Major earthquake, COVID-19 pandemic leaves Kaikoura companies ‘arms-shy’

The Jane Barnes Hotel hasn’t seen 12 months of continuous trading since it bought it less than a year before the great earthquake in Kaikoura.

The North Canterbury seaside town now has a new highway, the Māori artwork weaving through it, and views of the newly protruding rocky sea floor after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on November 14, 2016.

It was only just getting started when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and despite it being a “resilient” community, constant uncertainty and a lack of international travelers have made business owners fear for their futures.

Dean Williams / Stuff

Jane Barnes, owner of Kaikoura Boutique Hotel, says the earthquake and the Covid pandemic taught her not to be too focused on tourists.

Barnes and partner Warren Bartlett purchased the Kaikōura Boutique Hotel ten months before the earthquake. The building sustained “serious and real damage”, and was in need of an overhaul for 12 months.

Read more: * “It was a big part of this city”: Historic Canterbury Hotel burns * “Shocked us again”: Kaikoura, the port city that can’t be broken * Corona virus hit “ harder and deeper” than Kaiko ?? Yura earthquake

They bought the Koura Bay Golf Resort next, then the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

The past five years have left her “shy of her gun” and “terrified of the next move.”

“I don’t think we’ve had 12 straight months of uninterrupted trading in the six years we’ve had it.”

They have adapted by opening bars and cafes, expanding the golf course, and selling two properties to stay afloat.

“We’ve learned some lessons, not to focus on tourism.”

In order to attract “price-sensitive” New Zealand travelers, they lowered their prices to “rock bottom”.

The companies had a “reasonable October, so we feel a little relaxed”, but there weren’t enough local travelers.

They depended on subsidies to break even, but the government could not “finance” the business in the long run.

Dean Williams / Stuff

Kaikoura’s destination manager Lisa Bond says the city has been through a lot, but positive things are happening.

Kaikoura’s destination manager Lisa Bond said that before the pandemic, when she was working in marketing at Whale Watch, there were signs that the city was recovering well from the earthquake.

“Just when we thought we were bouncing back, it was as if the rug had been torn from under our feet.”

The pandemic was “too severe” in the city, and businesses needed certainty about when to allow Auckland and international visitors back, so they could plan for the summer.

Dean Williams / Stuff

Tekoteko of Mania at Te Ana Pouri is one of the new artworks along the Kaikōura coast after the earthquake.

“It’s like a duck, you see them swimming along the water but under the water their legs go crazy.”

She said the local community took care of each other even though it’s a “flexible group,” and big projects and events would help the city.

“There are really good things going on, and we just have to look at the positive things that happen even though it’s hard.”

Cray Fest, a 16-day “lobster crawl” through the city’s food outlets, coincided with the anniversary of this year’s earthquake, and the city was “really excited” about the opening of a new aquatic center five years after the previous earthquake destroyed.

Dean Williams / Stuff

Closed business on the main street of Kaikoura.

Bond said the new Māori artwork along the coast was also “a trip worth taking for New Zealanders”.

“Every city has your detractors,” said Maurice Manawatu (Ngati Kuri), who led the cultural artwork group that weaved Mana stories from when they came from local pastures and along the coast, while most locals loved it.

Two days after the pou whenua – Hinerongo – was installed on the waterfront, “someone came with a sledgehammer and attacked it” to destroy the hapū.

“I’m shocked even the non-Maori here.”

Dean Williams / Stuff

Maurice Manawatu, from Ngāti Kurī, with pou from Te Ruahikihiki in Araramai.

But it all happened for a reason, nothing has been touched since, and the artwork has been around for generations to come.

“Having that on our landscapes, it gives a sense of pride.

Don’t forget our stories and legends.

The hapū now has a strong voice within Kaikōura, and there will be more Māori art in the city’s imprint with three developments coming – Wakatu Quay, Boardwalk, and Hotel Sudima – slated to open in November 2022.

Dean Williams / Stuff

The Wallace family from Christchurch enjoying some fish and chips on the beach.

“Our kids will grow up with their heads held high, wanting to know their stories.”

Manawatu believes Kaikura has adapted “really amazing” considering the massive impact of a massive earthquake and epidemic in five years.

But there was concern about the lack of job opportunities for young people (Rangatahi).

“The fear is that they go, and they don’t come back.”

Dean Williams / Stuff

Pouwhenua of Tuteurutira at Paparoa Point.

He hoped that the new Sudima Hotel, in which Ronanga had invested, would be a good solution. The hotel was expected to create 50 to 80 new jobs.

A spokesperson for the Economic Development and Tourism Agency ChristchurchNZ said the Kaikoura business had received $188,643 in financial support for Covid-19 as of Thursday. Funding came from the Tourist Communities: Support, Recovery and Reassignment Fund.

He said a total of 101 companies had expressed interest in the fund, and Christchurch NZ continued to reach out to those who had not registered or had not completed an application.

The business growth consultant also visited the community in September and worked closely with Destination Kaikōura to encourage qualified companies to apply.

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