Tourist versus purist: Architecture to decelerate audacious tourism where progress opposes the pristine

Abstract

In late 2012, a controversial tourism proposal known as ‘The Dart Passage’ was presented by Milford Dart Limited for a commercial 11.3km tunnel, aimed at quartering the travel time between the established tourist destinations of Queenstown and Milford Sound Piopiotahi. Local towns, such as Te Anau and Glenorchy, have grown dependent on the current rate and flow of tourism between larger tourist locations like Queenstown and Milford Sound. Permitting this short-cut to the ‘eighth wonder of the world’ (Rudyard Kipling) would discredit the semblance of an iconic journey, and compromise the wilderness and outstanding universal value of the Te Wähipounamu UNESCO World Heritage region. Active preservation of this area through all industries is pertinent to avoid loving it to death. It was therefore inevitable that concerns about the environmental impact of the Milford Dart Tunnel construction saw the proposal rejected in July 2013. However, transport is essential for tourism in this country, regardless of the speed at which it is travelled. The recent debates highlight that there is an absence of a secondary terrestrial access route from Queenstown to the West Coast. This thesis proposes an alternative speed and mode of transport by introducing a ‘slow’ cycling loop between Queenstown and Fiordland into the region’s existing network of trails. Providing a ‘slow tourism’ scheme accommodates economic stability and environmental sustainability, while heritage and conservational values can be maintained. Slow tourism is a branch of the ‘slow movement’ which follows two principles; taking one’s time, and an appreciation of place, eliminating environmentdestroying practices. Collaboration is vital to effective conservation. By uniting communities and tourists through common interest, they collectively become adventure seekers, and an appreciation and sense of guardianship for the land can be fostered. An environment can be experienced purely by sight through a closed vehicle window; however, a richer, fuller experience is gained by engaging all five senses. Slowing down the experience reduces the environmental and localised social impacts associated with high-speed travel. This thesis shows that it is possible to reduce environmental and localised social impacts of highspeed travel through the introduction of an alternative slow tourism transport scheme. By allowing tourists to cycle through these world-renowned wilderness areas, their experience is richer and fuller, while the region benefits from wide spread economic gain. At a master-plan scale, this track will service surrounding areas, encouraging individual exploration without a prescribed or fixed tourist itinerary. The project has two aspects: the first is the cycle route; the second is the design of accomodation interventions along the route (huts, facilities, and shelter) which make the route a viable option for tourists. This thesis proposes that cyclists navigate their own path through the region, using this route as a guide on how to experience the wilderness whilst engaging with site, senses and following the fundamental principles of the ‘slow tourism’ movement.