Rocks blown down from Bluff

For some people taking a walk along the northern Marine Parade edge of the Napier Port on Monday afternoon it was something of a blast.

An explosive blast as specialist technicians from Abseil Access dislodged potentially dangerous rock outcrops about 70m up the Bluff Hill face.

One man said as he neared the site, which had been cordoned off, he had been advised to "move well clear" and took in the short, sharp and effective blast from near the Seafarer's Centre about 100m away.

The explosive was set off about 1pm and sent dust flying as well as large chunks of what had been unstable rock.

One large boulder in particular was dislodged at about 3.20pm on Monday, and was captured on video by local man Bevin Gaskin.

The base of the clearance area had been fenced off with six large shipping containers, which were first put in place a couple of months ago in the wake of some minor rock falls.

But one rock to fall in Monday's blast was anything but minor.

A check of the scene showed a metre-wide slab as well as a significant dent in the container which had prevented it bouncing any further.

A large boulder dislodged from Bluff Hill made this impact on a shipping container. Photo Duncan Brown

Several smaller rocks also littered the fenced off area.

Abseil Access had been brought in to carry out the clearance and had previously done work for the Napier City Council at sites off Tiffin Park and Seaview Terrace which had also had some hillside slip issues.

Specialists carried out a full assessment of the affected area and established that there was a large fissure in the rock they then targeted for destruction.

From top-secured ropes, they abseiled down the Bluff Hill face to lodge the charges.

At one stage a remote-control drone was seen crossing the immediate area of the rock face.