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Iwi and other community stakeholders in Raetihi are looking for ways the prevent their kainga being declared a ghost town.
Traffic volumes have plummeted since a massive slip closed the Parapara Rd section of State Highway 4 just above Fields Track.
Moana Ellis from Uenuku says that has added more than an hour to the journey to Whanganui for locals, and tourists are turning off before the town to go down State Highway 1.
She says a meeting on Monday brought together stakeholders including iwi, councils and community groups to look for ways to make sure Raetihi people and businesses aren’t suffering.
"We have a lot of experience now in the importance of having a collaborative and a cooperative strategy and everyone working together in our region and the key for Ruapehu is getting all stakeholders to work together for the benefit of everybody and the meeting that we had on Monday was the beginning of that," she says.
Moana Ellis says Raetihi sees hope in the developing mountain biking network and the fact it is a gateway to the Tongariro and Whanganui national parks, including the road to Pipiriki on the Whanganui River.
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