The average tourist might be prompted to depart smartly with this welcome!
Here they discovered that they had fortune on their side as they had arrived at high tide and did not have to wade through knee deep mud to get safely ashore. (Arriving at any time outside the 4-hour window, 2 hours before or after high tide, is not recommended and can be very messy or downright impossible!)
They were surprised to find that the landing site was, “disgusting, sparse grass – covered in dog faeces, no signs, no information about the town, no facilities for boaties and access at hightide only.”
Having been at sea for several days, they were keen to use a proper loo, do some laundry, have an expresso coffee and eat a great meal which included local seafood, and they wanted some idea about where to find these things and how to get there.
They ended up spending nearly $700 in town that day but were so concerned about both the lack of signage and facilities for boaties that they wrote a letter to The Coromandel Information Centre to give their feedback.
This letter was passed on to the Coromandel/Colville Business Association (CCBA), who have worked to rectify the signage issue. It was reported at the recent monthly meeting that, after jumping through numerous hoops at TCDC and Waikato Regional Council, the signs are nearly on their way. With the endorsement of the Community Board and Counsellor John Morrisey, and the costs met by the Business Association, the signs will soon be ready for installation.
Jenny Ashman, Chair of the CCBA says that local businesses have the opportunity to have their logos on the sign, for a small donation – which will go towards the cost of the three signs which are to be erected.
A visual inspection as to how visitors arriving by sea are currently welcomed revealed the following:
If they happen to arrive at low tide, they will be greeted by a sea of mud at the bottom of a short concrete pad.
Looking around for a welcome sign and directions to town they will discover an empty, derelict (but quaint) sign board with two signs stapled to it, announcing that they are banned from travelling through this area, and prohibited from swimming, or gathering shellfish.
On walking over to the boat ramp some 50 metres away, they are assailed by a further five signs banning and prohibiting everything from dumping refuse to eating potentially contaminated shellfish.
Furthermore, they are advised that this is a Tsunami Zone, and they needed to get to higher ground if “Shaking was Long and Strong”. They could be a bit confused by this as there is also a sign stating that they may not travel at more than 5 knots!
The single welcome sign (facing the road and not the boat ramp), says simply “Haere mai – Welcome Patukirikiri Reserve” with no mention of Coromandel town, or any instructions or information at all about the abundance of cafes, art and gift shops, great restaurants, public toilets and two laundromats, and a small, excellent supermarket, just waiting up the road in Coromandel township.
Instead, there are pictographs banning fires, caravans, campervans and tents.
The average tourist might be prompted to depart smartly with this welcome!
The CCBA should be applauded for acting and providing not one but three signs to address the issue of better information for tourists.
Bigger Questions to further afield!
The bigger question – where is the provision of access to the wharf and facilities such as toilets and showers close to the landing point for nautical travellers to Coromandel town? The proposed development at Jacks Point (Patukirikiri Reserve) was dropped as there was no public funding available.
The few signs, kindly provided by CCBA, is a drop in the bucket compared to what could be done to promote the growth of tourism in Coromandel, aimed at a wealthy demographic such as owners of large boats.
