After the ordeal of getting to the McKenzie Basin, today was a lovely day of toodling around in the rain.
The Statistics
Today was a gentle 93 kms over 8 hours, pretty much just toodling along on a flat tarsealed surface. It doesn’t actually come any easier than this, with the only downside being it was cold and wet.
The Ride
I was glad I’d paid for accommodation in Lake Tekapo (more on that later), because over night the rain, which had been threatening, actually set in and the temperatures dropped.
My initially thinking was that I’d go to Twizel where the accommodation choices were better, and from there, do Lake Ohau to Omarama all in one day. Vic convinced me otherwise, and today’s ride was to Lake Ohau to stay the night.
Wrapped up in my long johns, thermal undershirt, and my Kathmandu X-Series jacket, I was good to go, and I pushed out the door at 6:00am.
Lake Tekapo Tourism – Failure to Launch for Many Reasons
The accommodation for the night was at Starry Vista Delta – a place I’d gotten off Booking.com the previous night in Geraldine, not wishing to make the same mistake in Tekapo as I did there.
Of all the places I’ve stayed at, at $241 for the night, this place was twice as expensive as the rest, and half a generous in its facilities and offerings.
When I arrived, Lynn, the owner, met me at the door. Effectively, what I had “brought” was a room on the ground floor of her new house, which had 2 beds, an ensuite, tv, and a fridge and jug. That was it. In all, I had about 10 meters maximum.
It looks like she’d purchased a brand new house which some developer had sold her the idea of home and income, through providing the downstairs as accommodation. And she priced it at what they market would bear.
Unbalanced Tourism Accommodation Infrastructure
She was able to charge these prices because of the laws of supply and demand. The supply of holiday accommodation in Lake Tekapo, across the price spectrum, just isn’t there. Virtually all of the accommodation was catered to the premium end of the market.
There was no midpriced hotels/motels, pubs offering accommodation nor backpackers catering to the passer by like me.
Everything was pitched to the high-end of the market, and when I arrived a bus load of Asian tourists were leaving their bus and heading into the expensive Chinese Restuarant.
Missing opportunity – catering to the middle / low end of the market
The absence of any middle/lower priced accommodation in Tekapo itself resulted in this: demand for lower price points being spatially “squeezed” out Lake Tekapo.
Six “longdrops” provided the toilet facilities for this campervan area, and I could smell them 100 meters before I approached them.
They were absolutely disgusting, and I’d rather shit on the side of the road then in them.
This “lost” demand, squeezed out of Tekapo by a lack of accommodation also starves Tekapo business of customers. Undoubtably this one of the reasons why Twizel is actually a thriving, interesting town just down the road. As a place to buy into, Twizel is also very affordable.
But if you can’t afford Peppers Bluewater Resort, and your needs are larger than Lynn’s $241 shoebox, then freedom camping at the above location is your Lake Tekapo “tourism experience”.
Lake Tekapo struck me to be dining out on its pretty church and its lake. Its tourism infrastructure was undercooked, its tourism offering is sparse, and its unique tourism attractors are few.
It has “Failed to Launch” in the tourism space.
I’m interested to see what will happen with Tekapo house prices when anyone can build three unit apartments, three stories high on their land as of right.
Lynn might find her expensive house, whose price would have been inflated by its accommodation potential, might not be able to charge the premium she is when someone sticks a backpackers (or two) down the road. the
Hamner Springs Nails Tourism
On my travels, an area which has “balanced” accommodation infrastructure is Hamner Springs.
At Hamner, all price points are catered for, and the town is alive with people, activity and tourism attractors.
Invasive Plants and Animals
I saw LOTS of these:
Wilding pines and conifers were everywhere. Some areas were being managed, and the budding young trees were dead, but all throughout my ride I saw thousands of stray pines now growing in the wild.
I also countered 11 wild bunnies bouncing away from me.
This area has some solid work to do on their invasive species pest control, else its going to lose the distinctiveness of the McKenzie country basin.
Gosh I love Our Electrical Generation Infrastructure!
Virtually all day, as I cycled, I followed the water canals between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. Look at this photo! Great engineering.
There was also lots of action happening inside the canals. Salmon were being farmed, and fishermen were fishing for brown and rainbow trout, and salmon. The canals had become ecosystems of their own.
A2O Cycle Trail
Both today and tomorrow, I’ll be following the Alpine to Ocean (A2O) cycle trail. And I’m very impressed with the standard of the track!
The Lake Tekapo leg of the ride ends at a salmon shop where (surprise, surprise) you can buy fresh salmon.
Businesses along the way have worked together to create a package deal which supported this group’s tourism needs, and I thought it was fabulous example of how these Great Cycle Trails can create regional economic demand.
Interesting Things Along the Way
I stopped to check out this hut beside Lake Ohau. I thought it looked interesting :). It also sounded interesting, as water dropped onto a plastic cover, together with the sound of gentle rain on its tin roof.
Lovely people I met
Lovely People I’ve met
Dale and Kelly and their Families
They turn out to be three families who decided to do the A2O trail as a school holiday adventure. So for the next six days, there are going from Breamar Road down to Oamaru.
While I was there, organising Lake Ohau accommmodation, a group of 15 people turned up on their e-bikes, so I got chatting.
Vanessa and Grant
Pictures or it Didn’t Happen
Somewhere under here is a very scenic lake, and on of the photo checkpoints for this journey.
Humm… stoopid weather 🙂