while a park entrance fee has also been suggested, but there are disagreements between the park’s guardians over whether these should apply to everyone, or just overseas guests.
‘‘We keep reviewing our processes, but we probably can’t keep continuing in the same way,’’ says Swanson.
Jacob Fleming is one of the Department of Conservation’s new storytelling rangers at the park, a role set up to better inform people about the history.
‘‘The shoulder period has pretty much disappeared, so it’s peak all the time,’’ says
‘In the process of everyone going to the park, the experience is diminished for everyone.’ PETER WILSON
Fleming. ‘‘But at the same time, it also means more people are enjoying and learning about the park, so that’s also a good thing.’’
Federated Mountain Clubs president Peter Wilson believes it is time for DoC to seriously consider limits on the National Parks, or a booking system for overseas guests.
‘‘We cannot be all things to all people,’’ he says.
‘‘We’ve got a National Park where everyone wants to go, and in the process of everyone going to the park, the experience is diminished for everyone.’’
However, Wilson would not like to see New Zealanders become subjects to limits, nor did he approve of ACT leader David Seymour’s idea to charge people to enter.
‘‘There is an obsession in New Zealand that price mechanisms solve problems.
‘‘We’re dealing with a supply situation, booking mechanisms