They're queuing to cross the Bridge to Nowhere

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: THE LAST thing you expect is a queue to get to the remote Bridge to Nowhere ? but there was one on some busy weekends last summer.
There were 4651 people who paid to use Conservation Department huts, toilets, tracks and campsites on the Whanganui River last season, DoC community relations officer Keith Beautrais said.
That was up 10 percent on the previous summer, which was up 10 percent on the one before.
And there could be more people on the river than tallies of those paying for facilities indicate. Some people may paddle without using the facilities, and others may paddle and use them without paying.
However wardens at Whanganui River huts last summer said there were very few freeloaders.
"Dave Russell said 520 canoeists went down and there was 100 percent compliance with the facility users' pass system."
Some of the businesses that operate canoe tours on the river wonder whether numbers using the facilities should be limited by a booking system, to avoid overcrowding.
At the Mangapurua Landing, where canoes and jetboats tie up so people can walk to the famous Bridge to Nowhere, it gets especially crowded.
But Mr Beautrais said no one really wanted a booking system. "It would be complicated on the river, where people can be held up by floods and freshes."
Of those who went paddling last summer, 56 percent were New Zealanders. Another eight percent were from the United Kingdom, eight percent from Germany, four percent from the United States and three percent from Israel.
The percentage of Kiwis was up and Germans down, perhaps reflecting the changing fortunes of the New Zealand dollar. More than 90 percent of users were on the river for more than one night.
The cost of using DoC facilities for three to five nights was $35 to $60 for an adult and $22.50 to $30 for youth. This helped pay for their maintenance, especially the expense of flying toilet contents out by helicopter.
Hut wardens, who met recently, said it had been a great season with good weather and good natured people. The star attraction, the 40-minute walk to see the Bridge to Nowhere, re-opened just in time for Christmas. It had to be closed late last year while a bridge along the track was replaced.
The famous bridge can get thousands of visitors in a very short time, most of them arriving at the Mangapurua Landing by jetboat. Mr Beautrais said next season there would be another point of interest along the track, a historic plough.
A full powhiri for those who stay at Tieke Marae/Hut has been an attraction in the past.
It didn't happen last season, because local iwi Tamahaki had to give priority to other work. However hut warden Mack Te Huia was at Tieke for most of the season.
"There's still a feeling that a lot of tourists really are looking for a Maori dimension to the trip. A marae experience would be a great thing if it can be organised," Mr Beautrais said.