A paid parking trial planned for Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Franz Josef Glacier is being closely watched in Wānaka, with the local tourism boss noting it should be considered in the wider context of other charges facing visitors.The Department of Conservation (DOC) trial will see parking at the two tourism hotspots charged at $5 per hour or $20 per day, with concessions for locals (within district boundaries) and tourism operators.Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods told the Wānaka App that fees of this kind need to be managed carefully.“It’s important the government reviews visitor fees and charges as a whole system, and more importantly that funds are invested back into the place where they’re collected,” he said.“Parking fees are a way to help better manage popular sites, ensuring everyone contributes and can appreciate our most treasured natural attractions.”Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods urges a big-picture view on visitor charges ahead of paid parking trials. PHOTO: LWTHe noted that a $100 international visitor levy is already collected at the border per person and it will soon cost another $20 - $40 to enter four national parks around the country.“Add parking into the mix and the fees accumulate, it starts getting expensive, and we will start seeing the impact,” Mat said.The nine-month paid parking pilot is planned to start in October, with a trial at Aoraki/Mount Cook to follow in December. As well as the hourly and daily fees, there will be an annual pass for locals (within district boundaries) for $10 per year, a $60 annual pass for other regular visitors, and concession-holding tourism operators will be able to apply for a parking fee exemption during the pilot.“The pricing proposal aims to answer submitters’ calls for an initial free period, special consideration for locals, and a reasonable price for visitors,” DOC director of heritage and visitors Catherine Wilson said.“It is designed to be simple and easy to understand and provide different fee options tailored to different users of the car parks.”Legislation allows DOC to levy “fair and reasonable fees” for the use of its facilities, which include campsites, huts and car parks, Catherine said.“This is standard practice at many national parks overseas,” she said. “Most international visitors accept this as a necessary contribution to support the amazing nature they come to New Zealand to enjoy.”  Once the pilot is complete and the outcomes reviewed, a decision will be made on whether to continue with paid parking at the three sites, and whether to extend it to other busy sites. 

Wao Aotearoa has officially launched its 2025 Wao Summit - and tickets are available now.The summit will feature six days of kōrero, films, walking tours, practical workshops, and community events across Wānaka and Queenstown, from October 28-November 2. Each summit is dedicated to climate action, system change, and stronger communities, but each year has a new theme.The 2025 theme is ‘2125 - our journey to the future’, Wao Aotearoa general manager Monique Kelly announced at Thursday’s (August 14) launch event.“It's us that are leading and making that journey into 2125,” she said.“We need to be able to know what the steps are that we need to take in order to create that thriving ecosystem in which all life can thrive.”Monique said this question would underpin all the sessions at this year’s summit.“Our audience are future generations,” she said. “They're the ones who are going to be judging us and scoring us.“So we really want to make sure that everything we do is for them.”The launch event took place at Rhyme X Reason Brewery, and included a presentation by professor Sara Walton, who teaches and researches in the area of sustainability, climate change and business.Sara will be one of the speakers at the Wao Summit.Professor Sara Walton of Otago University was a guest speaker at the launch.Others include Dr Maureen Murphy, who researches food system resilience; Melanie Joan Lloyd, a snowboarder, climate policy advisor and artist; and Dr Carly Green, who has more than 20 years experience in climate change mitigation.Learn about these speakers, and many more, at the Wao website, where the full programme is now available.PHOTO: Wānaka App

Queenstown Airport is celebrating its 90th birthday as one of New Zealand’s oldest commercial airports still operating on its original site.The airport - now an international gateway welcoming more than 2.6M passengers each year - has come a long way from its humble beginnings.The 1930s were a golden era for aviation and the people of the Whakatipu Basin were excited by the possibility of connecting with the rest of New Zealand and other parts of the world more easily.They identified the disused Frankton racecourse as the perfect location for an official aerodrome and began lobbying politicians and officials to make this happen. The land on which Queenstown Airport was established was used as a racecourse from 1863 until about 1920 and the first hangar was built alongside the stone grandstand. PHOTO: QACA landing ground licence was granted in August 1935 and contractors were hired to level a grass airstrip - the beginnings of Queenstown Airport.“It is important to recognise milestones of this magnitude and to look back with gratitude for the foresight of those who laid the foundation for what we enjoy today,” QAC chair Simon Flood said. “It is also an opportunity to take stock of our direction of travel to ensure Queenstown Airport remains a place our community takes pride in and our passengers love to travel through.“Airports are important places, and we are proud of our long history and the deep connection we share with our community.”Queenstown Airport’s first terminal was a humble building, constructed after the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Co Ltd began flying 32-seat DC-3s between Christchurch and Queenstown in 1964. PHOTO: QACSimon said Queenstown Airport was built with entrepreneurial spirit and it remains a vital enabler of social and economic wellbeing.“We are carefully managing its growth to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the people and businesses of the Southern Lakes region for decades to come.”Queenstown Airport chief operating officer Todd Grace said it was a privilege to be responsible for developing infrastructure for the next generation.By the end of the 1960s, the main runway had been sealed and a flight services station established, enabling Hawker-Siddeley 748 flights. PHOTO: Archives New Zealand R24767905“The next phase of our journey is really exciting for our team,” he said. “We’re at the very beginning of a substantial programme of investment to enhance safety, resilience, sustainability, and customer experience.”“We’re grateful to everyone who has been part of our story so far, and we’re committed to ensuring Queenstown Airport is fit for the future, while retaining what makes it special.”

Two new seasonal visas announced by the government have been welcomed by local operators.The up to three-year Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) and up to seven-month Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) will help businesses access the workers they need during peak periods, while also prioritising jobs for New Zealanders, immigration minister Erica Stanford announced this week. “The new visa is great news for Wānaka and Queenstown tourism operators, from snow making to wine making, allowing highly skilled seasonal talent to return to the region for work,” Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods told the Wānaka App.“It will help create more consistency and less disruption across the tourism sector, ensuring visitors can enjoy world class experiences across all four seasons.”Cardrona & Treble Cone chief mountains officer Laura Hedley told the Wānaka App the GWSV will “provide greater confidence for the Aotearoa ski industry and many of its key staff”.“While the majority of our workforce is from New Zealand, we also rely on seasonal snow sports professionals from around the world to open Cardrona and Treble Cone each winter. These staff come back year after year in roles such as instructors, groomer operators and patrollers and they bring a huge amount of skills and knowledge to our team each winter. “This new visa pathway gives both them and us more certainty, and we welcome the change.”The GWSV is for highly experienced seasonal workers in roles such as rural contracting, sheep scanning, winemaking, and snow instruction. It enables skilled workers to return for subsequent seasons on the same visa. Visa holders will need to spend a minimum of three months out of every 12 months offshore before returning to New Zealand. The PSV is for short-term seasonal roles such as meat and seafood processing, calf-rearing, and wool handling. Visa holders will have to have at least one season of previous relevant experience and people will need to leave New Zealand for at least four months before the visa can be renewed. For visa over three months there will be a new requirement for insurance with health coverage.Waitaki MP Miles Anderson said many seasonal businesses in the electorate have “recruitment challenges”.“A huge part of the Waitaki’s prosperity centres around the meat, fruit and tourism industries. These new visas will help these businesses access the workers they need throughout their respective seasons,” he said.PHOTO: Supplied

There has been keen interest from Kiwis and foreign buyers in the sale of the Cardrona Hotel, and expressions of interest close on Friday (August 15).The 162-year-old heritage-listed hotel and restaurant has been on the market for five weeks, and owners Cade and Alexis Thornton said enquiries had surpassed their expectations.“We’ve had a lot of enquiry from Australia, as well as potential domestic buyers,” Cade said.“We have narrowed our discussions down to eight groups, so it’s looking promising. “Each group are fantastic operators with a background in hospitality or hotels. Alexis and I are confident that we'll find a highly skilled and experienced publican who will do great things for the hotel.”The interested buyers are from New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Singapore, and many have a prior connection to the hotel.“It has been really nice to see that almost all the interested parties already have an emotional connection to the hotel and have visited or stayed with us in the past,” Cade said.The hotel listing on Trade Me Property is the website’s third most popular live listing this year, with more than 130,016 views in the five weeks it has been listed. Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd said engagement with the listing showed the hotel “holds a special place in the hearts of many New Zealanders”.There has also been strong interest from global media, with the hotel appearing in the news around the world, from Australia to Iceland. Expressions of interest for the sale close at 4pm on Friday.PHOTO: Supplied

Discussion will resume in Wānaka later this month on the council’s controversial proposed Urban Intensification Variation (UIV).A hearing on the UIV will take place at Edgewater Resort on August 25-27, following sessions in Queenstown over the past few weeks.If approved the UIV would allow for substantially increased building height and density in parts of Wānaka, including the CBD.The UIV - first proposed two years ago - proposes increasing allowable building height to eight metres in the Lower Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) and 11 metres (+ 1m for pitched roofs) in the Medium Density Residential Zone (MDRZ), as well as 16.5 metres in the CBD.It would also include rezoning some areas in the Upper Clutha from LDRZ to MDRZ.This 16.5 metre scaffolding was erected on Brownston Street to demonstrate the potential impact of some of the proposals. PHOTO: Wānaka AppWānaka resident Mark Gray is one of the members of Wānaka Responsible Growth Advocates group responsible for erecting a 16.5 metre scaffolding on Brownston Street in 2023 to demonstrate the height of some of the proposals.Read more: Scaffolding sparks debateMark attended the Arrowtown UIV hearing session recently, arguing that the UIV would put Wānaka’s “character” at risk. “This character underwrites the value of the town to residents and visitors alike and is integral to the national and international reputation of Wānaka as an alpine resort destination,” he told the Wānaka App.“I implored the hearing panel to slow up the process to examine all options to satisfy the remit of [central government’s national policy statement on urban development] but do not risk altering/eroding the highly valued character of the town.”Mark is one of many submitters on the UIV supporting intensification at Three Parks rather than elsewhere.The bulk of submissions to Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) oppose the proposal. Mark said Three Parks “has all the ducks in a row - essentially green fields, prospective rather than retrospective infill, blank slate infrastructure, parking, recreational amenity, professional services, large and small box retail, supermarket zoning for HDR and MDR, and so on”.He argues that while the existing CBD and Wānaka’s “central residential” area could take on some intensification (“more out than up”), they “account for the character of the town - low rise, village-like alpine resort town”.He said “more modest intensification in these zones would preserve character”, while shifting the bulk of intensification to Three Parks. “Three Parks is by default becoming the central focus of the town in any case and if planned, designed and managed well, could be a great example of what the [NPS-UD] is looking to achieve."The UIV is an outcome of central government’s national policy statement on urban development (NPS-UD), which directs councils around the country to remove some planning rules and plan for growth ‘both up and out’.Read a more detailed explainer of the proposal here.It aims to respond to overly restrictive planning rules around the country that have driven up prices and denied people housing. QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen has said it is intended “to stop local communities and local councils forever finding reasons not to intensify”.The Wānaka sessions of the hearing will take place from August 25-27 (Monday to Wednesday) at Edgewater Resort.Read more: ‘Confronting’ changes proposed for Wānaka CBD

Teams from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), led by the Labour Inspectorate, have launched a sweeping compliance monitoring operation in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago. Coinciding with the peak ski season activity, the four-day operation, codenamed Operation Fandango, is focused on ensuring that both employers and employees in the ski sector are aware of their rights and responsibilities under the law, MBIE said in a statement. The majority of the businesses being visited will be in the hospitality and retail sectors but construction, cleaning and security businesses will also be under the spotlight. “Our aim is to promote the fair treatment of workers - particularly those who may be vulnerable - by checking that employment and visa conditions are being met,” Labour Inspectorate’s head of compliance and enforcement Joanne Hacking said.  The operation was initiated following ongoing complaints and concerns about compliance with minimum employment standards in the Queenstown Lakes area.The Labour Inspectorate is being supported by a team from Immigration New Zealand with joint visits planned throughout the operation. Accredited employers are required to meet a range of obligations above minimum employment rights and Immigration New Zealand may complete checks at any time during the accreditation period. Besides Wānaka the teams will also be checking on businesses in Queenstown, Frankton, Glenorchy, Cromwell, and Alexandra. Joanne said while identifying breaches of minimum employment standards is a key focus, educating employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities is also an important part of the operation.“We also want to raise awareness of the Labour Inspectorate and the importance of complying with minimum employment entitlements,” she said. “The operation will include compliance checks for businesses that may not have previously engaged with the Inspectorate, as well as follow-up visits to support ongoing compliance among employers who have had issues in the past.” Operation Fandango follows a successful similar joint MBIE initiative led by the Inspectorate in the Queenstown area during the 2024 ski season. Joanne said ski field and related sector employers need to understand that no matter whether employees are employed on a casual, part-time or fixed-term basis they all have minimum employment rights.“This includes providing all workers with a written employment contract, paying them at least the minimum wage if they are 16 years or older, allowing them meal and rest breaks, and entitlements such as holiday pay, sick leave and public holiday pay.” She stressed the importance of accurate record-keeping for time worked, payments, holidays and leave taken, and entitlements.  PHOTO: Wānaka App

Woolworths Metro Wānaka will close at the end of the month, the company has confirmed.The small-scale grocery store - formerly Countdown Metro Wānaka - has operated from the former BP on Ardmore Street since late 2021.“We’ve seen declining customer demand at the store and, with news of the resource consent for a new full service supermarket at Three Parks, we’ve decided to close the Metro store,” a Woolworths spokesperson told the Wānaka App.“Its last day of trading will be 31 August and we’re working closely with our team to continue their careers with Woolworths.”Local shoppers have been able to collect their online Woolworths grocery orders at the local Woolworths Metro, or have them delivered.The spokesperson indicated online orders would still be possible for Wānaka customers once the Metro closed.“...we’ll be communicating shortly to our customers about options for them, including delivery from our Alexandra store,” they said.Plans are well underway for a much larger 3,900sqm supermarket at Three Parks.That supermarket will open some time in 2027, the spokesperson said.Read more: Wānaka Woolworths one step closerPHOTO: Wānaka App

Last week, the Wānaka App explained the origins and history of Three Parks; today we explore the future development, expansion and diversification of the site.Three Parks, Wānaka’s largest commercial, recreational and retail development, is experiencing exponential growth and diversification, with major retail, residential, health and recreational projects underway that are set to double its development within the next decade.Since its first building opened in 2017, Three Parks has rapidly evolved into a vibrant commercial and community precinct. Now, according to Three Parks’ developer Allan Dippie, owner of Willowridge Developments, momentum is accelerating.“So many things are happening at once now it’s actually hard to choose which project to complete first,” he said.“Three Parks is like constructing a giant Jigsaw puzzle and it’s important all the pieces are in the right places.”Large-scale retailThe big box stores, co-located at the northeastern end (closest to the State Highway) of Three Parks, share shopping demands and car parking across three compact retail precincts.The first and second precincts, beginning with New Word Three Parks supermarket and Mitre 10 MEGA respectively, have attracted a number of large operators from out of town, such as Noel Leeming and The Warehouse, as well as providing growth capacity for already established Wānaka retailers, such as Smith’s City, which relocated to Three Parks.The next major building (beside Mountain Warehouse) to be completed before the end of the year has McKenzie & Willis and Fit Gym lined up as its major tenants, Allan said.Land preparation for the third retail precinct (to the south of Mitre 10 MEGA) is already progressing and will feature a Woolworths New Zealand, which received consent last month to build a large supermarket and a 200m2 venue for retail, food and beverage tenancies.Adjacent to this supermarket, and In the final stages of design, is a new retail complex for four to five retailers which require largescale spaces (400m2-900m2).Plans indicate the location of the proposed town square beside Sir Tim Wallis Drive. And at the heart of Three Parks’ retail precincts, a town square is proposed, catering for a market and a hospitality precinct featuring cafes, pubs and ‘ethnic shared space’ food options.A new boutique cinema, replacing Ruby’s which closed in March this year, will also be located at town square.  Behind the town square and directly opposite Mitre 10 MEGA yet another multi-tenant, large retail space will begin construction soon: there’s “lots of demand from a variety of medium sized to large retailers from all sectors”, Allan said.Commercial office, health and residential developmentAt the Ballantyne Road end of Three Parks a variety of businesses and offices have been established, ranging from vet services, cafes and gyms, to laundries, dog and car wash facilities, funeral services, and indoor trampolining.“Willowridge takes much pride in facilitating these developments which enable local companies and investors to initiate their own projects,” Allan said.Opposite the primary school, a health care precinct is proposed.Property investment company Roa has plans for a $300M privately funded project comprising a five-level hospital with four operating theatres, imaging services, a 24-hour emergency department and more than 70 inpatient, emergency, and post anaesthetic care beds; with more offices co-located providing allied medical services, such as consulting and treatment rooms.At the Ballantyne Road entrance to Three Parks there are a variety of commercial offices and businesses.In addition to these developments, Three Parks is also quietly progressing its residential plans with civil works for the first stage of Metlifecare’s retirement village, adjacent to Wānaka Golf Club’s ‘back nine holes’, nearing completion. Construction of the village has just begun.“There is always demand for residential projects in Wānaka; we are presently master-planning and designing larger scale apartment style projects,” Allan said, including apartments potentially for worker accommodation. And the Mt Iron Resort Hotel (adjacent to the State Highway) is consented: “This will have apartments within that complex suitable for visitor accommodation,” Allan said.Three Parks’ diverse futureOne of the aims is to make Three Parks so diverse and comprehensive in the goods and services it offers that the Upper Clutha community becomes self-sufficient and no longer need to travel out of town for these services, he said.“Covid made us realise the importance of this.”Metlifecare Retirement Village, beside the tree-lined golf course, is now under construction.“Perhaps the most exciting thing we are doing next is another community driven project working with the QLDC and the Community Board to transform the 20ha [former] sewage ponds site into a recreation and sports field super-hub, which we will connect to the [Wānaka] recreation centre by cycle path,” he said.This public asset “has been sitting idle and not doing anything but breeding rabbits for the last decade”, Allan said. Willowridge Development’s civil construction arm, Central Machine Hire, is now working on the remediation of the ponds site and the creation of a new grass surface.It’s hard to appreciate the scale of the sports-hub land, he said, “but it’s huge and it’s definitely a crown jewel in terms of a community asset, and the QLDC needs to be congratulated for having the foresight to preserve it forever for community use.”The size of the former sewerage ponds, now being transformed into future sports fields, is more visible from the air.The consent process for the first stage of industrial development planned in the industrial zone between the new sports hub and Riverbank Road, is also underway, Allan said. This will include a new roundabout intersection on Ballantyne Road (near Claas Harvest Centre).The former “Wheels at Wānaka” arena is also being adapted to suit public concerts as was announced recently when Three Parks was revealed as a new venue for Greenstone Entertainment, the promoter behind the former annual Gibbston Valley concerts.“We have committed to Greenstone for at least the next five years,” Allan said.Three Parks Outdoor Arena will typically cater for concerts attracting 12,000 - 15,000 people but the arena will have double that capacity, he said.Allan said future connectivity to the existing town and the wider surrounds is going to be key. As well as progressing roundabout entrances to Three Parks at both Ballantyne Road/Golf Course Road and new intersections off Riverbank and Ballantyne Roads, public transport bus stops are included in the Three Parks master-plan.The planned roundabout on Ballantyne Road, near Claas Harvest Centre, will also provide essential access to the residential subdivisions Alpine Meadows and Alpine Estate, connecting traffic between Ballantyne Road and Cardrona Valley Road for the first time.“A lot of people ask how long Three Parks will take to complete and it is hard to give an answer except to say we would rather do things right instead of development for development’s sake. If it’s not a good fit we don’t do it and we wait until the right project comes along.” Within the next 10 years, Allan expects Three Parks’ development will double in size.“We are very lucky to have such a big, blank canvas to work on and the future is very exciting with much planned.”PHOTOS: Willowridge Developments

Wānaka homes have earned a slew of accolades at the Southern Master Builders House of the Year Awards 2025.The annual competition recognises the best homes and those who brought them to life.‘Special Delivery’, built by Owens Building, was one of two Wānaka houses to take a coveted regional category winner award.Judges described the meticulously crafted 180sqm home as “traditional alpine architecture … reimagined and given a contemporary edge”.‘Twin Peaks’ by Jennian Homes Wānaka. PHOTO: Isaac Norton and Simon LarkinIt also won a gold award, as did the second regional category winner, Twin Peaks.Judges said the Jennian Homes Wānaka build “blends charm with modern simplicity”.“Clad in a mix of materials, including natural stone and crisp black finishes reflective of the rural vernacular, it offers instant street appeal in a scenic setting.”Other local homes to win awards included ‘Whale House’, a 300sqm architectural build which judges said was “inspired by the elegance of a diving whale’s tail” (built by Home Factor) and ‘Architectural Adventure’, defined by “angles, overhangs and unexpected moments” (built by Archi Build Ltd).‘Whale House’ was inspired by a diving whale’s tail. PHOTO: Supplied‘Scandi Southern’, a generous-sized, future-proofed family retreat (built by Dunlop Builders) was also recognised, as was a much smaller 69sqm holiday retreat, ‘Simple Miracle’, (built by Owens Building).Rounding out the eight local winners were ‘Modernist in Mood’ (built by Gibson Builders) and ‘Quietly Confident’ (built by Buildcraft), both imposing, clean lined homes praised by the judges for their forms.Jennian Homes Wānaka managing director Nathan Simon said it was great to “see Central and Wānaka so well represented with fantastic results” in the awards.“We are extremely proud of our guys and contractors that deliver on every house.”‘Simple Miracle’ measures just 69sqm. PHOTO: Isaac Norton The Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards is held in two stages.First is the regional level, and from the award winners 100 homes are selected for Top 100 status and proceed to a second round of national judging, before the National House of the Year Awards in November. Find full details of all the homes and awards from the Southern House of the Year Awards 2025 here.‘Modernist in Mood’ was “quietly confident”, judges said. PHOTO: Isaac Norton 

US-based Editor & Publisher (E&P) Magazine this week announced the 2025 Media That Matters list, and the Wānaka App - along with its software platform iAppNetwork - is one of only 15 organisations globally to be included.The annual list honours media outlets that are “serving their communities with passion and purpose” and showing that local news and information still matters in a rapidly changing world.Wānaka App co-founder Tony O’Regan said he was proud of the recognition, but ultimately saw it as a reflection of the community it was built to serve.“This platform was born out of a belief that Wānaka and the Upper Clutha deserve a trusted, local source of news and information - one that’s accessible, easy to use, and focused on what matters here,” he said.“This recognition is really a recognition of our readers, our advertisers, our supporters, and our community as a whole.”Since launching in 2016, the Wānaka App has grown to become a go-to source for breaking news, events, community stories and local updates. Its software platform - the iAppNetwork - now supports community media around New Zealand and Australia.“We’ve always believed in the power of local,” Tony said. “The comments, story tips, feedback and conversations we get from our readers every day help shape what we do. This is the community's app.”The E&P honour sits alongside other recognition for the Wānaka App, including its role in grassroots coverage of local government, housing, health, environment and community events. The Wānaka App was recognised in 2017 and 2019 for excellence in innovation at the Wānaka Business Awards, and again in 2024 for excellence in professional services.“We’re committed to being a community hub,” Tony said. “We want to support the wellbeing, resilience and identity of this place we all call home.”The full Media That Matters list is available here and includes organisations from across the US, Canada, and beyond.

Tourism and hospitality minister Louise Upston is celebrating the results of a recent marketing push in Australia, but the local tourism boss says the visitor increase can’t be credited to one campaign alone.Tourism New Zealand’s ‘Everyone Must Go’ campaign, launched earlier this year, aimed to deliver an additional 6,750 Australian visitors in autumn, and the minister said it ended up attracting 7,981.“‘Everyone Must Go’ has been a winner,” the minister said this week. “Tourism New Zealand stats released to me show it delivering an additional 7,981 visitors to smash its initial forecasts.”The campaign was the first under the government’s Tourism Boost initiative, with a spend of $800,000, and it showed how industry and government could work together to grow the economy and support local businesses, according to the minister.But Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown CEO Mat Woods said increases in visitor numbers coming from Australia reflect decades of work.“We’ve built strong demand for Queenstown and Wānaka in the Australian market over the past 40 years and Australians continue to be our most important international visitor market,” he said.Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown CEO Mat Woods said the RTO had put many, many years of effort into attracting Australian visitors. PHOTO: Lake Wānaka TourismHe also noted that the regional tourism organisation had a campaign positioning Queenstown Lakes region as a leading autumn and winter destination at the same time as the Tourism New Zealand one.“What we do know is Queenstown Airport experienced almost 60,000 Australian arrivals through March, April, and May, which is an increase of 14 percent on the same period last year, outpacing the New Zealand average of seven percent.”Queenstown Airport is the number one arrival port in New Zealand for Australian holiday arrivals, and almost half of all Australian holidaymakers visit the Queenstown Lakes district during their stay, he said.This demonstrates “the importance of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism’s continued investment in this market.”Mat also pointed to broader collaboration underway with many other regional tourism organisations.“We continue to partner with eight regional tourism organisations as 'Southern Way' to promote the lower south as a touring destination, driving longer stays and dispersal,” he said.Currently, the campaign includes an itinerary flying into Dunedin on Jetstar’s new Gold Coast service, touring through Queenstown and Wānaka, and flying home from Queenstown Airport.

A new music and lifestyle festival celebrating the best of Central Otago is coming to Gibbston Valley this summer.The Valley will debut on Saturday, January 24 (Auckland Anniversary Weekend) at The Church Cellar Door, offering a full day of live music, wine, food and scenery in one of the region’s most spectacular settings.“The Valley is about bringing together the best of what Gibbston has to offer - music, flavour, scenery and atmosphere,” festival director Nathan White said.“This isn’t just another summer gig. It’s an elevated experience in one of the most iconic spots in the country.”The event is being produced by Ripe Events, the team behind Wānaka’s Ripe Wine & Food Festival, and is being designed with a long-term vision of becoming a summer fixture in the region.Wines will be served by Mount Edward and Canyon Brewing will be pouring craft beer on the day.The Church venue has hosted other large-scale events, and organisers said the festival will be a seamless experience for concertgoers with site access and traffic management being ‘upgraded’.The full artist lineup - including New Zealand icons, household names and rising stars - will be announced soon.The festival is expected to draw as many as 5,000 people and will run from midday to 8pm. Tickets go on sale on September 1, 2025.The Valley will follow the end of the long-running Gibbston Valley Summer Concert, which held its final show earlier this year. That event is planning a move to Wānaka in 2026.Read more: Gibbston Valley Concert moving to Three Parks PHOTO: Supplied

Central Otago District Council (CODC) has issued a formal warning to the company behind a proposed gold mine near Cromwell, saying it is carrying out activities that don’t comply with the district plan.The letter, sent on June 25, was addressed to the landowner and occupier of Bendigo Station and outlined several breaches at the site.Council acting group manager of planning and infrastructure Quinton Penniall told the Central App the company had until August 1 to either stop the unconsented activity or apply for the correct permissions.He said Matakanui Gold - which operated as a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Santana Minerals - had since applied for retrospective consent for an existing site office, geology compound, and storage area. The company’s application, lodged on July 18, also sought permission for wider mineral exploration across 20 properties in the area, he said.“As of now, council has not formally accepted this application under Section 88 of the Resource Management Act 1991,” Quinton said.The council’s enforcement action was triggered by a public complaint and details Matakanui Gold itself provided during other consenting processes, he said.In a statement provided to the Central App, a spokesperson for Santana Minerals said the company was “actively engaging with the Central Otago District Council to address the matters raised in their letter”.The spokesperson said Matakanui Gold had developed plans to shift its exploration base to nearby Ardgour Station for the duration of any future mine granted under the Fast-Track Approvals legislation.“We submitted the early works resource consent application to CODC on May 16 in accordance with the district plan to establish new buildings and facilities,” the spokesperson said.“We believe this solution will satisfy the issues raised by CODC. We are yet to receive those consents.“We are committed to working collaboratively to resolve any concerns and to ensure a long-term, compliant solution is in place.”Vocal local opponents of the mine claimed the district plan breaches revealed a “cavalier approach” to consenting and represented the latest incident to further undermine Santana Mineral’s credibility with the community.A spokesperson for Sustainable Tarras said residents living closest to the proposed mine site had raised concerns about the unconsented activities, which the group then brought to the council’s attention.The mine is being pursued under the coalition government’s new fast-track approvals legislation, designed to speed up consenting for major projects.A Santana spokesperson said the fast-track application was “imminent”, and that the company expected to submit it in the coming weeks once all required reports had been received.Meanwhile, Sustainable Tarras maintained the streamlined process was not appropriate for what it described as a “highly complex and highly environmentally impacting project”.Ardgour Station and Bendigo Station are neighbouring rural properties in the Dunstan Ranges, just north of Cromwell, forming the core footprint of Santana Minerals’ proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold project.Santana Minerals announced earlier this month it had purchased Ardgour Station outright, which is earmarked for the mine’s supporting infrastructure, including the processing plant and tailings storage.

Five years after announcing a Wānaka to Christchurch passenger service, Sounds Air has announced the service will be cancelled at the end of September, blaming “out of control” aviation costs.Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford told Radio NZ this morning (Monday July 21) that despite “very, very good” booking numbers for the service, the airline had no choice but to cancel its Wānaka to Christchurch and Blenheim to Christchurch services.The move means the loss of “about ten staff” in Wānaka and Christchurch, he said.“Since Covid, aviation has been out of control cost-wise,” he said.“We are really faced with no choice. In the last three months we’ve had another half a million dollars of annual costs imposed on the business.“At some point you have to say ‘no more’.”Andrew said he was “really worried” about the number of people on the regional flights who fly to access healthcare.“It’s a big part of our business,” he said.“All these regional services provided connectivity, and a big part of that is health care.”Sounds Air withdrew other regional services in December 2024.“In some ways it’s a relief,” Andrew said, because “the pressure on the business, staff, and shareholders is extreme”.In addition to sky-rocketing maintenance costs, exacerbated by the low Kiwi dollar, Andrew also said it was a “serious problem” getting aircraft engineers.He said Sounds Air airfares had increased by 22 percent since Covid and they could put them up another 22 percent and “it still wouldn’t be enough”.The company will get rid of its nine-seater aircraft and concentrate on offering its original services in the Cook Strait area.The Sounds Air Wānaka to Christchurch service was announced in August 2020 and began operating in November 2020. The service will close at the end of September 2025.PHOTO: Supplied

Wānaka’s Three Parks Outdoor Arena may host the long-running Greenstone Entertainment summer concert from next year, after organisers confirmed plans to move the event here.The large-scale concert has attracted more than 15,000 people each year for the past 15 years, featuring major acts such as Cold Chisel, Crowded House, Alanis Morissette and ZZ Top, and contributes around $12M to the region’s economy annually.Organisers Amanda and Dean Calvert said the move came after being told the Gibbston site would be developed for housing.“We're absolutely delighted to have secured Three Parks Outdoor Arena as our new home for the next five years,” Greenstone Entertainment CEO and founder Amanda Calvert said. The Three Parks Outdoor Arena siteThree Parks Outdoor Arena is owned by Wānaka businessman Allan Dippie and recently hosted 50,000 people for Wheels at Wānaka.“Allan is such a community driven person and without his foresight the concert would have likely moved away from the region," Amanda said."The expansion into Wānaka marks an exciting new chapter for us, and we're confident it will become a highlight of the South Island summer calendar.”Dean said it had been “extremely hard” to find a suitable new venue.“We started the whole thing back in 2011 in Gibbston and have built the concert into one of the most renowned for our demographic in the country,” he said.“But the region has been on that journey with us... land is so valuable now. And it's not just the concert site, it's the infrastructure needed to bring 15,000 people to that site.”“We hadn't been able to find anything and were on our way out of town... when Allan popped up and said 'come and have a look at this venue’.”Allan Dippie said the venue was excited to be teaming up with Greenstone.“Their impeccable track record for putting on world class events that attract major international artists have made this joint venture an easy decision,” he said.“Three Parks Outdoor Arena will offer a true outdoor amphitheatre experience like no other and we look forward to welcoming concert goers next year.”Greenstone has applied for consent for a 30,000-person capacity, although Dean said they were unlikely to hit that number. The consent application is currently being vetted by Queenstown Lakes District Council.There were traffic issues around the three-day Wheels at Wānaka event. A full traffic management plan has been drawn up for the concert consent and Dean says the site provides better access than Gibbston, on a notorious stretch of SH6.Related: Extravaganza of machinery draws thousandsThe 2026 concert tour dates and artist line-up will be announced soon.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has appealed a decision by the Environment Court ordering it to pay more than $120,000 in costs to local developer Tussock Rise - a move that reignites a dispute dating back nearly a decade.The council confirmed it had lodged an appeal, challenging the Environment Court’s ruling, which found QLDC’s conduct justified a higher-than-normal costs award to Tussock Rise.“QLDC’s appeal sets out a number of alleged errors in the costs decision,” a QLDC representative told the Wānaka App.“The decision to appeal was taken after careful consideration of the issues, and the impact of such a decision on ratepayers and the PDP [Proposed District Plan] process.”The Environment Court ordered QLDC to pay Tussock Rise in a decision issued in June, but the stoush dates back to 2016, centering over the zoning of a 9.3-hectare property owned by Tussock Rise.After Tussock Rise purchased the land, it sought to rezone it from Industrial B to Business Mixed Use, but QLDC rejected that request. When QLDC later proposed General Industrial Zoning over the same site through the PDP, Tussock Rise appealed.The council initially tried to have the appeal struck out, but the court disagreed and allowed the case to proceed, awarding $5,000 in costs to Tussock Rise at this stage. After a substantive hearing, the court ruled in favour of Tussock Rise again, leading on to the most recent decision to award the six-figure sum to Tussock Rise.Environment Court Judge PA Steven said she was satisfied “there were special circumstances in this case that justify an award of costs”; agreed with Tussock Rise’s legal counsel that QLDC had “advanced arguments without merit and evidential support”; and said some of the council’s actions had demonstrated a “disregard for due process”.Read more: QLDC loses case against developers - againTussock Rise part-owner Grant Bisset told the Wānaka App this week it was “disappointing but not surprising that the QLDC have appealed the costs award against them”. He said Tussock Rise was surprised that QLDC had chosen to lodge an appeal in the High Court instead of engaging with the company.“Their budget for litigation doesn’t seem to have the constraints of the infrastructure one.”Both parties said they could not comment further because the matter is now before the courts.PHOTO: Wānaka App 

Sweeping Resource Management Act (RMA) changes signalled by central government are a "significant area of focus” for Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC).Three discussion documents proposing changes to the rules governing councils' oversight of housing, infrastructure and development - among other areas - are currently open for public feedback.The government calls them the biggest package of changes to national direction under the RMA in New Zealand history, and holds the view they will streamline or remove burdensome regulations holding back growth.The changes would “help unclog the growth arteries of the economy”, Minister responsible for RMA reform Chris Bishop said, adding that they have been designed to be able to transition to a new RMA, once implemented.The discussion documents currently open for feedback cover a dozen national policy statements and national environmental standards. QLDC plans to make a submission on the proposals but - ahead of that submission being lodged - gave little away about how it feels about them.“Our policy team is currently working across the organisation to assess the proposals and their impact on specific areas of our work in the Queenstown Lakes District so that we can provide a submission on behalf of the community before the closing date,” a QLDC spokesperson said.Deputy mayor Quentin Smith said while the RMA “can be slow, complicated, and frustrating at times” it was important not to “throw the good away with the bad”.“The government’s proposed changes might make it easier for developers to build faster, but they also risk taking away local appeal rights and cutting the public out of decision-making,” he told the Wānaka App. “That means fewer chances for people to speak up through submissions or appeal rights and fewer checks on bad developments. The direction to more centralised decision-making has rarely served us well in our district and doesn’t always reflect what’s right for our people, towns or landscapes,” he said.“We all want progress and improvement. But not at the cost of losing what makes this place special - or shutting communities out of decisions that affect them for generations.”Meanwhile, councillor Lyal Cocks said he was optimistic about the process and thought it was “appropriate to put it out there for review”.The RMA has become “quite cumbersome and expensive”, he said. “I think it’s timely to get the input from the population…and see if we can come up with a more appropriate and useful planning system.”“I know there is a concern that if it goes too far we may lose some of the control over the protection of our landscapes and our environment,” he said, “but I’ll be interested to get more information and get more detail of what this will actually look like.”The discussion documents are open for public feedback until July 27. Read them here.PHOTO: Supplied

A total of 531 objections have been lodged over Super Liquor’s plans for a 300sqm+ liquor store in Lake Hāwea, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has confirmed.The Super Liquor, billed for Lake Hāwea’s Longview subdivision, received resource consent approval a few months ago but it still needs to clear the hurdle of securing an alcohol licence.The objections to its alcohol licence application have triggered a hearing, but QLDC says a date has not yet been set for it.Lake Hāwea resident Lisa Riley, who has spearheaded community awareness of Super Liquor’s plans, said she was encouraged by the number of objections lodged during the objection period.“The goal I was hoping for was 200 objections, which seemed achievable, given our population,” Lisa told the Wānaka App. “So to now have a result of 531 objections…it’s just amazing, and I am so thankful to all the individuals who took the time to have brave conversations with others, the volunteers who did mail drops, and everyone who made time to learn more about this.” “Getting that many objections to this liquor licence really speaks to the strength and thoughtfulness of our community,” Lisa said. “People clearly care deeply about the character of Lake Hāwea and the wellbeing of its residents.”Ahead of the hearing, Lisa said she is working with legal counsel to prepare evidence and is encouraging submitters to consider whether they’d like to speak at the hearing when the time comes.“Something I’d love to see from council is a real effort to ensure the hearing is held in Hāwea itself, where people most directly affected can easily attend and be heard,” Lisa said. Lisa said she would also like to explore a Local Alcohol Policy - a set of rules managing the supply, sale and consumption of alcohol - for the district.“It would give our communities a stronger voice upfront in shaping where and how alcohol is sold, rather than having to react to each new licence,” she said.Alongside the objections, three letters in support of the application were received, QLDC confirmed.A council spokesperson said the council did not plan to share any objections or letters publicly before the hearing.“The District Licensing Committee will decide on the time of [the] hearing, and a notice of this will be placed on QLDC’s website once arranged,” they said.PHOTO: Supplied