Fullers, Explore, Sea Link finally competing for Waiheke

For years we have campaigned for an end to the Fullers Ferries monopoly on the Waiheke Island service. And all of a sudden, two competitors have turned up in the same weekend. Welcome Explore, which will provide a 7 day service (although not very late at night, and also no island bus service), and Sea Link, which only runs at weekends for tourists. All also offer very different fare structures and deals, check their websites, which makes it a little byzantine to figure out what is best for you and your travel needs. A proper fare integration in the form of monthly flat rate Hop Passes for all buses, trains and ferries, is still a long way off. But it's a start and prices have started falling already, as they should in a proper market. Here is the full current timetable for sailings by all operators. Matiatia will be busier than usual - and that's even without the proposed marina clutter.

Red hot deals

Amazing how precarious island life is when one of its key infrastructure elements is taken out of action for a length of time. Last Saturday night the Woolworths supermarket suffered fire damage to the extent that the supermarket will be closed for at least 2 to 3 weeks and will not be fully operational, like, probably ever or before a new one is built in Ostend in about 2 years' time.
It is of course hardly a civil defence emergency, and various other market players have stepped up to fill the market demand for shopping services, including Woolworths itself, which is for the first time offering online shopping to Waiheke (the island being the only area in New Zealand deprived from such service before - you could get your groceries delivered to Stewart Island but not Waiheke). The other online shop, FoodDirect, is island-run.

The transport companies are doing their bit too, with Sealink's fortuitous June $50 open return offer (unrelated to the fire) now extended for July too.
Fullers is doing a shopper's fare too (a reduced fare return for the 10am to 3pm sailings, with a free shuttle to the supermarket thrown in). I can't actually find that deal on the Fullers website but it's mentioned in a NZ Herald report. It is also unclear whether this shoppper's fare will be retained now that the supermarket has reopened.

Amazing what competition can achieve.

UPDATE: Now that the Woolworths supermarket has partially reopened the internet service has been cancelled by Woolworths.