It has been months of uncertainty, anxiety and fear for the Toe Toe whānau as Covid-19 threatens the business they live and breathe. But the family is determined to make it through and is proving that with the launch of two new products just in time for summer. Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
Covid 19 coronavirus: Kohutapu Lodge launches new house and Whirinaki forest attraction after tough year
Kohutapu Lodge owners Nadine and Karl Toe Toe are launching their new accommodation and tourist attraction. Photo / Andrew Warner
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It's a far cry from the hustle and bustle of any city around New Zealand. Here, you have no choice but to stop, breathe and take in the nature surrounding you.
Whether you want to have a soak in one of the wood-fired outdoor baths, go hunting, play volleyball or read a book by the lake, the options are there for the picking.
You've arrived at your holiday destination. You've arrived at Kohutapu Lodge.
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The business is owned and operated by Nadine and Karl Toe Toe and is nestled into the rugged countryside just outside of Murupara.
Their secluded spot on the New Zealand landscape would be envied by any lodge owner but 2020 has still been a tough year for the family.
More than 95 per cent of their business was international visitors when Covid-19 hit and borders closed.
With their income-stream stripped to nothing almost overnight, the Toe Toe whānau had to put all their plans on hold in order to survive.
The Rotorua Daily Post spoke with Nadine Toe Toe in August for a feature on how Māori tourism was faring post-lockdown.
At that time, Toe Toe said Covid-19 had hit the family "right in the manawa, right in the soul" and they had been focused on just keeping their heads above the water.
Four months on, times are still tough for the Toe Toe whānau but their resolution to survive has only become stronger with this week's launch of two long-awaited products - their luxury self-contained house and a tourist attraction in the Whirinaki forest.
The five-bedroom, two-bathroom accommodation boasts beautiful lakeside views, a handcrafted dining table and enough beds to house up to 20 people.
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It has a 3m covered deck area out the front and a sunken fire pit perfect for socialising on a warm summer's night.
The tourist attraction, called Whirinaki Forest Footsteps, is a full-day guided cultural walking tour departing from Rotorua and taking visitors deep into the heart of a Jurassic Podocarp Native Rainforest.
Tour attendees will learn about rongoa rakau – traditional medicine plants, rakau rangatira (chiefly trees of the forest), 1000-year-old totara trees, myths, legends and history, as well as seeing native and endangered birds in their natural habitat.
Visitors can fill their own water bottles straight from the waterfalls, see the tallest moss in the world and enjoy forest bathing – the art of using your five senses to connect to nature.
A packed picnic lunch infused with local cuisine and return bus transportation is
included, as well as hot Kawakawa tea straight from the camp oven.
Speaking with the Rotorua Daily Post ahead of the launch, Nadine Toe Toe said operators were feeling the pinch industry-wide.
"It's not just us feeling it. There's a lot of trepidation, anxiety, a lot of sadness and fear but for those of us hanging on, we don't really have a choice. We've put so much into our own businesses and we've invested so much, not just monetary-wise but our time, energy, love, our kids, our families, our communities - the ripple effect is so much greater than just us.
"There was no way we were going to walk away from that, you would have to drag us away kicking and screaming."
Toe Toe said the accommodation and forest attraction were already about 70 per cent done when the country went into lockdown so it would have been "insane not to finish what we had already started".
"We're lucky we have a wonderful bank manager and government assistance has helped us through as well, particularly with staffing but the difference now is we are having to market it to New Zealand instead of the world.
"It's hard because we don't have a lot of money to invest in marketing so we're doing a lot of organic, online stuff through our Facebook pages.
"But with our Whirinaki forest product, we have been receiving messages from New Zealanders asking about the cost, when it starts, what it's about so we know the interest is there, we just need to spread it louder and wider so more people become aware of what we have to offer here."
Toe Toe believed Whirinaki Forest Footsteps was a product that would resonate with every New Zealander.
"We created the product prior to Covid so we already knew the value of what this product stood for but especially after lockdown, the lessons people learnt during that time - spending more time with family, getting out among nature, taking care of the environment, spending more time investing in your holistic wellbeing, every one of those touchstones is what our experience in the Whirinaki hits.
"The product was already created to fit the needs of the New Zealand market, post-Covid. We hope NZ will remember those lessons they learnt and come out and experience a product they may not have heard of."
Toe Toe is determined to make it through this rough patch and is pinning her hopes on Kiwis discovering their picturesque destination this summer.
"We have put our hearts our souls – our everything into this – not just for our family, but for our iwi, our staff, our community, our kids as well as other small family tourism businesses throughout New Zealand.
"We hope our new product will encourage people to get out and experience new parts of the country and support small family-owned businesses that are out here trying our best to hold in this new world."
New Zealand Māori Tourism sales, marketing and product development Kiri Atkinson-Crean said Māori tourism operators, in general, had made some pragmatic decisions in light of Covid.
"The industry had a period of shock, then it took stock, scrutinised itself and then started to look at where it was going to go now. For operators, it has been an intensely emotional time but many have also been very pragmatic, which I admire.
"Nadine was one of those people, she's made some pretty smart decisions around who she's targeting and what she's marketing."
Atkinson-Crean said operators who were adapting and introducing new products to attract the domestic market were hopeful it would be enough to bolster the industry.
"What's magic in this situation is that even though it's been a terribly hard time for many, these new bespoke experiences and attractions that are being marketed towards the domestic market are going to resonate even better with the international market when it returns.
"We don't have a crystal ball but we are hopeful ahead of summer. Even if New Zealanders commit to doing one or two paid tourism activities this summer, it would make all the difference, we would be grateful forever."
