Picton was buzzing on Wednesday morning as people waited to hear news on when they could get on a ferry. Photo: Anthony Phelps / Stuff
A Picton motelier has been weighing up which guests need his rooms more, while a backpackers owner has been telling customers she can't offer them a "legit" room - but there's always a couch.
The port town is packed as ferry cancellations continue to cause disruptions, leaving people stranded on the wrong island, some for several days, waiting to rebook their trips.
Bluebridge's Connemara is the most recent Cook Strait ferry cancellation, as an engineering issue first discovered on 17 February was found to need further investigation and repairs, according to an alert at 3.30am on Thursday. The company said it could not confirm when the ferry would return to service.
Atlantis Backpackers co-owner Sheira Hudson and Harbour View Motel co-owner Noddy Robertson both said on Wednesday they were fielding enquiries from people looking for accommodation at least every 15 minutes.
On Wednesday morning, Hudson told a man the best she could offer him was a couch for the night unless a cancellation came through.
She described Picton as "marvellously manic".
"Quite frankly I feel for the people at the ferry terminal more than anyone else, because of course, they can't just build a boat," she said.
"I don't know how many people are going to cancel [bookings] because they can't make it, and how many people are going to come through the door needing a room.
"About every 15 minutes I'm getting a phone call and the only thing I can tell them is I don't have anything legit."
Atlantis Backpackers co-owner Sheira Hudson has been telling people she cannot offer them “legit” accommodation. Photo: Anthony Phelps / Stuff
Harbour View Motel co-owner Noddy Robertson said they were trying to juggle cancellations, and look after the people that need it most. These days, the motel was booked out for months in advance anyway, let alone with the ferry cancellations and an influx of people needing a room, Robertson said.
"The last week or so it's been pretty hard, there's people stuck all over the place," he said.
"So yes, it's been very, very hard to juggle. We've made it quite clear that there won't be any charges for late cancellations because the ferries are out of their control.
"It's just a matter of getting the right people into the rooms that we have available."
Scoop owner Ashleigh McLean said she had extended her opening hours to take advantage of the number of people around.
McLean, who had an ice cream stall on Picton's main street, said she had noticed people hanging out at the bars in Picton open until late at night, because they had nowhere else to go.
"There are a lot of places that are short-staffed at the moment though so their options are limited," she said.
Toastie Picton manager Tayla Hamilton said they had definitely noticed Picton was busier as people waited to try and catch a ferry.
"There's absolutely more people around, and they've got time to kill," Hamilton said.
"Fortunately they spend money when they're here."
Toastie Picton manager Tayla Hamilton said they had definitely noticed Picton was busier, but on the flip side it meant they were spending money. Photo: Anthony Phelps / Stuff
Le Cafe owner Peter Schöni said business in Picton had been "steady" anyway, let alone with the ferry cancellations.
"Now they've sent people down from the terminal after queueing up because the ship's delayed," Schöni said.
"So it's a bit extra for us, but we can handle it."
Truck drivers John Kitney, Mark Rush and Nick Warren were sat at Picton's Nelson Square on Wednesday afternoon. All three were having to sleep in their trucks, as they waited to find out when they could get on a ferry to Wellington.
Kitney said it was not unusual to have disruptions because of the ferries.
"You just can't get bookings, that's all there is to it," he said.
Le Cafe owner Peter Schöni said business in Picton had been 'steady', let alone with ferry cancellations. Photo: Anthony Phelps / Stuff
Meanwhile, Warren, who had been stuck in Picton since Monday morning, said all they could do was sit and wait, as leaving the area meant they might risk losing out on a spot on a ferry should it open up.
On Tuesday, the Interislander's Aratere was the only ferry that carried passengers across the Cook Strait. The other ferries were out for maintenance, taking goods only, or had mechanical issues.
By Wednesday Bluebridge's MV Straitsman and Connemara were due to resume passenger sailings after 1:30pm. Interislander's Kaiarahi was due to take passengers from 4:30pm.
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor said it seemed there would be quite a "long tail" in the backlog of people who needed to get on a ferry.
"There's certainly still a lot of frustration for people, particularly with cars, only being able to book a week or a fortnight out," Taylor said.
She said accommodation providers were doing a magnificent job trying to accommodate everyone they could, and triage where they needed to. Picton as a whole "deserved a bouquet" too, she said.
"But I am still concerned, because I'm hearing stories of people sleeping in cars tucked around on Shelly Beach or on residential streets and that's really not good enough," she said.
She said she communicated this to the ferry companies.
"They need to do much better with their communications, and I think they need to have a bit more of a coordinated response on how they'll assist their customers, and how they'll assist the town to manage this sort of event."
She said it certainly showed the urgent need for port infrastructure improvement.
"The new ferries are coming, and it will be certainly welcome."
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.