For decades, Pūhoi – 50km north of Auckland – has played host to weekend and weekday road trippers, with collector cars and motorbikes a common sight.

But in the last 18 months, since the opening of the new Pūhoi to Warkworth highway, and before that, with the closure of the cheese factory cafe, some local businesses have seen a significant drop in customers.

“It’s famous and it’s beautiful,” says Jayne Rankin of the village, which bohemian immigrants settled in 1863.

“People should come here. We don’t come as often as we used to – it used to be three or four times a year.”

She says it is now a logistical nightmare with the way the highway link at Pūhoi has been built.

There is an on-ramp for motorists coming north from Auckland and an on-ramp returning south.

But there is no on-ramp to get back on the freeway to go north and there is no off-ramp coming south.

This means that if you stop in Pūhoi when traveling from Auckland to Northland, you cannot get back on the new highway. You have to use the old road for 17 km.

Meanwhile, motorists traveling south from Warkworth cannot get off the new highway at Pūhoi – they must either use the old road from Warkworth or go all the way down the new highway to Ōrewa, through the tollgates, and then come back north.

Some locals squarely blame the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) for what they say was a baffling decision not to have four proper on- and off-ramps – two on each side.

They also say there needs to be better signage on the motorway – particularly at the Warkworth end – informing motorists of the most direct route to Pūhoi.

POwner of ūhoi Tea Rooms, Steven Roach, talks about Pūhoi’s “atmosphere”.

“It’s magical — people are amazing. Everyone sticks together. When we had the floods last year, it was a huge community (cleanup effort).”

People were helping the owner of the flooded general store while others had their tools and chainsaws out front clearing snags and fallen logs.

“There’s always politics but on the surface it doesn’t seem to be there. Everyone moves on. I couldn’t name a feud in Pūhoi. People like to live their lives.”

Roach and his wife Stephanie first bought a property in Pūhoi about 13 years ago. After Covid they decided to sell their townhouse and live permanently in Pūhoi. They bought the tea rooms about two and a half years ago, for lifestyle reasons. “My commute at the moment is about two meters,” says Roach.

The tearooms’ scones are famous. Roach did not have a fixed recipe from the previous owners. Instead, it took a few weeks of trial and error before he landed on the right mix. “There was lots of recipe testing – the chickens got really fat,” he laughs.

But for the past year, business has not been where it should be. On the very worst day recently, Pūhoi Tea Rooms had no customers at all. Roach estimates that business is down about 20% overall.

He says it is not sustainable. “We wait for the money to run out and then we get a job. It’s a lifestyle choice.”

There are rumors that the cheese factory – now owned by Goodman Fielder – may reopen its cafe further up the road. It will bring more visitors.

He says locals have appealed to NZTA to fix the road system.

At the Slow Water Trading Post, owner Sheryl Papprill is convinced the village is slowly bouncing back. She has been in the village for about 40 years and started her landmark, well-known business 15 years ago. “It’s a nice little town and it has so much to offer. Even in the rain it is beautiful.”

When the highway first opened, the number of visitors dropped significantly. “We’ve lost a lot of customers from the north who haven’t realized they can’t go to Pūhoi. It’s been a bit tricky.”

But she is now starting to notice more tourists visiting her store, which specializes in Native American and other American products, which she imports on annual visits to the United States.

“We have to keep reinventing Pūhoi, keep pushing it and realizing what makes Pūhoi unique.”

That’s probably what’s been happening across the road at the local pub.

Gary Levert and Bernie McCallion bought the pub in 2019 – the first change of ownership in 60 years – and their daughter Jena Murtagh manages it. Locals have said they love that it was bought by a family, not a company. It has been upgraded without losing any of its charm or nostalgia.

NZTA responds

An NZTA spokeswoman confirms the agency wants to improve its highway signage.

“There have been a number of signage upgrades to better highlight Pūhoi, including additional southbound signage at the roundabout,” she says. “Further changes are currently being considered.”

But the bigger issue of on- and off-roads is more complex – and more expensive.

“There are a number of factors that NZTA takes into account when finalizing the design of its projects. These include cost, geography, environmental impact, demand, community views and connections to other relevant infrastructure, among other factors,” the spokeswoman said.

“We do not expect sufficient demand for north-facing ramps in the near future and therefore were not included in the Ara Tūhono-Pūhoi to Warkworth project. South-facing ramps were added following feedback during the consultation phase, to preserve access to the freeway south to Auckland.”

The spokeswoman says the current designation has enough space for future ramps should they be needed, “and the design is capable of retrofitting northbound and southbound exits within the designation”.

“North facing ramps present a number of technical and environmental challenges and would require an additional bridge over the Pūhoi River, at significant cost. This would only be considered if there was significant growth or change in the planning environment.”

Where emergency vehicles can use part of the old road at the Johnstones Hill tunnels as a ramp, this was not possible for other vehicles. “Achieving safe access for public traffic at this location would require a motorway standard approach. This would require significant engineering work.”

Pthe art in question may be in the relaxed nature of the locals. No doubt some locals love that there are fewer travelers passing through, but as one resident says, the quiet won’t pay the bills.

Pūhoi has always been a destination – and that’s where the marketing secret may lie.

Back at the general store, oysters and chips in hand, Jayne Rankin and Kevin Hirst recount happy memories of visiting the pub, meeting friends and enjoying hot rods and other vehicles passing by.

“It’s a great place, a taonga.

“Look at Waipū – when they changed the State Highway 1 year and years ago Waipū suffered for years but now it’s a completely different town.”

She urged authorities to think about the impact their planning decisions had on small towns and villages.

“Think about access to smaller areas that are such an integral part of New Zealand. Make them accessible but also keep them valuable.”

Editor Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media executives. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor