Local Focus: Ūpokongaro ready when you are

Ūpokongaro, like many old settlements around the country, has a historic hotel, but unlike many of them, Ūpokongaro's pub is still running.

"It's operated as a hotel since the late 1800s," said Pat Tasker.

"The community rely on the hotel to be fair. We get really good support from the local community around, just the farmers and the pā up at Kaiwhaiki."

And that community is about to grow with the addition of the new cycle bridge. The bridge connects both sides of the river for the first time since 1935 when there was a punt operated by a wire pulley.

"The bridge is just going to add a new dynamic to us across the river," Tasker said. "There's another little community, Papaiti there. We'll open the hotel up for that group.

"We've had a lot of interest from people over there saying they can't wait for the bridge is open and they will come across. And they'll become part of our community then I suppose."

Delays to finishing the bridge are amog many challenges the hotel has faced over its lifetime. The current building was built in 1931, but a few days before it opened it was burnt down in a fire lit to clear the old hotel from the site.

"A spark went over to the new one and burnt it down," Tasker said. "So they didn't get it open that time and had to rebuild it."

Leanne Black took over the cafe at the hotel and experienced her own delays because of the lockdown. As a caterer, she's able to continue at level 3 with some modifications but has found herself in the car delivering more than she expected.

She and one of her sons have modified the cafe door so they can serve coffee, cakes and biscuits.

"We have a drawer that we put it into, to put it out to the customer - totally contactless and we sterilise as we go as well."

As lockdown restrictions ease, Black is looking forward to re-opening the doors so people can enjoy the hotel's many charms.

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