Opoutere update Board meeting this week.

Hi all Opoutere Hostel supporters . . . it's been a scorching summer so far and we hope many of you have been able to get down to your favourite hostel to relax, unwind and enjoy everything this special place has on offer. Thanks to those who sent us stories and photos of their holidays there - if you haven't had a chance to go yet but are planning to soon – we'd love to hear about your adventures. On that note we've received enquiries from supporters and the public who've tried to book for April and beyond but can't. We're sorry we're unable to assist you with this - it's beyond our remit. The YHA booking website does not allow for bookings beyond Easter 2018 – the date YHA previously announced the hostel would be permanently closing. At present it appears this is still the official word despite the Resolution passed at the October 2017 YHANZ AGM that closure would be deferred for 12 months to enable full consultation. As there's no system for those who want to book ahead to lodge an interest, YHA has no way of knowing the numbers of potential visitors it's losing. We recommend you contact YHA National Office directly, either by phone: Freephone (within NZ) 0800 278 299 Freephone (from Australia) 1800 242 191 If calling from elsewhere overseas +64 3 379 9970 or email them at: info@yha.conz Let us know how you get on. The Opoutere Member Group has suggested that full-time hostel opening could easily be extended until Sunday April 29 – the end of the school holidays in NZ. As Easter is early this year the current proposed closing date makes it a particularly short full-time season. To date this suggestion has not been responded to. In November 2017 representatives from OMG met with some of the YHA board & staff to begin consultation, which we felt was a positive start and look forward to progressing. Following this a successful OMG weekend was held at Opoutere with the community invited to share discussions. While YHA still appears focused at present on closure, we're hoping that the consultation process will encourage them to work with us to aspire to alternative solutions. At the AGM a suggestion was made that Opoutere Hostel could be developed into an Environmental & Educational Hostel, enhancing the existing facilities and drawing on it's location close to nearly 60% of New Zealand's population. We believe this could be an exciting and feasible project to retain Opoutere as a viable and sustainable part of the network and encompasses YHA's aims. The National Board is holding it's first meeting of the year later this week and the OMG has made submissions to this. We'll post updates on any decisions and further actions. Thank you for all the support given and please contact us if you would like to help us with the campaign to keep Opoutere open. email: saveopoutereyha@gmail.com