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Waitaki Catchment Recreation and Tourism Activities - Written Report

1 Executive Summary

2 Introduction

3 Overview Studies

4 Mt Cook National Park

5 Upper Catchment: Mackenzie (above Omarama)

6 Lower Catchment: Waimate and Waitaki Districts (Below Omarama)

7 Recreation Preferences, Conflicts and Satisfaction

8 New Zealand Tourism Preferences and Product Assessment

9 Effects of Changing Water Use

10 Future Recreation and Tourism Trends

References

Appendix: Reported Fishing Days for the Waitaki Catchment

4 Mt Cook National Park

4.1 Recreation and tourism overview

4.1.1 Mt Cook National Park recreation and tourism summary

4.1.2 Mt Cook National Park recreation and tourism information

Erik VanderSpek (Department of Conservation - Programme Manager - Recreation)

The Department of Conservation does not have consistent and reliable visitor track use monitoring, although this is currently being improved with the installation of new visitor counters.

From the information available, these are the most accurate estimates.

• There are 100,000 trampers using the area.
• For 2003 (July)-2004 (June), there were 12,000 bed nights in huts comprising:
  • 3200 at Mueller Hut (likely trampers)
  • 8800 other huts (likely climbers).

  Note: figures are not a total number of users as figures do not include those not using huts.

• The Hooker Valley track is the most popular track.
• The road count for State Highway 80, July to June 2004, recorded 276,000 vehicles. This figure needs to be divided by two to show the number of vehicles travelling into the park as vehicles cross it twice travelling in and out. Also, not all vehicles are tourist traffic. The number of tourist vehicles and numbers of visitors has not been calculated using this road count and as a raw figure provides a general indication of use.

Walks administered by the Department of Conservation

Visits to Mt Cook

Overall satisfaction: 45% rating it as superb (top third of all activities).

Strengths:

• friendly 'real New Zealand' operators/guides, passionate and knowledgeable about Mt Cook and surrounding area
• spectacular scenery (AC Nielsen, 2002, p. 85)

Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Management Plan September 2004

Department of Conservation 2004. Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Management plan. Retrieved 28 October 2004, from http://www.doc.govt.nz

The recently released Mt Cook Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Management Plan (2004) has provided a current description of management and recreation experiences in the National Park.

Preface

... Aoraki Mt Cook National Park is home to New Zealand's highest mountain, which is also highly significant to Ngāi Tahu as their most sacred mountain. It is a park of dramatic landscape, harsh alpine conditions and many moods, a magnet to recreationalists and tourists alike for a century in the past and assuredly many centuries into the future. The challenge for management, addressed in this Plan, is to achieve a balance between preserving the values of this park for their intrinsic worth and for the benefit, use and enjoyment of future generations while enabling those living now to experience its natural character and raw magnificence to the fullest ...

1 Introduction

... Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park protects qualities and attractions that range from historic features of local interest, through ecosystems of national scientific importance, to major physical features of international significance. The park, together with Westland/Tai Poutini and Fiordland National Parks, comprised New Zealand's first world heritage area in 1986. In 1989 the much larger 2.6 million hectare South West New Zealand (Te Wahipounamu) World Heritage Area included the three parks, recognised by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as one of the world's outstanding natural areas.

The park is unique in the New Zealand context in that it contains a cross-section of landforms and vegetation that extends from the South Island high country's braided riverbeds to the highest peaks of the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana. It also includes New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki/Mt Cook, which is also highly significant to Ngāi Tahu as their most sacred mountain.

Public recreation and tourism interests in the best-known features, the mountains and the glaciers, have been significant for over a century. For this reason, accommodation, guiding and ski plane services have a long-standing tradition in the park.

The park has been established to preserve its valued scenery, ecological systems and natural features in perpetuity. These values can be considered scarce and irreplaceable. As development proceeds elsewhere, they will become even more valuable, which may bring greater pressure on them ...

1.3 Background

1.3.1 Introduction

The imposing nature of the Aoraki/Mt Cook region has captured the imagination of New Zealanders and the world at large. The core of the area was first given a protection status in 1885 and, subsequently enlarged, it was declared a national park in 1953 following the passing of the National Parks Act 1952. Since then it has been managed under the twin aims of the New Zealand national park philosophy; preservation as far as possible in its natural state and freedom of entry and access for public enjoyment. Currently (in 2004) Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park has an area of 70,728 hectares, with headquarters at Aoraki/Mt Cook Village.

1.3.3 The park - physical character and location

Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is situated on the eastern flank of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. Although at one of the narrower parts of this chain of mountains, the park contains Aoraki/Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain rising 3754 metres above sea level and includes most New Zealand peaks over 3000 metres high.

The park extends along the main dividing ridge of the Alps for some 65 kilometres and shares a common boundary with Westland/Tai Poutini National Park for some 40 kilometres, but nowhere does it extend more than 15 kilometres from the Main Divide. It occupies the head of the Tasman and Godley Valleys, whose glaciers drain into the rivers and lakes of the vast inland basin of the Mackenzie Country.

The park has a harsh environment. Over a third of the area consists of permanent snow and ice, while most of the remainder is steep actively eroding mountain lands. Only a small proportion of the park, in the Godley, Tasman and Hooker Valleys, is flat land.

1.3.4 Park heritage

Ngāi Tahu and earlier Māori activity in the area is believed to have been primarily for ceremonial and spiritual reasons, along with seasonal food gathering, particularly for birds and kiore. There is some evidence for Godley Glacier-Sealy Pass alpine crossings for pounamu (Andersen, 1916). ... Māori traditions are strongly associated with the area; many geographical features are named, and Māori had a good understanding of ice and snow. As set out in, Aoraki the mountain holds a special significance for Ngāi Tahu.

... Also remaining is the heritage of climbing, with and without guides, that has seen the Aoraki/Mt Cook region become and remain, the premier climbing locality in New Zealand ...

1.3.5 Recreational and tourism values

For much of the early European history of the Aoraki/Mt Cook region, it was only an intrepid few who managed to make their way to the mountains. Gradually visitor numbers increased over the years. The ongoing attraction has been the active and passive enjoyment of the scenic splendour of the park, through climbing, skiing, walking, flying or just sitting, while appreciating the park's natural and cultural values. This attraction is well set out in The Alpine World of Mt Cook National Park (Dennis and Potton, 1984).

Factors leading to increased visitor use have been the Hermitage Hotel since 1884, a growing number of mountain bivouacs and huts since 1891 and later club and public accommodation near or at the Aoraki/Mt Cook Village. Other factors have been the ski plane flights from 1955, construction of the Mt Cook Airport in 1960, upgrading of State Highway 80 to its present high standard in 1975 and ongoing developments in the Village. Annual visits to the village were estimated for 2001 to be in excess of 250,000. Approximately 30% of visits are by New Zealanders, while the remaining 70% are by overseas tourists, primarily from Japan, USA and Australia. Day visits comprise approximately 67% of total visits. The National Park is a significant stopping point on tours of the country by overseas tourists.

Most visitors restrict their visit to the village environs (see Figure 3) and, to a lesser extent, aircraft flights. Visitors in the wider park area are predominantly hut-based and total about 7000 bed nights yearly.

Vehicle access is limited to two routes into the park. State Highway 80 is a sealed route to Aoraki/Mt Cook Village and runs along the western side of Lake Pukaki. Visitors arriving by the highway travel either independently or on bus tours. The other route is a four-wheel drive vehicle track up the Godley Valley beyond Lilybank Station.

Aircraft access is a less regular means of arriving at the park, but a major feature of public use in and over the park. The majority of the visitors arriving by or using aircraft are overseas tourists. A fleet of ski equipped aircraft based at Aoraki/Mt Cook Airport provides tourist flights over the park and landings on the Tasman and other glaciers. These aircraft also fly climbers to designated landing sites in the park. Helicopters operate mainly from sites outside the park and fly in climbers, hunters, Tasman Glacier day-skiers and heliskiers, mainly when or where fixed-wing aircraft cannot be used. They also provide services to landing sites on the eastern and southern boundary of the park.

Several companies based outside the park offer fixed-wing and helicopter scenic flights over the park, but do not land within the park. Glentanner Park, some 14 kilometres south of the park boundary, also has a commercial airstrip.

Within the park, access is limited by the nature of the mountain environment. Apart from State Highway 80, the village roads and the Godley 4WD track, there are only two park roads, both unsealed. One runs to White Horse Hill where a campground is provided. The other is the Tasman Valley Road to the Blue Lakes/Tasman Glacier car park, although a 4WD track continues another 4 km to Husky Flat.

Walking tracks are concentrated around the Aoraki/Mt Cook Village environs, providing access to points of local interest and viewpoints. Beyond this localised area, there are only three other formed tracks of significance. One is up the Hooker Valley to the Hooker Glacier and lake (the valley currently attracts over 50,000 visits per year, approximately 20,000 of which are to the lake). Another is the old road-line from the end of the Tasman Valley Road some 8 km up to the Ball Shelter. The third is the track from the car park to Blue Lakes and the Tasman Glacier lookout. Walking routes also extend to Red Tarns and to Mueller Hut which by 2002 attracted over 1500 bed nights use per year (note that in 2003 the old 12-bunk hut was replaced with a 28-bunk one, with the expectation of increased visitor use).

Other attractions include skiing on the Tasman Glacier, heliskiing, boating on pro-glacial lakes, biking, guided treks, 4WD tours, night star observations, short walks, school visits and visits to the Park Visitor Centre in the village. Some visitors to the park come for a specific purpose, such as climbing or tramping, or in lesser numbers for hunting. For these park users, huts have been established, most publicly owned and administered by the Department, others owned by clubs but available for public use, and one concessionaire-owned and operated hut. Three club lodges, primarily available for club members, are sited near the village. One mountain guiding service operates from the village, while several others operate from bases outside the park.

With the exception of the park huts, the camping ground at White Horse Hill and the three club lodges, accommodation for Park visitors is located in Aoraki/Mt Cook Village. A range of commercial accommodation is provided, including the Hermitage Hotel and Glencoe Wing, motel units, chalets and YHA and Hostelling International, all currently owned by a single company, with the exception of the hostel. There are a total of about 600 beds available in the village for visitors ...

1.3.6 The park within the region

From a number of different perspectives, the park cannot be considered in isolation, but has to be regarded as part of a wider area. As a part of the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, the Aoraki/Mt Cook area contains some biological, landscape and recreational features which are duplicated elsewhere, but it also contains other features which are unique. This latter category includes the physical beauty and climbing challenge of the array of high peaks, the sheer size of the glaciers, the endemic flora and fauna and the extent of opportunities for scenic ski-plane landings in a mountainous area.

The national park is the source of much of the water flowing through the turbines of the Upper Waitaki and Waitaki River power stations and, as the head of the Waitaki Catchment, has an important water and soil conservation role. It is a significant area of biological and scientific interest in the Mackenzie Basin and in South Canterbury generally. Compared with other parts of the Mackenzie Basin, there are a number of disadvantages from a tourist point of view, such as lower sunshine hours, lower mean daily temperatures and higher rainfall, but these are balanced by the opportunity to travel among the mountains. The park is a popular destination on the tourist route from Christchurch to Milford Sound and provides employment opportunities and benefits to a number of district businesses and adjacent high country stations. One business, having a particularly direct relationship with the park, is Glentanner Park, approximately 20 km south of the park on State Highway 80. While still a pastoral lease, the lessees have in recent years diversified into other activities, including a motor camp, airfield, heliskiing and a restaurant. These activities complement those provided for in the national park and increase the range of visitor attractions available in the region. Pastoral farming, as found at Glentanner Station, with retirement or surrender of erosion-prone and high conservation value country, is typical of land management adjoining the Canterbury side of the national park.

On its western boundary Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is closely linked with Westland/Tai Poutini National Park, sharing features including physical similarity, similar management objectives, and complementary visitor management settings, hut locations, radio networks and aircraft movements. There are several transalpine tramping/climbing routes (e.g. Copland Pass).

5.1.5 Village vision and principles

A "village vision" was developed through the Issues and Options Report process and is adopted here:

Aoraki/Mt Cook "... has the potential to become New Zealand's best known visitor destination. It should exhibit an exemplary level of environmental quality and visitor experience. It should reflect a distinctive New Zealand natural and mountain character in relation to its site planning, design and architecture. It should explicitly demonstrate the relationship that the tangata whenua, Ngāi Tahu, has with the area".

4.3.2 Concessions general

Many concessionaires operate in the park and provide a valuable service to visitors ...

4.3.3 Aircraft and airports

... Scenic flights are a significant means of use and enjoyment of Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. The flights are for scenic observation, which implies gentler flying, not thrill-seeking. Scenic over-flights of the park operate with both helicopters and fixed-wing planes from outside the park. Ski planes and helicopters land at specified glacier snowfield and ridge-top sites. Aircraft are also used for access to mountain huts for climbers, to glaciers for skiers, and for heliskiing.

4.3.4 Guiding

... Professional alpine guides provide for a greater public use and enjoyment of the park than might otherwise be obtained. They provide the skills and experience necessary to guide clients through some of New Zealand's most challenging alpine terrain. In addition, clients gain an appreciation of the Park's natural, historic and cultural values and often learn the necessary skills to undertake alpine activities by themselves. Due to the nature of the park's alpine conditions it is essential that alpine guides are appropriately qualified. The New Zealand Mountain Guides Association currently certifies guides and can advise of suitable standards. (Department of Conservation 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2004, from http://www.doc.govt.nz)