Stewart Island recreation : a study of recreational use

Abstract

The higher use areas of Stewart Island, apart from the settlement are of Halfmoon Bay, are those associated with developed and maintained access. Access is either by land or Sea.

The tramping track which follows the northern coastline travels predominantly through State forest. There is opportunity under existing general management policies for visitors to gain satisfaction from their visit through a wide range of recreation uses.

In designing management and recreation plans for State forests the planner can take advantage of a wider range of options and multi-use opportunities than is available, for example under National Park administration.

Having initially catered for the retention of soil and water values planning can then consider the visitors requirements. Public participation in planning has received attention to an increasing degree in recent years, one of the techniques being a user questionnaire. An analysis of responses can indicate directions for management under existing use patterns but it will not provide a basis for decisions effecting regions.

Where does Stewart Island fit in regional or national recreation planning? On a regional basis it may be necessary to increase use in some areas to protect others of less carrying capacity (either physical or sociological capacity). The relative values of areas held by users will be useful in making regional decisions. The values held of specific areas such as those indicated by the Stewart Island study are of use in developing local management plans within regions.

This study identifies the characteristics of current use. Several of the characteristics are similar to those identified in national parks indicating that back country users have similar attitudes and aspirations regardless of the land status. Although the questionnaire did not cover the respondents background in depth, age relationships and motivations suggest that there would be similarities in many sociological characteristics.

The low level of previous knowledge about the island leaves for increasing use through publicity. There is opportunity for a greater degree of sophistication in facility design and diversity of transport methods on the island.

Management needs to be aware of the consequences of decisions and a continuing programme of use monitoring should be developed. Further studies should include, socio-economic background not included in this paper.