Kaikōura back in business
Kaikō ura business owners are smiling from ear to ear as the opening of State Highway 1 north of the town marks the return to business as normal.
‘‘It’s bobsy-die. I almost had a cry. It’s just been an absolute transformation,’’ Poppy’s Homemade Ice-cream and Cafe owner Karen Barwick said.
Business had boomed since the road reopened on Friday, she said.
Barwick and her husband, Bruce, stayed at the shop until midnight on Saturday night, making 21 five-litre containers of icecream.
‘‘I’ve not done that for nearly a year. I had a wee cry.’’
They almost closed the doors last year because trade had dropped off so much, but custom from the road workers kept them open.
‘‘We’re just loving having people here. It’s nice to be normal again.’’
Kaikō ura businesses have had a difficult year following the November 2016 earthquake, which cut access to the tourist town and robbed it of what was tipped to be a record-breaking tourism season.
Roads south of Kaikō ura have been open for a while, but the crucial route north only reopened on Friday after a rebuild effort of a scale not seen in New Zealand in recent times.
Kaikō ura Top 10 Holiday Park co-owner Ed Nolan said business had picked up significantly since the road opened.
The camping ground had only two sites free on Saturday night.
‘‘It’s just in the nick of time for us and a huge relief. It’s been full on for the last couple of days. Seeing we missed out on such a good season last year, we are very happy.’’
Encounter Kaikō ura co-owner Dennis Buurman said business was definitely picking up with tours fully booked until Christmas.
‘‘It’s such a relief to have that road reopened and seeing the traffic back.’’
The road reopening also meant The Store at Kekerengu, which sits at the midway point between Kaikoura and Blenheim, could reopen.
‘‘It’s awesome to see the place being used again,’’ owner Sank Macfarlane said.
‘‘It’s got a bit of life back in it.’’ The first two days had not been as busy as anticipated, but Macfarlane said that was a good thing because it allowed staff to get back into the swing of things.
Business was steady yesterday, with a tourist bus stopping and lots of motorcyclists.
‘‘It’s just a nice pace, without being frantic, which is quite good.’’
Macfarlane and his wife Melissa were forced to close the business following the earthquake and had to lay off their 12 staff. They moved to Blenheim while the cafe was repaired and the road rebuilt.
Melissa Macfarlane found work at a bank in Auckland and commuted there each week, while Sank Macfarlane found temporary work on farms.
Macfarlane said it was frustrating the business was not able to return to full capacity just yet.
It had relaunched with a limited menu because of staffing issues and uncertainty over future potential road closures.
Six staff have been employed, half the number before the earthquake.
Macfarlane said it had been hard to find accommodation for staff because the farm cottages many had lived in before the earthquake were either no longer habitable or were being used by road workers or families who had moved into them while their homes were being repaired.
There was also the uncertainty of potential road closures in the future following bad weather, so the couple had tried to limit their exposure to that.
The store has been feeding about 30 road workers breakfast and tea for about a month and would continue to do so next week and in January.
‘‘That’s been very fortuitous.’’