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Friday 8 January 2021
Bay busy as visitors pour in
Happy campers: Pohara Top 10 campground earlier this week was full with visitors making the most of the summer break. Photo: Jo Richards. JO RICHARDS
Visitors have poured into Golden Bay over the last couple of weeks with campgrounds full, businesses buzzing and beaches busy. It’s not unusual for the population of the Bay to triple over the peak season, but there was uncertainty about how this summer would play out in the wake of Covid restrictions on incoming overseas tourists. Golden Bay Promotion Association chair Cheryl Elsey says the Visitor Centre has seen a lot of foot traffic over Christmas and New Year. “Numbers are looking very strong with 4000plus people through in six days.” She adds that businesses have been surprised by the large number of visitors, many of whom have made “good positive comments” about what the Bay has to offer and are already planning their next trip. “There are a lot holidaying here from Wellington, which is a new trend. Many
people are experiencing Golden Bay for the first time, and they love it, and have opted for an extended stay next summer.” Pohara Top 10 campground duty manager Robin Bridger reckons it’s a bumper season. “It’s humming; I can’t remember it being this busy for four or five years.” He has also noticed a new tranche of visitors. “We’ve got a lot of first timers who say they have never been over the Hill before.” It’s a similar story out at Pakawau Beach Park, where co-manager Gaye Benjamin estimates they are slightly up on last year and is fielding more enquiries than usual. She is optimistic about the short-term outlook. “The month ahead is looking good with many people already planning ahead to book sites for Nelson anniversary and Waitangi weekend.” Visitors are clearly getting out and exploring the Bay. Cape Farewell Horse Treks owner
Pamela Forbes explains that she is doing as much business as she can, and could have taken double the number of bookings. The remainder of the month is looking equally busy. “Bookings continue to look the same - good all through the month with regular visitors and families taking advantage of the holidays.” The iconic Mussel Inn is a good business barometer and co-owner Jane Dixon is feeling the pressure – in a good way. “We are super busy here now. The couple of days around Christmas were slightly slower than last year, then the holiday makers arrived en masse and we’ve been quite a lot busier than last year.” And she says not all her customers are Kiwis. “I’ve been surprised how many young overseas people there are here, obviously on visas that have enabled them to stay since last summer.”
TDC Annual Report JO RICHARDS
Just before Christmas, Tasman District Council announced that its net debt at the end of the financial year was $156.2m, around $35m lower than anticipated. This wasn’t the only piece of “good news” presented in TDC’s Annual Report 2019-20 document, which was adopted at December’s full council meeting. According to the report’s introductory message, from mayor Tim King and CEO Janine Dowding, progress has been made on a number of projects as detailed in the Long Term Plan 2018-2028. “Many of these are significant multi-year projects, including the Waimea Community Dam, Motueka Library, Brightwater Town Centre Upgrade, a new water supply for northwest Motueka, and water supply and wastewater upgrades in Mapua.” Golden Bay-specific projects highlighted include a new wastewater pump station in Pohara, a stormwater upgrade in Collingwood, the Takaka-toPohara cycleway, and a new playground in Takaka. Regarding longer-term, strategic planning, the report states that TDC has begun to address the environmental protection and climate change. “Council adopted the Tasman Climate Action Plan, setting itself new goals, targets and actions. We also embarked on a complete review of its resource management plans, to guide planning for growth, climate change and natural hazards, and how natural resources are managed.” The report also points out that TDC and local iwi have worked together closely on several projects, and that council has started to develop a bilingual identity, adopting the official te reo Maori name, Te Kaunihera o te tai o Aorere. In assessing its non-financial performance, the council’s figures show that 85 of the 121 reportable targets were fully achieved, compared with 74 for the previous financial year. Particularly worthy of a pat on the back was that 99 per cent of the district’s dairy farms were fully compliant with effluent discharge rules. Perhaps deserving of a “could do better” was the 68 per cent satisfaction with Building Control services. Figures presented in the Key Financial Information section of the report reveal an unexpected budget surplus of $26.9m and a net debt of $156.2m - well below the planned level of $191m. Continued on page 2
Your local Property Specialist Billy Kerrisk Principal Selling Agent 0276085606
billy.kerrisk@raywhite.com Billy Kerrisk Ltd Licensed (REAA 2008)
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THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 8 JANUARY 2021
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ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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