Lobby system for Great Walks booking overcoming glitches
Photo:
Unsplash / Mac Gaither
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is confident the glitches that have plagued the Great Walks booking system have been fixed but says it will not be complacent.
The booking system has faced multiple crashes and false starts over the past two years, often surrounding the opening of the Milford Track.
In 2023, the website crashed when more than 10,000 people tried to book the Milford Track at the same time, forcing DOC to delay the opening of bookings by a few months.
Bookings opened on Tuesday for backcountry huts, cabins, lodges and cottages, while Great Walk bookings have been spaced out for the rest of the month.
DOC director of heritage and visitors Cat Wilson said there was now a lobby system and the website had been upgraded to improve people's booking experience.
"I'm as confident as I can be that those issues have been resolved and we've had a really smooth morning... where we've seen the queuing system in particular work really well," she said.
It meant that anyone arriving before the start time would be held and then released into the queue to prevent the website from becoming overloaded.
"Experience definitely tells us that we can't be complacent when we open up the Great Walk bookings. We've done a lot of hard work since last year to do everything we can to make the process as smooth and as fair as possible for customers," Wilson said.
About 2750 bookings were made on Tuesday morning, but she said the real test would be when the popular Milford Track opened for bookings on 28 May.
That was later than usual, as the Milford Track was often one of the first to open to allow people who missed out to have a chance to book another Great Walk instead.
"We have made some quite significant changes to our booking system so we did really want to test those on some of the lower volume walks and huts," Wilson said.
She encouraged people to be ready and get there on time if they wanted a spot, but also to check for cancellations if they missed out.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
31 minutes ago
- 1News
Govt announces foreign visitor charges at popular DOC sites
Foreign visitors will soon need to pay a charge to access some of New Zealand's most famous tourist destinations on conservation land, the Government announced today. It was also announced that concessions would be widened to allow for more business activity on conservation land. The charges announced today would mean foreign tourists visiting Cathedral Cove / Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Aoraki Mount Cook would need to pay between $20 and $40 per person. New Zealanders would not be charged for access. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said foreigners made up 80% of all visitors at the destinations. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT He estimated the charges could make up to $62 million a year in revenue, which would be directly reinvested into those same areas. 'Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change," Potaka said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said sites that were "truly special" to Kiwis needed to be protected, and said the charges would give the Department of Conservation more support. "But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free." Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. File photo. (Source: Getty) Luxon said it would create more economic opportunities out of underutilised Department of Conservation land. The charge would be similar to the cost of admission for international visitors to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where an adult currently paid $32 and child, aged between five and 15, paid $16. ADVERTISEMENT Alongside the charges, the Government also announced widening concessions, for businesses to operate on conservation land. Aoraki / Mount Cook along the Hooker Valley Track on a sunny day in the South Island. (Source: "We're going to fix the Conservation Act to unlock more economic activity through concessions – like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense," Luxon said "That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy, and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running." Luxon said there would still be restrictions to protect the natural environment. "Of course it won't make sense for businesses to be operating on every part of the DOC estate," he said. "But where it does make sense, we need to get to the 'yes' much faster – instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty." Tourist enjoying views of upper Clinton valley on Milford Track. (Source: Luxon said the current concessions scheme was "totally broken", saying it often took years to obtain or renew, "leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo". 'Outdated rules mean we've got examples of modern e-bike users being turned away from potential touring opportunities because they have to be considered as proper vehicles. "And tourism on the Routeburn is being held up because the trail crosses artificial boundaries, with different rules and different limits."
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Wave' of Conservation Act concessions, foreign visitor charge for high-volume DOC sites
The announcement was made at the National Party annual conference. Photo: Samuel Rillstone / RNZ The government plans to make it easier to get a concession to operate on Conservation land and will bring in a foreign visitor charge at some popular tourist spots. "First, we're going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions - like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense," Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. Luxon said the current concessions regime "is totally broken" and could take years for a business to obtain or renew. "Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate - from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers. "Outdated rules mean we've got examples of modern E-bike users being turned away from potential touring opportunities because they have to be considered as proper vehicles. "And tourism on the Routeburn is being held up because the trail crosses artificial boundaries, with different rules and different limits." Luxon also announced the government will introduce a charge for foreign visitors to access high volume sites. Cathedral Cove / Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Aoraki Mount Cook will be the locations initially looked at, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said. He said this is where foreigners often make up 80 percent of all visitors. "It's only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person." New Zealanders will not be charged. Tama Potaka says initially, four sites will have charges for foreign visitors. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Prime Minister has addressed National members at the annual party conference, capping off a week in which MPs attempted to steer public minds back toward the government's cost-of-living policies. When asked earlier this week what his message to party faithful would be, [Luxon said the nation was " turning the corner]". "This country's got great potential and a great future ahead of it, and we've just got to keep working at it." National's deputy leader Nicola Willis said the conference would be focused on the steps the government was taking to make the country "an easier, better place to do business, to hire people, to create well paying jobs". Party ministers will hold panels on health, education, law and order, agriculture, and the economy and cost of living as part of the annual event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Queenstown Shotover Jet turns 60: From river ferry to iwi-led tourism icon
A Shotover Jet glides through the Arthurs Point Gorge Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet One of New Zealand's best-known adventure rides is celebrating 60 years in business after evolving from a simple five-person riverboat into an iconic thrill-seekers' attraction. Ngāi Tahu Tourism said the milestone was about much more than commercial success; it was a moment of pride for mana whenua who have taken the wheel. Shotover Jet business manager Donald Boyer said Shotover Jet rose from humble origins. Herm Palmer (right), who was an early owner and operator of Shotover Jet, 1966. Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet "It pretty much did start with a couple of blokes and a really small wooden boat that seated about four to five passengers. "It was a transport service that came from Queenstown across the lake and up the Shotover to Arthurs Point purely for transport. The boat did about 30 km per hour, so quite sedate. "Through the 70s and 80s, it morphed into the thrill-based experience that it is." More than 4.6 million people have since taken a ride on the Shotover Jet, which has garnered national attention, won tourism awards and hosted prime ministers and royals. Ngāi Tahu Tourism general manager Jolanda Cave said a handshake deal with Ngāi Tahu in 1999 laid the foundations for the iwi's entire tourism arm, which now includes eight other ventures around Te Waipounamu. Ngāi Tahu Tourism General Manager Jolanda Cave, Shotover Jet Business Manager Donald Boyer and Kāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua Kāhui representative Paulette Tamati-Elliffe. Photo: Katie Todd / RNZ "The Shotover Jet is ultimately the jewel in the crown for Ngāi Tahu Tourism. It was the first tourism venture that we purchased, and it is ultimately what started the growth of what Ngāi Tahu Tourism is today," she said. Cave was among those who gathered on the riverbank on Friday morning to mark six decades of the Shotover Jet. The company planned to give free rides on Saturday and was releasing a documentary about its history. The money iwi used to buy into Shotover Jet came from a Treaty settlement involving $170m in Crown redress in the 1990s. Cave said Ngāi Tahu Tourism secured full ownership by 2004 and became one of the country's biggest tourism operators. Ross Melhop, one of the two brothers who founded Shotover Jet Services in 1965. Photo: Supplied / Shotover Jet "It's really enabled us to use the international manuhiri, the domestic manuhiri and use our voice so we're able to tell our stories. We're able to look after the whenua that we operate in and we're able to lead how we feel tourism should be in the future," she said. The Shotover River or Kimiākau Awa has been part of Ngāi Tahu's whakapapa for generations. Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, a member of Kāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua Kāhui, which represented the seven Papatipu Rūnanga of the area, said the waters were used to transport supplies and gather food, plants and pounamu. "This place was very important to us. It was a huge part of our tribal, our traditional tribal economy," she said. To maintain that connection and to be able to provide those benefits, tangible and intangible, for not only this generation but future generations to come, is just so important." Shotover Jet plans to give away free rides on Saturday, and it will be releasing a documentary about its story. Photo: Katie Todd / RNZ Kimiākau meant to search for the shoreline or sea, Tamati-Elliffe said. "The sandy, golden beaches that we enjoy on the coast of Dunedin come from these rocks and from this river, so that connection that our people have maintained for generations, from the mountains to the sea. "It just makes sense, that name, Kimiakau." Tamati-Elliffe said iwi hoped to see more whanau engaged in the business in future. "We want to strengthen and enhance what's already a great experience for manuhiri, and we believe we're on that trajectory." Boyer said sustainability was a big focus for the Shotover Jet as the company embarked on the next decade. "Over the last few years, we've started transitioning to engines that burn about 30 percent less fuel than the previous ones," he said. That's all part of our journey towards being at a point where we burn no fossil fuels, whether that's electric or hydrogen. "It's just an incredible achievement for a business in New Zealand to get to 60 years, and I'm just super proud to be leading the business and into this next decade." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
