Pahikara is an idea

Pahikara means Bicycle. Green tourism, cycling trails and the experience economy are rapidly becoming a part of Greytown’s future. The cycle trail and bridge that connects Greytown and Featherston opens in 2021. It’s happening, thanks to visionaries who have worked so hard to bring it to life for our region.

With a direction like this now established for our town, we need to think about how we need to prepare for it. Where will our cycling visitors stay? We already seem to be full many weekends. Where will they eat and relax at the end of a day out cycling? Often, our hospitality venues are booked out. And what else will they be able to do while they are here?

Something else is happening in Greytown. We are growing and our population mix is changing. Retired people are choosing Greytown as a place to live, because of its friendly people, warm climate and architectural beauty. And professional or self employed people are choosing to stay here during the week, working from home in Greytown for the same reasons. Our community is becoming more diverse. We are changing. Our residents want more to do in their social time; more hospitality, more leisure, more variety. 

Pahikara is an idea that starts to meet these needs.

  • It adds upmarket boutique accommodation option for visitors, that our town currently only offers at small B&Bs.
  • It brings together more dining and hospitality options for locals and visitors so we can all enjoy a broader range of places to meet with friends and family.
  • It creates a new off street zone for outdoor dining, markets and music.
  • And it offers a boutique cinema we can all access - families, retirees and children as a place for fun, social interaction and learning.

We see Pahikara as an extension of Main Street but not a competitor to existing businesses in town. We want our visitors to mingle with locals, enjoy the diversity of our boutique shopping, and flourishing cafes and restaurants that are already here. We want Pahikara to contribute to Greytown meaningfully, creating real career jobs (around 50 full and part time jobs expected) and economic growth, not take anything away.

We want Pahikara to fit the character of Greytown, celebrating the unique mix of architectures that makes us visually wonderful.

And we want to celebrate our name with strong cultural ties to our whānau at Papawai. This comes through in the form of storytelling in each structure we create and in jobs and projects specifically benefitting young Māori in our community.

Lastly, we want Pahikara to be a shining example of how new development can be carbon neutral - with solar energy powering our facilities, water collection keeping our green spaces beautiful and technology woven through every element of our design process to ensure we protect the environment we are bringing visitors to experience.

As we farewell our visitors at the end of their stay in Greytown, we want them to leave feeling they have been a part of something unique. A community that welcomes them. A place that feels new but also feels like a natural extension of Greytown’s history. An exciting location for innovative hospitality, food and local wines. And a place they’ll look forward to coming back to.

This is Pahikara. This could be part of Greytown’s future. 

Frequently asked questions

Following are specific questions posed to me verbally or in writing by our community and the media.