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Base Wānaka goes into hibernation Joanna Perry
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
ase Backpackers on Brownston Street has officially closed its doors, less than a week after it was publicly announced. On Wednesday, January 20, Base confirmed in an email to its business contacts that “due to unavoidable circumstances Base Wānaka is regrettably closing for business. “Our last day of operation will be on January 24 and we will be exiting the building as of the 31st January 2021.” Tom Cooney, chief operating officer of Australian Tourism Aventure Groups (TAG), who operate Base, Nomads and United Hostels across Australia and New Zealand, said the organisation had reached an agreement with the landlord to get out of the lease. Cooney said the decision to “hibernate” was based on the fact that international tourism was unlikely to be returning to New Zealand for another twelve months. TAG had also decided to “get out” of leases in Taupō and Wellington, but would continue to operate in Queenstown and Rotorua. Last November, the 384-bed Base Queenstown Discovery Lodge was bought by the Pandey Hotel Corporation, but Nomads Queenstown Backpackers was still set to continue on a threeyear lease. Cooney said that the landlord for the property at 73 Brownston Street, who did not wish to be named, was looking at developing the site. With a usual target market of around 90 per cent international tourists, the backpacking world has been turned upside down by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Lake Wānaka Tourism acting general manager Tim Barke said all accommodation outlets had been struggling with numbers, especially since they dropped off after Christmas around January 4. But aside from Base, he had not heard of any additional outlets planning to close, and expected there would be the usual “second wave” of tourists
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PHOTO: Joanna Perry
With a usual target market of around 90 per cent international tourists, the backpacking world has been turned upside down by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
to the town once the school holidays finished. “We just don’t know to what level that will be,” he said. Wānaka Bakpaka’s Liz Norman said their hostel was surviving by “running the place ourselves every day,” and offering rooms at less than half the usual price. Despite staying open during lockdown for guests unable to get home, their downturn in guests had started last summer when Covid was first circulating, meaning the hostel had been “much quieter for more than twelve months now.” They had, however, seen a recent upturn in long-term guests, partially as a result of longtermers being evicted from Base last week, and partially because it was often easier for workers than finding appropriate housing. Base’s closure also means the end of backpacker and live music venue Mint Bar, which for some locals has been a heart-breaking blow. One Wānaka-born regular said: “I’ve been going to gigs there since I was fresh 18. Mint Bar had this wicked nightlife. I’ve seen some of my favourite DJs from all around the world in there… No one has any idea what it used to be like. It could have been so much more.” Alongside the loss of a live music venue, Remarkably Funny’s regular open mic comedy night has also had to find a new home. Performer Dylan Hyman said that the group received no notice of the closure despite being one of the main income generators for the bar.
Wānaka’s golden girl does it again! Zoi Sadowski-Synnott claims the silver medal at the LAAX Open FIS Slopestyle World Cup in Switzerland last weekend in her latest victory of the northern hemisphere season. Read the full story on page 16.
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PHOTO: LAAX Open/Ruggli