Some Golden Bay businesses say they've seen a big boost in tourist numbers over Easter.
After the road was closed, business at Takaka's Golden Bay Motel dropped to 20 percent, its manager Gary Reeves said. Photo: Supplied
The area was devastated by Cyclone Gita six weeks ago and slips cut off the district's only access road over Takaka Hill.
The road has been opened sporadically over the past few weeks while repairs continue, but locals say an extension of the road's opening hours has resulted in a huge influx of much needed tourists.
The manager of Takaka's Golden Bay Motel, Gary Reeves, said the past month had been tough.
He said before the cyclone, his motel was 100 percent full - after the road closed that dropped to 20 percent.
"It's been pretty stressful," he said.
"This is one of those one-road towns where there is only one way in and one way out, and if that road is cut off then that's just something we have to put up with."
Slips on Takaka Hill immediately after Cyclone Gita Photo: NZTA
Ahead of Easter, the Transport Agency decided to extend the road's opening hours to 8am in the morning to 8pm at night to try to get more motorists in and out of the area.
It seemed to have worked, with up to 2000 motorists using the road each day over the Easter holiday.
Mr Reeves said it felt like things were back to normal.
"Definitely an improvement, everything is almost back to normal because the road has been open all Easter, he said.
"That's given us a bit of cash to play with so we will get some things done with that."
Paddy Gillooly, the owner of Farewell Spit Eco Tours in Collingwood, said his business revenue dropped 90 percent while the road was shut.
He said the town was buzzing over Easter.
"It was great to see people in the restaurants and outside the cafes ... the carpark at the beginning of Farewell Spit was full with people walking down the beach ... fantastic," he said.
The area was not out of the woods yet - winter was coming and businesses were expecting visitor numbers to drop dramatically.
Tasman District mayor Richard Kempthorne said there had been substantial interest in the $100,000 of emergency funding announced in March.
"Some [businesses] have been significantly impacted so there is a lot of interest, we are seeing if there are other funds available to add to that figure ... but it is a help," he said.
The Transport Agency said it hoped the road's opening hours could be extended further in the coming weeks, although there was still a lot of work to do.
Now that Easter is over, the Takaka Hill Road (State Highway 60) into Golden Bay will be open 6am to 8am and 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sunday, the road will be open all day from 8am to 8pm as often as possible since crews will not be working to rebuild the highway that day.
