Curio Bay & Waipapa Point Visitor Surveys 2006/07 AUGUST 2007 SOUTHLAND CONSERVANCY 2 Curio Bay & Waipapa Point Visitor Surveys 2006/07 AUGUST 2007 Prepared by: Michael Harbrow, Kate Roughan and Sally Chesterfield Department of Conservation Technical Support Visitor Services Southland Conservancy Cover photograph – Greg Lind IBSN 978-0-478-14291-4 (hardcopy) IBSN 978-0-478-14292-1 (web PDF) Published by Department of Conservation Southland Conservancy P O Box 743 Invercargill September 2007 3 Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................5 1.1 THE CATLINS......................................................................................................................5 1.1.1 Curio Bay .....................................................................................................................7 1.1.2 Waipapa Point.............................................................................................................8 1.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH......................................................................................................10 2 Methods.....................................................................................................................................11 3 Results........................................................................................................................................12 3.1 DEMOGRAPHICS..............................................................................................................12 3.2 VISITOR AND GROUP CHARACTERISTICS ...................................................................14 3.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF VISITOR’S JOURNEY ...............................................................15 3.4 INFORMATION SOURCES ...............................................................................................17 3.5 REASONS FOR VISITING .................................................................................................17 3.6 ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN.............................................................................................18 3.7 SATISFACTION & DISSATISFACTION............................................................................19 3.8 FACILITIES ........................................................................................................................22 3.9 EFFECT OF OTHER VISITORS.........................................................................................25 3.10 IMPORTANCE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ....................................................................26 3.11 RECOMMENDATION TO OTHER VISITORS..................................................................29 4 Discussion and Conclusions ....................................................................................................30 5 Recommendations....................................................................................................................37 6 References.................................................................................................................................38 Appendix 1 - Curio Bay Survey Form..............................................................................................40 Appendix 2 – Waipapa Point Survey Form ....................................................................................43 Appendix 3 – Country of origin ......................................................................................................46 Appendix 4 – Origin of New Zealand Visitors...............................................................................47 Appendix 5 – Use of other sites in the Catlins. .............................................................................48 Appendix 6 - Reasons for visiting....................................................................................................49 Appendix 7 – Best aspects of experience ......................................................................................57 Appendix 8 – Worst aspects of experience ...................................................................................65 Appendix 9 – Comments on facilities.............................................................................................70 Appendix 10 – Comments on wildlife harassment & the presence of other visitors ................74 Appendix 11 – What respondents would tell other people.........................................................76 4 1 Introduction This report presents the findings of two visitor surveys carried out in the Catlins during the 2006/2007 summer. It is divided into five sections. Section one contains general information about the Catlins area, the two study sites and summarises previous relevant research. Section two explains the survey method and section three summarise the key findings from both surveys. Section four discusses the findings while the final section gives recommendations for ongoing management and monitoring of the area. 1.1 THE CATLINS Waipapa Point and Curio Bay (Fig. 1) are located in the Catlins region, a sparsely populated area in the extreme southeast of the South Island of New Zealand stretching from Kaka Point in the east to Fortrose in the west. FIGURE 1: THE CATLINS (FROM HALL 2007). The Catlins area is known for its rugged isolation and dramatic coastal scenery. It encompasses a rolling landscape with a mixture of native forest, shrublands waterfalls, farmland and rugged coastline (DOC 2000). Once characterised by the numerous sawmills that operated in the area (Buckingham & Hall-Jones 1985) the Catlins nowadays includes the largest area of native forest on the east coast of the South Island. Common tree species include rimu, kamahi, rata, and silver beech (DOC 2005). 5 Native wildlife species that are easily accessible for visitors include blue penguins, yellow eyed penguins (hoiho), hectors dolphins, fur seals (kekeno), sea lions (rapoka), elephant seals (ihupuku), mohua, white-fronted terns, royal spoonbills, herons and dotterels. The area is traversed by the “Southern Scenic Route” and is popular for scenic driving amongst New Zealand and overseas visitors. There are many short forest walks from the road to beaches, streams, lakes, waterfalls, caves and blow holes. Recreation opportunities are suited to visitors with little time or outdoor experience, and activities are focused on short walks and access to coastal areas (DOC 2000). The most popular recreational activities are picnics, short coastal walks (including the Petrified Forest at Curio Bay), and wildlife viewing. At present, recreational use is largely confined to the coastline because of limited access to the forests further inland (DOC 2000). Until recently, access to the area was more difficult as the main road through the Catlins from Balclutha was partly gravelled. Access to the area was improved in 2005 when the remaining section of this road was tar sealed. However, much of the 13 km alternative coastal route between Curio Bay and Fortrose, including the access roads to Waipapa Point and Slope Point remains unsealed. These improvements to the road are expected to encourage more people to visit the area. Commercial use of the Catlins is also growing. There are around 20 operators with existing concessions to visit various sites in the area. Commercial activities include guided day walks, wildlife viewing and nature appreciation/eco-tours. Most activities take place at the more well-known tourist sites such as Curio Bay, Jacks Blowhole, Papatowai Scenic Reserve, Purakauni Falls Scenic Reserve, McLean Falls and Tautuku Bay Scenic Reserve. Regional tourism forecasts for the Southland RTO (regional tourism organisation) predict a 4.3% increase in visitor numbers between 2006 and 2012 (Ministry of Tourism 2006b). While this is a modest increase compared to neighbouring areas (a 22.4% increase is expected in the Fiordland RTO over the same period (Ministry of Tourism 2006a)) the forecasts show that the profile of visitors to Southland will also gradually change. Currently international visitors undertake only 14.8% of visits to Southland however international day visits and international overnight visits are forecast to increase by 29.3% and 30.3% respectively over the six year period. The Catlins along with Stewart Island are areas where much of the increase in international visitors is likely to be focused. Curio Bay and Waipapa Point are the two most popular sites within the part of the Catlins that is administered by Southland Conservancy and are two sites that are likely to experience a growth in visitor numbers. These locations are discussed in more detail below. 6 1.1.1 Curio Bay Curio Bay is situated on the Catlins coast, approximately 88 kilometres south- east of Invercargill and 7 kilometres south of Waikawa (Fig. 1). The Curio Bay area has a long history of Mäori occupation dating back to the earliest Polynesian settlement of New Zealand. The area was later settled by Europeans in the 1850’s and 1860’s. More recently, Curio Bay has become a well established holiday and day trip venue for Southland and Otago residents (Burns 2006). Curio Bay is one of the most visited sites in Murihiku Area, with an annual average of 31,400 visitors estimated to have accessed the rock platform between 2002 and 2007 (based on track counter readings). Visitors are attracted by the accessible wildlife viewing opportunities. Hectors dolphins, nesting yellow eyed penguins, sea lions