DoC closed tracks in and around Cathedral Cove after rockfalls and landslips were brought on by last summer's extreme weather events. Photo / Josh Angell, Department of Conservation.
DoC closed tracks in and around Cathedral Cove after rockfalls and landslips were brought on by last summer's extreme weather events. Photo / Josh Angell, Department of Conservation.
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The Department of Conservation has reaffirmed its goal to re-open the track to Cathedral Cove - one of the country’s most popular walking tracks - but only if a safe and resilient route can be built.
DoC’s Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki regional director Tinaka Mearns announced today that work to determine the long-term viability of visitor access to Coromandel’s Cathedral Cove walking tracks will commence.
Mercury Bay Business Association spokesperson Ray van Beynen told the Waikato Herald on Monday that he believed DoC had no definite plans to repair the tracks “other than a broad statement that planning or work may begin by the end of 2024″.
In today’s announcement, Mearns shared further details on how DoC would approach the next phase of work for the visitor experience at the site.
She acknowledged that land stability was prominent in any decision to reopen the track and said DoC planned to commission further monitoring, based on expert advice from engineering firm Tonkin + Taylor.
The decision for further monitoring came after van Beynen questioned the rationale for DoC keeping the track closed based on information from a geotech report composed by the firm in July 2023.
Mearns countered by saying the track was a “dynamic geological site” and “simply reinstating the track was not considered a safe or resilient option”.
Further initiatives include DoC staff working alongside local iwi Ngāti Hei to develop options and conceptual ideas, which would then be shared for wider public engagement – including an online survey.
Mearns said the options would then be set against the land stability information, DoC’s legislative obligations, cost-benefit analysis and the results of community engagement. Those options would undergo an internal DoC review in the context of DoC’s visitor risk management framework.
“Within a few months we should have a clear picture of whether a track re-routing is feasible and safe, or if we need to consider other alternatives,” Mearns said.
DoC regional director for Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki Tinaka Mearns.
The Cathedral Cove work programme timeline and milestones could change depending on cohesion with Treaty settlement obligations, historic protection aspects guided by Heritage NZ, and the development of a business case. If viable new options are presented, or only one option can be pursued, the work programme can also be altered.
Mearns said DoC planned to re-open the track, but not before a “robust, detailed and properly resourced plan for this site” is compiled.
“We’re very aware of the importance of the Cathedral Cove track to the local tourism economy, and also the wide range of views on what can or should be done there. Our goal is to reopen the track – but it must be done safely and in a durable and pragmatic way that lasts.
“Short-term solutions which do not offer an experience resilient to climate change are not viable as far as we’re concerned – we need to invest sensibly.”
Mearns said it was encouraging to read and hear reports of how busy Coromandel has been over summer.
“Coromandel has faced a succession of difficult summers in recent years, so to hear about local businesses being well supported by holidaymakers is great for the wider community and the region’s economy.”
She re-emphasised that the track to Cathedral Cove, in its current condition, was not safe, presented a risk to the type of visitors wanting to go there and it would remain closed.
Visitors were urged to consider options for marine-based experiences for Cathedral Cove, visit other tracks and lookouts that were available, and explore the wider Coromandel Peninsula.
