Flames tear across the Central Plateau as the Tongariro wildfire burns out of control, forcing evacuations of trampers and residents. Photo / Fire and Emergency
By Jimmy Ellingham of RNZ
In early November, a wall of smoke loomed large over the tourism-dependent, central North Island town of Waimarino (formerly known as National Park).
After a couple of days of wet weather, round-the-clock efforts of firefighters put out the blaze, which had burned through almost 3000ha of the Tongariro National Park.
But Waimarino continues to feel its effects. The fire closed the popular Tongariro Crossing walking track for more than a week – meaning the peak season started slowly.
And there were further blows when a smaller fire ignited in December, while wet weather has hit the region too.
All this has left business owners in the town hoping for a good dumping of winter snow on Mt Ruapehu to get the area and its tills humming again.
Adventure Lodge and Motels was fully booked when RNZ visited this week, but owner Gillian Visser said until now the usual summer peak season had not taken off.
“I’ve been here 10 years and, I have to say, this is probably the worst summer we’ve had, income-wise.
“This makes us a little bit worried for winter because normally we can be like little squirrels and squirrel away the money.”
Without that to see them through winter, Visser was among those hoping for lots of snow.
“We made no money in three quarters of November because people stayed away because of the fire. Then, everything was delayed.
“There was a trickle-over effect of people putting off their trip and now we’re really busy. February is fabulous.”
On State Highway 4, Chrissi Phillips-Ryburn’s food truck Tātahi - The Beach faced the wall of smoke shrouding the central plateau when the November 8 fire spread.
“It was quite catastrophic for the area to watch, as all events like that are,” she said.
“They take a personal toll on people.”
She said people were asking what was going to happen and how would it affect them.
And it has had an effect – this week, Phillips-Ryburn had to let an employee go.
“The following weeks beyond that fire were quite catastrophic. Customers didn’t come. There was no tourism.
“It’s been really difficult for all the businesses locally because the numbers just haven’t been there.”
Sam Wilson opened The Station cafe at Waimarino’s railway station last year and so far has traded through a tough winter and then the fire.
“The effect was short term and we got back up to pace pretty quickly,” he said.
“Where we’ve seen a potential slowdown in trade is where they’ve put restrictions on the start of the crossing, whereby no private vehicles are allowed up there and it’s only accessed via commercial operators.”
The cost of about $70 for that could put off some travellers, he said.
RNZ visited the cafe during a busy weekday early afternoon with the sun shining.
But, for Wilson, the weather’s the biggest battle.
“This summer’s been horrendous, so that’s had a big effect.
“When the crossing is not doable due to wind and low visibility, that’s had a big effect on trade.
“Talking to other operators in the area, they say it’s down considerably and you wouldn’t put that down to the fires. I’d put that down to the atrocious weather.”
Enjoying the sun outside while his friends waited for a train was Adrian Boden, who spends summer in Waimarino.
While he said the town had returned to normal, the nearby landscape was still scarred.
“When you drive along the main road of that area you do see it from a distance and it’s so different.
“You actually can see, wow, that was some fire. I think it was 3000ha and you can see the destruction that it wreaked.”
English tourist Izzie Robertson also saw some fire damage when doing the Tongariro Crossing.
She said she and her friends did not consider cancelling after they had checked the walk was still possible.
“When we were driving up towards the site of the trail there was a lot of burnt vegetation and stuff like that.
“But, after we started doing the trail we didn’t notice much damage.”
Tongariro Crossing Lodge owner Louis van Wyk said the fire’s effects didn’t last, but the region was owed a decent winter.
“We had quite a few cancellations because people couldn’t do the crossing for at least a week and there was uncertainty about how long that would last.
“We did definitely have an impact for those first few days and couple of weeks. Since then it’s almost like it didn’t happen.”
Van Wyk is a volunteer firefighter. He helped with efforts battling the November blaze and was one of the first on the scene for the smaller December fire.
“Just seeing it go was very sobering and sad. I was thinking, ‘is this going to be the same again?’ – but fortunately that one went on to be a bit smaller.”
Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said the region was busy now, as plenty of groups of visiting walkers and cyclists took advantage of the more settled weather.
He expected electronic figures reported by council-controlled organisation Visit Ruapehu would show the effects of the fire.
Department of Conservation technical adviser, flora and ecosystems Paul Cashmore said the fire destroyed vegetation, and killed native birds, lizards and insects.
No critically endangered species were known to live in the burned area.
“Anyone who has visited the area recently can attest to the regrowth of plants and presence of birds in the burned zone,” he said.
“This regeneration began within the first couple of weeks post-fire and shows the resilience of this landscape. While the system will naturally recover, pressures like invasive weeds threaten this process.
“Maunga Ora, the recovery plan led by Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro with DoC, will largely be focused on weed control.”