Google Maps sends travellers on nine-hour detour despite convoy access
Tourism operators in South Westland say Google Maps is sending travellers on a nine-hour detour, with visitors cancelling bookings and changing itineraries, despite a shorter route being available.
The highway between Makarora and Lake Hāwea remains officially closed after a series of slips.
However, motorists are still being escorted through the affected section in three daily convoys.
Operators said Google Maps has treated the restricted section of road as completely impassable and is directing travellers from Franz Josef to Wānaka on a 738km detour taking just over nine hours.
Some visitors have also chosen instead to travel via the east coast and the Mackenzie region.
A typical journey through Haast takes about four hours.
Franz Josef Wilderness Tours owner Dale Burrows said the disruption was having a clear impact, with passenger numbers down 40% compared with the same period last year.
“When people see that the road is closed, a lot of them don’t look any further, they change their plans and go somewhere else,” Burrows said.
“The frustrating part is that there is still access.
“People can travel through at the convoy times, but that isn’t necessarily the message they are getting when they plan their trip.”
Google Maps sends travellers on nine-hour detour despite convoy access.
Legacy Te Waonui Hotel manager Raj Karekar said his business had also lost several tour groups and received cancellations from multiple families following the disruption.
Development West Coast destination and tourism manager Andrew Aitken said the concern was not with the need to restrict access while safety work was carried out, but with the information ultimately reaching travellers.
“The road is restricted for good reason and safety has to come first,” Aitken said.
“The issue is that somebody sitting in Auckland, Wellington or Australia planning their holiday can open Google Maps and be told Franz Josef to Wānaka is a nine-hour journey.
“They’re unlikely to start investigating whether the road is technically closed but whether they can still get through in a convoy.
“They may simply change their itinerary.”
Aitken said the consequences could also spread across South Westland.
“A visitor deciding they can’t continue south doesn’t necessarily just cancel one night or one activity.
“They may decide to leave Haast, Fox Glacier and Franz Josef out of their itinerary altogether, and that flows through to accommodation, attractions, hospitality and other businesses.”
Ngāi Tahu Tourism and Westland Tourism general manager Janelle Shaw raised similar concerns about how convoy access is represented and then picked up by third-party mapping platforms.
She said escorted convoy access continued to carry a “road closed” status, despite motorists being able to travel through at set times and under specified conditions.
Shaw questioned whether the situation could be communicated more like a restriction on an alpine pass, where a road remains accessible subject to conditions, rather than appearing simply unavailable to motorists.
She said the wider issue was making sure the right information and communication systems were in place before the next major disruption.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said on Friday the weekday convoy system would continue while geotechnical and safety work was carried out.
Abseilers were being brought in to remove unstable rock, while crews continued repairs and removed thousands of tonnes of material cleared from the highway.
Geotechnical engineers had also identified several sites where there remained a risk of further rock or debris falling onto the road.
Work was being done to shorten the closure area as an initial step, but no date had been given for a full reopening.
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