Getting back on track
Ten minutes into the Routeburn Track, the Great Walk comes to a screaming halt at a gaping ravine.
The damage was caused by a slip that sent ground pummelling down the hillside, wiping out the bridge, after the intense rainfall in Fiordland in February.
It’s one of 79 tracks in the Fiordland National Park that were impacted when one-tenth of the region’s annual rainfall (820mm) fell in just three days, damaging 440km of walking tracks.
The two major Great Walk tracks include the Routeburn, which attracts 15,000 visitors a year and the Milford, which attracts 14,000 visitors.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is working hard to repair the damage.
Fiordland businesses have already earned $92.3 million less from tourists this year – representing a 35 per cent drop from last year – because of the flooding, and from the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism industry.
Fiordland Community Board chairperson Sarah Greaney said $25m of that was lost as a direct result of the flooding.
Even if everything went according to plan and the tracks were reopened in summer, Fiordland was expected to see an $88m decline in overall tourism spend through to Christmas, because of the country’s borders being shut. That would be a 70 per cent drop in revenue.
Both Greaney and Southland District Council deputy mayor Ebel Kremer are lobbying Government for a share of Covid-19 and tourism recovery packages.
It does not share the resort-status of Queenstown, but Te Anau is equally dependent on visitors to stimulate its economy.
Greaney said the Great Walks were iconic destinations to both domestic and international travellers.
‘‘Not having an iconic destination to visit would be detrimental to the surrounding townships,’’ she said.
While other smaller tracks are open, the Routeburn and Milford both play a vital role in bringing tourists to Fiordland.
Tracknet and Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park owner Jill Tauri said her businesses typically handle hundreds of trampers during walk season, which sets them up for the winter months. But that didn’t happen this year.
‘‘When the floods devastated the tracks and roads, it devastated our business.’’
The trampers who came for the Great Walks would typically do more than one hike while they were in Fiordland, staying up to five or six days, she said.
While in the area, they would be supporting all sorts of local businesses, from shops to bars, Tauri said.
DOC ranger Grant Tremain says the department is acutely aware of the tracks’ role in feeding the local economy, especially Te Anau, which is known as the gateway to Fiordland National Park.
‘‘It’s called the walking capital of New Zealand for good reason,’’ he said. The damage caused by the February floods was the most widespread Tremain had seen in his 22-year career.
Slips took land away from some places and deposited it in others, while creeks overflowed, taking out abutments and bridges. While most of the damage occurred in the north of the national park, close to the Upper Hollyford, Tremain said there’s damage as far south as the Dusky Track.
Government’s 2020 budget set aside $13.73m during the next four years to cover the cost of track and infrastructure repairs.
DOC plan to reopen the Milford and Routeburn tracks, end-to-end, by the end of October.
But standing next to forest debris dislodged during the flood, Tremain said fixing all the damage would take two to three years.
A lot of it is in remote locations that can only be accessed by helicopter and DOC is taking extra time to future proof the tracks from future weather events. ‘‘A lot of these facilities have been there for a long time,’’ Tremain said, noting that parts of the Milford Track were built more than 100 years ago.
Engineers, geotechnical engineers and DOC track building specialists have been called in to assess the damage and design repairs that will take the natural fauna and flora, human safety, and future flooding into account.
‘‘It’s specialist work. There’s only a handful of people in the country able to complete it,’’ Tremain said.
DOC was experiencing a large demand from domestic travellers, despite the aftermath of Covid-19.
There was a six per cent increase in bookings for the Kepler Track on the day bookings opened, he said.
Bookings for the Milford and Routeburn Tracks are expected to open in the coming weeks.
‘‘It’s going to be a different season,’’ Tremain said.
‘‘I’m looking forward to showcasing Milford to a higher portion of Kiwis.’’
Another critical infrastructure severely damaged in the flooding was the Milford Rd. It was reopened on March 19, but work continues on repairs.
During the flood, the Hollyford River swelled so high, it knocked out half the road near Falls Creek.
Milford Alliance manager Kevin Thompson said his team knew it was important to get the road open as soon as possible, not only for tourists, but for the commercial fisherman who work in Milford.
It was a challenge keep people safe and keep traffic flowing while the repairs were being done, he said.
Contractors are working from the riverbed at Falls Creek, awkwardly and carefully moving concrete over the stream with a digger, to keep the road above open.
Parts of Milford Rd won’t receive direct sunlight for the next three months, which would make tarring them tricky. There’s no space to keep concrete and other supplies on site, so these must be transported from Te Anau or a warehouse near Homer Tunnel.
But its not all bad news, he said. The ongoing work required contractors from outside the area, with at least 30 extra people a week living, eating, and shopping in Te Anau.
Milford Alliance also sourced most of its building materials in the town, and these suppliers would have certainty of income for at least the next year, Thompson said.
‘‘It all adds up for what’s been a bad time for most businesses,’’ he said.
Road repairs are expected to take between a year and 15 months and current calculations put the cost at about $8m, but Thompson said this could grow, depending on the weather conditions.
Bridges will be rebuilt to widen the road, culverts need to be replaced, and rivers are being retrained away from the road, Thompson explained.
Their most important message they want to share is that Fiordland is still open for business.
‘‘All the activities are still here,’’ Kremer said, adding that the border closure offered a unique opportunity to see the region while it was quiet.
‘‘It’s as pristine as it will get. It’s something you’ll remember for the rest of your life,’’ Greaney said.
As a long-time tourist operator Tauri says the retreat of bigger companies from region had created opportunities for smaller businesses to develop new products and experiences.