DOC closes visitor centre
The Department of Conservation is closing its Wellington Visitor Information Centre, resulting in an estimated saving of $200,000 per annum.
A source within DOC predicted that it would be the first of more closures to come, with DOC’s budget under severe pressure.
The centre’s staff dish out information on Great Walks, how to book huts, as well as selling hut passes. Staff also provide safety advice to trampers, looking at local destinations like the Tararuas or the Ruahines.
Online DOC, encourages people to visit their centres for “the latest information and our best tips for your visit to New Zealand's conservation areas.”
It emphasises that centres nationwide are “staffed by DOC rangers with first-hand local knowledge about conservation places” and what is happening in their region.
DOC operations manager for Kāpiti-Wellington Angus Hulme-Moir says that calls to its Wellington office would now be diverted to its visitor centre in Nelson.
The decision to close the Wellington office was made earlier this year and was not related to the change of government.
“The number of people visiting the DOC Pōneke Wellington Visitor Centre has not returned to pre-Covid-19 levels and DOC is responding to this change.”
The centre was costing DOC $200,000 a year to run and money saved from the closure would be redirected towards conservation projects.
Hulme-Moir rejected the suggestion that the closure would compromise the safety of those planning trips in the region, including the Tararuas.
Staff in Nelson could contact Kāpiti-Wellington and Wairarapa DOC offices for help.
“We have also produced a comprehensive user manual for the Nelson staff providing them with specific local context.”
DOC’s website and the national call centre are also good sources of information for trampers, he said.
Staff in the Wellington centre had estimated that only one in five visitors are looking for advice on tramping or other recreational activities.
Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said the closure was not surprising as it was only getting a small number of visitors.
Diverting tramping related calls to Nelson was “not ideal” but he said that increasingly those wanting track information were not going to DOCs visitor information centre.
One of the options is the Mountain Safety Council’s Plan My Trip App, which has up to date information on track conditions.
Retailers like Kathmandu and Macpac are also encouraging staff to increase their knowledge so they can offer general advice on tramping.
Daisley noted that most of the walking tracks in the Wellington region were on regional council land and people did not visit the DOC office for advice on those walks.
Nationwide there are 16 visitor centres and Wellington is the only one closing.
Three permanent staff in the centre will be absorbed into the local DOC office and allocated to different work.