Cathedral Cove reopening: Deadline looms for DoC survey

A detailed map of the track closures around Cathedral Cove.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) is calling for last-minute submissions on the future of Cathedral Cove as its online public survey closes on Friday.

The walking track to the Coromandel beach has been closed since February 2023 when it was damaged by extreme weather events. The beach can still be accessed via boat.

DoC recently announced a range of options for the reinstatement of walking access to the beach.

To discuss those options with the community, the department hosted a series of drop-in sessions in Whitianga and Hāhei last month where people were encouraged to complete the surveys.

In a statement, DoC said over the past couple of months it had been gathering and analysing information it needed to inform options to reinstate walking access to the beach.

“We’ve examined long-term and short-term options, work guided by the legislation we operate within, the values and cultural heritage of Ngāti Hei, as well as what can be practically achieved at the site.

“We need to balance the impact of visitor tourism, the economic value of that tourism, the costs and benefits of the options, and the likely impact of climate change at a coastal site where land movement has been an issue for some time.”

The focus now moved to providing advice to the Minister of Conservation.

A slip at Cathedral Cove. Photo / Chris Twemlow, Department of Conservation.

Results of geotechnical monitoring are due this month along with a feasibility assessment of options for resilient walking access, expected to land in the hands of the Conservation Minister before July.

In April, Coromandel MP Scott Simpson took a swing at DoC over the ongoing closure of the beach.

He said the department had been too slow in getting it reopened, adding: “I think it’s beholden upon the Department of Conservation to actually get their act together, to pull finger, and to actually get ahead of the Minister’s timetable and see if we can get the track open sooner”.

“There was some cyclone damage to the pathway that takes people down to the beach from the lookout, down quite a long and windy walk, and some damage has occurred, but, by engineering standards and by any other measure, it’s not that big a job to get it fixed.”

Timeline 2024

• In February, DoC, with Ngāti Hei’s support, undertook a summer visitor experience survey. Analysis of the visitor experience survey responses were made public.
• In March, DoC, Ngāti Hei and technical experts visited the site to assess access and infrastructure options. Further investigations were required by technical experts.
• In March, a new landslide predictive model was commissioned to be run for Cathedral Cove. It showed a high likelihood of further landslides under different storm conditions.
• Community engagement is still underway with support from Ngāti Hei, Thames-Coromandel District Council and Destination Hauraki Coromandel.

The online feedback portal is still open and those wanting to share their views can do so via www.doc.govt.nz/cathedralcove until June 21.