Coastal town teeters on edge
The coastal town of Kaiko¯ura is resilient, but business owners need certainty after five years ‘‘without a continuous 12 months’ uninterrupted trading’’. Jody O’Callaghan visits on the eve of a gloomy anniversary.
Jen Barnes’ hotel has not had a continuous 12 months of uninterrupted trading since she bought it less than a year before Kaiko¯ ura’s major earthquake.
The coastal North Canterbury town now has a new highway, Ma¯ ori artwork weaving through it, and views of a newly protruding rocky sea floor after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on November 14, 2016.
It was just finding its feet when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and despite being a ‘‘resilient’’ community, the ongoing uncertainty and lack of international travellers has left business owners fearful for their futures.
Barnes and her partner Warren Bartlett bought the Kaiko¯ ura Boutique Hotel 10 months before the quake. The building was ‘‘well and truly damaged’’, and needed a comprehensive
12-month repair.
They bought Koura Bay Golf Resort next, then the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
The past five years had left her ‘‘gun shy’’ and ‘‘terrified as to what’s next’’.
‘‘I don’t think we’ve had a continuous 12 months’ uninterrupted trading in the six years we’ve owned it.’’
They adapted by opening bars and cafe´ s, expanding the golf course, and selling a couple of properties to keep afloat.
‘‘We’ve learned some lessons, not to be so tourist-focused.’’
In order to attract ‘‘price sensitive’’ Kiwi travellers, they dropped their rates to ‘‘rock bottom’’.
The businesses had a ‘‘reasonable October, so we’re feeling a bit chipper’’, but there were not enough domestic travellers. They were reliant on subsidies to break even, but it was
unsustainable for the Government to ‘‘bankroll’’ businesses long-term. Destination Kaiko¯ ura manager Lisa Bond said before the pandemic, when she worked in marketing at Whale Watch, there were signs the town was recovering well from the quake.
‘‘Just when we thought we were bouncing back, it feels like the carpet was ripped out from underneath our feet.’’
The pandemic had been ‘‘very tough’’ on the town, and businesses needed certainty about when Auckland and international visitors would be allowed back, so they could plan for summer.
‘‘It’s like a duck, you see them swimming along the water but under the water their legs are just going crazy.’’
The community looked after each other though, were ‘‘a resilient bunch’’, and large anchor projects and events would help the town, she said. ‘‘There are really good things happening, and we just have to look at the positive things taking place despite how hard it’s been.’’
Cray Fest, a 16-day ‘‘crayfish crawl’’ through food outlets in the town, coincided with this year’s quake anniversary, and the town was ‘‘really excited’’ about a new aquatic centre opening five years after the quake destroyed its previous one.
Bond said new Ma¯ ori artwork
along the coastline was also ‘‘a journey worth taking for a New Zealander’’.
Maurice Manawatu (Nga¯ ti Kurı¯), who led the Cultural Artwork Package weaving the stories of mana whenua from the local marae and along the coastline, said while most locals loved it, in ‘‘every town you have your detractors’’.
Two days after installing a large pou whenua – Hinerongo – on the waterfront, ‘‘someone came along with a sledgehammer and attacked it’’ to the devastation of the hapu¯ .
‘‘It shocked even the non-Ma¯ ori community up here.’’
But everything happened for a reason, nothing had been touched since, and the artwork was there for generations to come.
‘‘Having that on our landscape, it gives a sense of pride. Our stories, our pu¯ ra¯ kau, aren’t forgotten.’’
The hapu¯ now had a strong voice within Kaiko¯ ura, and there
would be more Ma¯ ori art in the footprint of the town with three upcoming developments – Wakatu Quay, the boardwalk, and a Sudima Hotel – set to open in November 2022.
‘‘Our kids will grow up with their heads high, wanting to know their stories.’’
Manawatu believed Kaiko¯ ura had adapted ‘‘pretty amazingly really’’ considering the huge impact of a massive earthquake and pandemic in five years.
But there was a concern about the lack of employment opportunities for rangatahi (young people). ‘‘The fear is they go, and they don’t come back.’’
He hoped the new Sudima Hotel, which the Te Runanga o Kaikoura Ltd invested in, would be a good solution.
The hotel was expected to create 50 to 80 new jobs.
A spokesman for economic development and tourism agency ChristchurchNZ said Kaiko¯ ura businesses had received $188,643 of Covid-19 financial support as of Thursday.
The funding came from the Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-set fund.
A total of 101 businesses had expressed an interest in the fund, and ChristchurchNZ continued to reach out to those that had either not registered or not completed the application, he said.
‘‘It’s like a duck, you see them swimming along the water but under the water their legs are just going crazy.’’ Lisa Bond Destination Kaiko¯ura manager