Singapore-based Kevin Peeris, senior vice-president of Bayview International Hotels & Resorts, left, with Wairakei Resort Taupō resort manager David Hopcroft on the recently re-opened golf course. Behind them are signs of the cyclone-stripped hillside.
Singapore-based Kevin Peeris, senior vice-president of Bayview International Hotels & Resorts, left, with Wairakei Resort Taupō resort manager David Hopcroft on the recently re-opened golf course. Behind them are signs of the cyclone-stripped hillside.
The recent re-opening of the popular public golf course at Wairakei Resort Taupō is something of a triumph for the facility’s owners.
The picturesque course was seriously damaged after Cyclone Gabrielle last year. Hundreds of mature pines and other trees were snapped like twigs, and an earth and pumice slip down one flank of the surrounding hills left the owners facing extensive and long-term restoration work.
Making matters worse was that damage to the water supply across the road at the Wairakei Resort itself meant all normal activity had to be halted, leaving a trail of cancelled conferences and events stretching out months.
Singapore-based Kevin Peeris, senior vice-president of the complex’s owner, Bayview International Hotels & Resorts, was back in Taupō last week for the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle.
He was supposed to be here just as the storm hit last February, but those plans had to be scuppered.
Peeris said he was relieved to see the 75ha facility back to its flawless state.
“Our resort was devastated, particularly on the golf course side, and because we didn’t know how long it would take for us to get up and running again, we took the decision to close. It was a very worrying time.”
With capacity to host conferences and events of up to 500 people, the resort is considered one of the biggest conference and banqueting spaces in Taupō.
Its extended shutdown meant many pre-booked events went to other centres, with a significant loss of income for the resort and the town.
One of the first post-cyclone jobs, and one that was particularly painstaking, was to isolate the areas of critical damage to the water supply, resort manager David Hopcroft said.
“We had to start from scratch. Because all our piping is all underground, we had to dig to investigate, and that took time. We couldn’t consider re-opening the resort until the water issues were fixed and the grounds put back to the way they were before the cyclone,” Hopcroft said.
In the meantime, the damaged golf course was facing different challenges.
Just logging the damaged trees took about four months, while clearing the slip was another time-consuming task. Then came the job of replanting: the team put in roughly 2600 radiata pines to replace the downed trees.
Wairakei Resort, Taupō.
“We made sure we took our time. It was very important to us that the course be restored to an acceptable standard, and we’ve achieved that,” Peeris said.
Now, with the exception of bare hillsides where hundreds of trees once stood, the place is looking pristine, and since re-opening at the end of September, there has been a high level of interest from golfers keen to get back into the swing of things.
Wairakei Resort’s golf course is probably one of the most unusual in the country; it is essentially a nine-hole course that plays to 18 holes.
Each of the nine holes is designed with two tee-boxes, which offers players the opportunity to go around the course twice without playing an identical shot.
With a keen eye on marketing, the team is welcoming golfers back with a few teasers. They are pledging to honour previously purchased nine-hole vouchers until April 6, meaning holders of those concession vouchers don’t need to miss out, as long as they redeem them before that date.
Singapore-based Kevin Peeris, senior vice-president of Bayview International Hotels & Resorts, and Wairakei Resort Taupō resort manager David Hopcroft.
They are also introducing a new pricing structure with unlimited play for $30 a day.
“Anyone with one of those can go around the course as often as they like before we close in the evening,” Peeris said.
David said there are currently between 30 and 40 players on the course each day, with more coming in at weekends.
“We get a lot of golfing groups booking here … it’s very easy access for those who love the game.”
Another cherry on the top of Wairakei Resort’s post-cyclone restoration work has been an upgrade to its damaged court activities area.
The storm-damaged area has been replaced with astroturf, making the courts ideal for multiple sports and adding an additional drawcard to the resort’s facilities.
