Businesses look to reopen after Banks Peninsula state of emergency lifts

Monday, 12 May 2025

A crack 100m emerged on Lighthouse Rd in Akaroa after the area was hit by torrential rain at the end of April and start of May.

Tours of a popular penguin colony will resume on Tuesday following the lifting of a local state of emergency in Banks Peninsula, almost two weeks after torrential rain caused flooding and slips.

Pōhatu Penguins manager Kevin Parthomaud and his staff were busy on Monday evening preparing to reopen their business.

“We have the green light from the council to reopen from [Tuesday],” he said.

Parthomaud has worked for the company and conservation trust, which is dedicated to protection of the kororā (little penguin), for 15 years and said it was a huge relief to be able to reopen after 10 days of closure.

The company was forced to close after heavy rain caused a 100m crack on Lighthouse Rd, the only road to the colony.

“The uncertainty has been stressful for everyone but the council have been really good at keeping us updated.”

Benoit Navarron, the lead guide from Pōhatu Penguins. The company will resume penguin tours on Tuesday.

Parthomaud said the team of six staff had been busy re-contacting customers they had been forced to turn away.

They had “a handful” of customers booked for morning and afternoon tours on Tuesday.

While unable to operate the tours, conservation work had continued piecemeal with access to the colony through access to private farm tracks, Parthomaud said.

The income generated from tours to the colony was used in part to fund the trust’s conservation work of the trust, so the forced closure had been difficult.

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger announced the lifting of the local state of emergency for the peninsula at 3pm on Monday.

The city council had been monitoring an active slip site on Lighthouse Rd, Akaroa, where a 100m crack emerged during extreme weather in the first week of May.

Flooded farmland near Ataahua on the edge of Lake Ellesmere.

“We installed monitoring equipment on Lighthouse Rd which has given us several days’ worth of detailed information, showing no further significant land movement,” Mauger said.

“With that information, we’re now in a position to make a decision on the evacuation zone, begin work on the slip remediation options and lift the state of emergency.”

Caldera Estate owner Tony Anderson received a call from council staff late on Monday afternoon but said due to bad reception he could not hear them.

The weather event forced the closure of Caldera Vineyard Estate on Lighthouse Rd, Akaroa.

He said he would wait to get clarity “in writing” before taking action to re-open the Lighthouse Rd business, which would be a major undertaking.

Anderson’s 12 staff were evacuated on April 30 under Civil Defence orders.

The 14-acre estate opened four months ago after a year of construction. Following the forced closure of his business, Anderson said: “It’s the biggest investment Banks Peninsula has ever seen. We just want to reopen, really.”

Mauger said council staff had been working closely with property owners and businesses in Akaroa and this would continue.

“It’s been a big two weeks for this community and for the team working on the response, and I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work and patience.”

The mayor said the ground in Banks Peninsula was still saturated so the council would continue monitoring the area. A designation has been made on the area under the Building Act so council staff can react quickly, if needed.

Christchurch and Banks Peninsula were both in a recovery period and the focus of the council would be on repairing damaged infrastructure around the district, Mauger said.