Manawatu Gorge loop track blocked
Several trees are blocking the Manawatu Gorge loop walk after toppling during a storm.
Department of Conservation (DOC) staff are clearing the popular path after trees hit the ground during the wild weather experienced in Manawatu at the start of April.
In a statement, DOC said it had cleared most of the trees by Monday but a ‘‘very large’’ rimu tree still blocked the loop track.
The tree toppled near the Whatonga sculpture, which is midway along the loop.
Fallen trees were a common occurrence following severe weather events but staff were working hard to clear high-use tracks and minimise disruptions to visitors, DOC said.
Acting Manawatu operations supervisor Nathan Lightbourne said two rangers had been working with chainsaws to de-limb the rimu tree and would then cut a temporary detour around the trunk.
‘‘All going well, the Tawa Loop Walk should be navigable by Wednesday.’’
Complete removal of the trunk would take longer as it required some planning and specialist resources, Lightbourne said.
It was important that people adhered to warning signs at the site and stayed out of closed sections to stay safe, he said.
Another storm is forecast to hit later this week, which could delay work and cause further damage.
Heremia Taputoro walked the track for the first time on Monday and didn’t expect to have to turn around halfway along the loop.
There were no warning signs at the start of the loop but about 2 kilometres in, the track was taped off, Taputoro said.
He planned to walk the full loop track once it was fixed.
Neal Tudreu decided to make the most of a sunny day by going to the Manawatu Gorge track but had to turn back because of the block.
Tudreu and three friends decided to continue along the full track, to the other side of the gorge, but this was also blocked, he said.
Marnie Thompson, who was with Tudreu, said there should have been signs at the beginning of the track informing people.
But it was ‘‘still a good time’’, despite having to stop halfway,
‘‘All going well, the Tawa Loop Walk should be navigable by Wednesday.’’ Nathan Lightbourne, DOC acting Manawatu operations supervisor
Thompson said.
A section of the 10km Te Apiti track also remains closed after a slip in 2016. Work continued on this section but DOC could not confirm when it would reopen.