DoC track closures: New report highlights effects of severe weather events in summer

A new report from DoC highlights the effects of severe weather events on tracks and outdoor activity last summer. Photo / Jon Flobrant

A new report from the Department of Conservation has highlighted the impacts of this summer’s extreme weather events on travel throughout New Zealand’s outdoors.

In the report, DoC highlights the ongoing effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and regional flooding events.

DoC’s heritage and visitors director Cat Wilson said because of the damaging weather, “many DoC tracks, facilities and sites are still closed by storm damage and flooding. In some places the damage has been significant, and includes some of our most popular sites, like Cathedral Cove.”

The report suggests that a decrease in the average number of monthly visits to protected outdoor areas and protected heritage sites (from January to February) could be due to the weather and subsequent closures.

Similarly, 23 per cent fewer people stayed in bookable campsites over the summer, compared to last year, which DoC says is “most likely” due to the severe weather. Perhaps in part due to damage throughout the North Island, the number of people camping in the South Island more than doubled compared to the 21/22 summer.

Fergus Brown of the Holiday Parks Association, said in January, “This was going to be our big summer season, coming out of Covid, we were expecting a fantastic January and to have this bad weather, totally out of our control, is really disappointing.”

The report devotes a section to understanding how severe weather events impacted facilities and communities, especially in the North Island and upper South Island.

Te Henga Walkway, the Cathedral Cove Track, the Medlands Campground (Aotea/Great Barrier) and Leon Kinvig Hut in Ruahine Forest Park are highlighted as locations impacted by storm damage. They have been subject to closures for the foreseeable future. In the case of Cathedral Cove, Ngāti Hei placed a rāhui.

The report also shifts focus to consider the outdoor experiences that were popular with New Zealanders and international visitors.

Short, “front-country” areas were reported to be busier than last year, according to surveyed park rangers. This means short walks, day walks and easily accessible huts saw an increase in popularity. Walking was an especially popular activity for international visitors, with 50 per cent of those surveyed having participated in a walk that took between half an hour to three hours.

Easily accessed sites and coastal areas were popular destinations among New Zealanders, especially in or around the Auckland region. Heritage sites near the main centres also enjoyed popularity among all travellers.

The number of international visitors navigating DoC sites came in at 65 per cent of pre-Covid levels. DoC expects international visitors to continue to gradually return to the country over the next few years. The most popular national park destinations among those visitors were Fiordland and Aoraki Mount Cook. Nine out of 10 international visitors reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their New Zealand visit.

DoC’s report highlights that the extreme weather events in summer did impact the way visitors engaged with the outdoor environment, especially in the North Island. It also illustrates that experiences and tracks near urban centres were fairly popular with both New Zealanders and the increased population of international visitors.

When travelling through the outdoors in New Zealand, visitors should look to minimise their impacts with DoC’s Tiaki Care Code. This code, along with a full list of closures and maintenance on tracks and facilities is available on the DoC site.