After “a difficult few months” leading southern tourism company Wayfare is preparing to relaunch most of its tourist experiences in a limited way on 4th July, just in time for the school holidays.

Wayfare owns a portfolio of tourism experience brands including the Fiordland based operations Real Journeys and Go Orange, along with TSS Earnslaw in Queenstown, the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, the Treble Cone and Cardrona Ski areas near Wanaka and Stewart Island Experience, including the ferry service and other sightseeing tours in and around the island.

The company has been a major employer particularly in the Fiordland region where it is estimated about 400 are employed by the company seasonally.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Wayfare closed all its operations and laid off a large number of staff. Many of those made redundant are understood to had been with the company for many years, some with 20 or more years of service to Real Journeys.

Wayfare chief executive Ian Jackson, who took the reins just prior to lockdown, would not comment on the number of positions affected but said that, like most tourism operators, the company has had to make “carefully considered changes” to realign the business to cater for a different mix of guests.

“I’m now looking forward to relaunching our experiences in Doubtful Sound, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Stewart Island and the TSS Earnslaw and Go Orange Jet Boats in Queenstown. The International Antarctic Centre is already open in Christchurch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Our winter ski season should be under way just before our other activities - with Cardrona and Treble Cone opening the 26th and 27th June,” he said.

The 107-year old TSS Earnslaw returns from her annual survey all spruced up and ready to launch new products customized for Kiwi families to enjoy over the school holidays.  A 1½ hour cruise on the TSS Earnslaw (with a beverage included) will run on Friday and Saturday nights at 6pm and is almost half the price of a normal cruise-only ticket. A steamship ‘High Tea’ is now on offer on the midday cruise to Walter Peak where families can walk through the award-winning Colonel’s Homestead gardens and Walter Peak farmyard to feed the animals.  The Walter Peak gourmet barbecue lunch will return at the end of August.

The Stewart Island Ferries have never stopped providing a service to the island, but the 2½ hour Ulva Island Explorer returns in time for the school holidays.

The Te Anau Glowworm Caves return with twice daily departures (10.15am and 2pm). The Te Anau Visitor Centre will also reopen (9am – 4pm) on the 4th July, sharing its building with the i-SITE and Go Orange. 

The absence of I-sites has left other tourism operators in the region, who would normally rely on the information centres as the main agents to sell their experiences, having to find other ways of getting information and ticket sales to customers.

News trending on social media shows that many New Zealanders are heeding the call to spend locally and are taking the opportunity to visit iconic tourist spots while the country’s borders are closed. But the usual infrastructure of the I-sites has left many customers unable to easily find out what is open and available.

Following the July school holidays some of the Wayfare brands’ experiences become weekend-only until the following school holidays, or more frequently based on demand.

Mr Jackson said he hoped the support shown over Queen’s Birthday weekend would continue to be strong.  

“We were really encouraged by the number of Southlanders requesting the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. Our teams love sharing our backyard and say they were able to talk to everyone – it really was like the old days.”  

‘Kids Go Free’ on all experiences and that promotion will be extended throughout the winter season – a tradition started by the founders of Real Journeys, Les and Olive Hutchins, to ensure as many New Zealand children as possible had the opportunity to experience some of the country’s wilderness areas.

Mr Jackson said it had been years since Doubtful Sound – the remote fiord that launched Real Journeys – was just $125. Inaccessible by road, and not as well-known as Milford Sound, the seven-hour experience includes a cruise across Lake Manapouri, coach trip over the scenic alpine Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove and a three-hour Wilderness Cruise. 

There will be fewer visitors travelling the renowned Milford Road to Milford Sound too. Daily cruises on the refurbished Milford Haven include Kiwi ‘fish & chips’ or soup.  

“This would have to be the best opportunity for Kiwis to head south and discover the largest area of untouched wilderness in their country. They’ll find ancient landscapes, warm southern hospitality, and tourism as it used to be,” Mr Jackson said.