December 18, 2023
Waikaremoana walk to reopen
Te Urewera Board says the Waikaremoana Great Walk will re-open on January 10 after repairs to severe damage sustained during Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events.
Bookings are now open through the DOC booking system.
Waikaremoana, including the Great Walk, was closed after Cyclone Gabrielle and excessive lake levels washed out tracks and flooded huts and dump stations.
Blair Waiwai from Te Uru Taumatua’s Waikaremoana team says the flooding was so extensive it wasn’t possible to even inspect the damage for a month after the cyclone.
The repair programme was led by Te Uru Taumatua, the Tūhoe iwi authority which manages Te Urewera on behalf of Te Urewera Board, with the Department of Conservation contributing $550,000 from its cyclone recovery funding, as well as technical support with the replacement to the damaged Waiopāoa cable bridge.
Last week the High Court found Te Uru Taumatua acted unlawfully in demolishing the majority of huts in Te Urewera with the exception of the Waikaremoana Great Walk.
It also slammed Te Urewera Board and the Department of Conservation for purporting to purporting to adopt a retrospective annual operational plan authorising the huts’ demolition.