National park folk headed for cooperation

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 593, 4 July 1995, Page 15 (Supplement)

National park folk headed for cooperation

National Park has been by-passed by the growth in the ski industry , partly because of the accommodation provided on the moun tain at Iwikau Village. But that is changing thanks to the ins.tallation of new services and, more importantly, the hard work and positive attitude of its people. Ski shop owner optimistic for '95 Tony Mosaed is the owner/operator of Roy Turners Ski Shop. Over the summer he has acquired two new crystal glide machines that will give a perfect finish to snowboards and skies. 'The machines give equipment the appearance of being new, and we are the only ones on this side of the mountain with this type of equipment," boasts Tony. For the hire section he has purchased 150 pairs of skis and boots, and in the retail section Roy Turners sports a good selection of Kastle, Fischer and Blizzard skis. Although it is quite at the moment Tony is optimistic about the upcoming season. "There were so many closed days last season that the law of averages suggests there will be more open days this year to make up for the extra number of closed days last season". Tony says he will continue with his strong emphasis on customer service with regular customers getting special deals and discounts "to sweeten their purchases" Tony feels his business will definitely receive some spin-offs from all the extra beds in National Park. "I wish all the clubs at Iwikau Village were here, and then National Park wouldbe abustling town like Ohakune". Where the locals go The lessee of Schnapps at National Park Hamish Sinclair reports a good growth in numbers this second summer for Schnapps as more people realise the Central Plateau has a lot to offer in the way of summer activities. Although the ski season is well under way Hamish says they haven't seen many skiers yet. At the moment Schnapps is concentrating on providing entertainment to Whakapapa staff li ving at National Park who like to gather at Schnapps. This season Schnapps can offer customers a bistro or a-la-carte meal prepared by three chefs seven days a week, a liquor wholesale service six days a week, eftpos, and "good old fashioned entertainment in a pleasant atmos-. phere". Hamish aims to have some form of entertainment on every night including: a mechanical snowboard, games, cocktail shooters and bands. Schnapps, along with other National Park businesses, is reaping the rewards of the town upgrading its services and facilities. "Now there' s something for people to do on closed mountain days, but we are still very young," says Hamish "There is a huge growth potential". A step up in style Peterand SylviaGuy areaddingon 1 2 roomsto Howard' s Lodge and are looking forward to the builders finishing in approximately four weeks. This season Sylvia and Peter

will be able to offer their customers the choice of rooms with an ensuite. "All other accommodation in National Park has shared facilities". They have already recei ved bookings for four weekends by disabled skiers wanting to stay in the new disabled accommodation the Guy's are building. "We haven't even advertised yet!" says Sylvia, "People are ringing up because they have heard of us by word of mouth". The Guys will continue to offer their customers ski hire, transport to the mountain, information and a booking service. Unfortunately Sylvia says they will not be able to direct visitors to the Tupapakurua Falls track any more as DoC has closed it. During the summer Howards Lodge alone received over 500 inquiries about the track, whose fame has spread amongst overseas backpackers. Sylvia says. "DoC closed it because someone got lost - they said they

didn't have the money to. improve the track, so to prevent someone else getting lost, they close off the one thing many visitors want to do, and another attraction of National Park is lost". Sylvia and Peter and many other National Park operators recently attended a "familiarisation" day, where operators had a tour of each other' s establishments. "This was mostbeneficial to us" says Sylvia, "because if we are full I can now match up the needs of the customer with the services others have to offer." Sylvia thinks co-operation between operators is beneficial to everyone and hopes it is a hallmark for the direction National Park is headed.