How to fix the overcrowding issue at Milford Sound/Piopiotahi has been the focus of intense discussion for more than four decades. Even in the early 1980s, the influx of visitors during the peak summer months seemed unbearable. Back then, the annual numbers edged over 200,000 a year. In 2003, this writer wrote for the Listener about the proposal to lower a barrier arm across the road when Milford reached capacity - by then, about 450,000 a year. In 2019, pre-Covid, visitor numbers reached 870,000. Operators are preparing for a similar influx this summer, more than 6000 people on a typically busy summer's day.
We've heard or endured the horror stories - the nose-to-tail and overtaking traffic on State Highway 94 (Milford Road), the chaos in the carparks, the queues to buy a lukewarm pie or board a vessel, even the boats queueing to take their place in front of Stirling Falls for passengers to snap selfies. And then there's the force of nature - avalanches closing the road, or floods and cascading debris doing far worse.
Talks begin, talks ebb, the cycle of discussions and proposals have come and gone over four decades with the nor'west storms.
Until now, perhaps. The latest fix-it mission began in 2017 and is gathering political force and momentum. Its official title: the Milford Opportunities Project, with the rather unfortunate anagram of MOP. Six years on, a 1400-page masterplan in place, the question is: will MOP "fix it" this time, and if so, at what financial, legislative and human cost? And what will be the ripple effect on conservation land throughout Aotearoa, for tourism operators and on the intrinsic values and governance of our national parks?
When MOP was established in 2017, it consisted of a working group from local government, iwi, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It was chaired by the forthright ex-Meridian CEO, Keith Turner.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 11 - 17, 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 11 - 17, 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
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A hint of mermaids
Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.
Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.
Something's wrong with all of them
Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.
Cell warfare
A NZ trial using immunotherapy to beat a form of blood cancer is expanding after promising results – and it's hoped the 'gold standard' treatment will soon be widely available.
The virus that stole all the smells
In this edited extract from The Forgotten Sense, Jonas Olofsson traces the rise in anosmia as a result of Covid-19 infections.
When caring is ‘woke'
Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"
Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.
That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.
The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.
Gone girl
She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.
