Paparoa Track delay a ‘big blow’

West Coast tourism operators expecting a big boost are now ‘‘disappointed’’ that the full opening of New Zealand’s newest Great Walk cannot happen until March.

New businesses were gearing up for the expected influx of visitors, walkers and mountainbikers coming to traverse the new Paparoa Track this summer.

The $12 million Department of Conservation (DOC) track spans

55 kilometres of pristine wilderness in the Paparoa mountain range, linking Blackball and Punakaiki.

Another 11km trail, the Pike 29 Memorial Track, is still under construction. It will pay tribute to the 29 men who died in the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster, and is expected to open after November.

A 20-metre slip caused by extreme weather has prevented the middle section of the track from opening until March. Walkers and cyclists can still go in from either end, stay in a hut and come out the same way.

DOC had estimated the slip would be fixed by December, but Greymouth operations manager Shane Hall said more heavy rain had made the ‘‘difficult to fix’’ slip worse.

Contractors could not work safely until conditions improved. He expected it would not be fully open until March 1.

Hall said 2642 people had booked into the huts between December 22 and February 29, paying a total of

$137,200.

Punakaiki Beach Camp manager Jed Findlay said the closure was ‘‘devastating’’ for his new business, Paparoa Track Services, which was set up to run a daily shuttle taking walkers to the start of the track.

‘‘Three months is a big blow. I am still going through all our cancellations.’’

The track will bring a boost to the West Coast when it is fully open.

‘‘New activities such as the Paparoa Track, Kawatiri Trail, Old Ghost Road and the Wilderness Trail will bring a fresh look on life on the West Coast,’’ Findlay said.

New Blackball cafe and accommodation business owner Jane Wells said people were still coming even though they could not walk all the way between Punakaiki and Blackball.