The "Big Apple" at Waitomo Homestead is a much loved local landmark located along State Highway 3 at the gateway to Waitomo Caves.  Publicly listed Tourism Holdings ("thl"), NZ's largest tourism company, operates a number of destination ventures in the Waitomo Caves area, including Waitomo Homestead. The company notably received taxpayer support from Central Government during the COVID crisis to support its ongoing operations.

As you can see from the photograph, The Big Apple has been neglected. It is now deteriorating visibly, with rust, moss and graffiti. Not a welcoming look for the tourists wanting to be looked after, is it? It seems we need to ask thl  to give The Big Apple some TLC before it turns into a rotten apple.

I have been driving by looking at this and finally decided to take action before it was too late. I contacted Tourism Holdings myself via their website over the past week to ask them to provide much needed maintenance to our local landmark. I have received no response. Can you help me get their attention that this is something special that needs to be look after?