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Adventure tourism operator Wildwire Wanaka has announced an innovative way to help guests who may have been financially impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic to pay what they can afford rather than the attraction’s normal price.

The offer applies to the family-run tourism company’s Level 1 Go Wild climb - usually priced at $199 per adult - for which it is offering 50 spaces per month for the summer (or until the New Zealand Borders open) at a price that the guest feels they can afford.

With Wildwire Wanaka having a simple mantra, "living a rich life is about experiences, the ‘Climb for Kiwis’ offer will conform to the a ‘koha’ approach with with no screening on who can take part in the offer, rather a request that those who can afford the normal price leave the spaces for those who really need it.

Wildwire Wanaka Managing Director, Mark Morrison explains "living a rich life is about experiences, not stuff.

"We know that 2020 has been a tough year for just about everybody (and) we firmly believe that getting outside and filling your life with adventure is the key to happiness"

"At Wildwire, the whole team is focused on giving people the opportunity to fulfil their dreams and to achieve something amazing. To climb the World's Highest Waterfall Cable climb, will do just that.

"We totally acknowledge that adventure tourism activities are ‘bucket list’ and not always affordable. We hope that this scheme will change that, by providing a way for those that are really struggling to get out there and have some fun"

"Go Wild is a fantastic family activity, and it truly is our hope that we can encourage people to get to Wanaka and to climb on our waterfall. Getting out there will bring families closer together, there is nothing like enjoying an experience together and sharing the stories later."

Having offered their first Koha climb immediately after the nationwide lockdown ended and having record numbers of local Queenstown Lakes residents join them, Morrison added “it was a really humbling experience to have so many people join us then. It was a crazy time for everybody.

“We really believed that we would only have a handful of people climb with us, but it just exploded. The great thing about it all was that it allowed us to employ a lot more guides. When lockdown happened we had to lay off the seven guides we had. Then at the peak of our Koha program in May/June we had 17 guides employed."

"We make no money out of this program, it’s not about that. We believe in supporting our guides, supporting our community and supporting our industry are key and we hope that we can do this by helping out where we can"

For more information go to www.wildwire.co.nz

Image: Wildwire Wanaka.

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