“It felt more like Queen St!”

After two years closed, the reopening of State Highway 1 over the Mangamukas in the Far North has proved to be a boon for businesses at the top of the country, with Kaitāia’s main street and shops extra busy.

After two long years, and a couple of shaky years before that, residents and visitors to the Far Far North could finally return to normal with the long-awaited reopening of the Mangamuka Gorge in December.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) opened the troublesome stretch of State Highway 1 through the Mangamukas after more than two years and $204 million of work, following the gorge being closed by more than 30 major slips. Many Te Hiku businesses struggled while SH1 was closed as visitors stayed away, with SH10 the alternative route from the south.

It was hoped that the reopening would provide a boon, and so it proved, with many reporting more customers and interest.

The Mangamuka Dairy has been at the forefront of the closure, being on the southern side of the hills, but it managed to survive the two years thanks to its loyal local customers and the workers on the massive repair job shopping there, particularly its takeaways.

Manager Charlotte Kete said there has been a big difference since the gorge reopened, with lots more people passing by, and stopping into the store.

“A big difference is seeing all the new faces coming in. We had great support from our locals (during the closure) and we really miss the workers now, but everybody is so happy the gorge has reopened,” Kete said.

“We were pretty lucky we had them all to help keep us open. That first week (after the reopening) was amazing and being the holidays it brought a lot of people through.”

She said some people still stopped to ask if the gorge was actually open again, and some GPS systems still said it was closed, so they would have to be updated.

Kete said it also meant she did not have to go to Kerikeri for the store’s supplies as she could now just nip over to Kaitāia, which kept the money in the Te Hiku area.

“We’re very happy that it has now reopened and in time for the holidays and so many people are going through to Kaitāia and exploring the area.”

Kaitāia Business Association chairman and Kaitāia Farmers store manager Josh Kirby said the reopening of SH1 Mangamuka just in time for Christmas has been hugely positive for the local business community.

Kaitāia Business Association chairman Josh Kirby said the town was packed with visitors over the holiday period following the reopening of SH1 over the Mangamukas.

“In particular our retailers, hospitality and accommodation providers. We saw a large influx of visitors to Kaitāia and the Far North, and our beaches and campgrounds have been packed. We also saw large traffic jams up and down Commerce St all the way to North Park in the lead-up to New Years, which is not something we’re used to,” Kirby said.

“While this was frustrating for some, it was a sign that people were keen to visit the Far North and make the most of all that we have to offer.”

Te Hiku ward Far North District Councillor Felicity Foy was delighted with all the extra visitors the reopening brought to the area.

“It felt more like Queen St,” Foy said.

“There were queues of traffic right along (Commerce St) and lots of people taking advantage of the holidays and great weather to come north. The difference they all made was huge for us.”

The tourism sector was also seeing much more activity and Ahipara was a great example of that.

“At times you couldn’t get a rock pool (to explore) unless you got there really early.”

She said it wasn’t only the local business and tourism economy getting a boom from the reopening with the primary sector also seeing more activity.

“As well, we are getting more people moving up here from the cities who are seeing this as a stunning place to live and do business - it’s all pretty positive for the Far North.”

The opening of the Mangamukas certainly brought droves of visitors to the Far North over the Christmas period and this was reflected in the number of green fee players enjoying the game of golf at the Houhora Club. Some days there was an almost continuous line-up of players waiting to tee off, the club said.

Other business owners spoken to by the Northland Age reported an increase in business after the gorge reopened.

The steep and winding road through the gorge is a vital link for people travelling between Kaitāia and the rest of the country. It has been closed extensively for three of the past four years, forcing motorists to take lengthy detours through SH10.

This has had an impact on the area’s economic situation, with the delays meaning extra costs to get goods to and from the Far North.

A one-in-500-year-storm caused major slips and forced its closure in July 2020. The gorge opened in June 2021 and repairs cost $16.2m.

The stretch of road was destroyed by dozens of slips during another major storm in August 2022, and yet another storm in 2023 delayed repairs and bumped up the cost from $160m to $204m.