Popular pathway remains accessible
‘‘The recreational values of the gorge have continued to prove popular over the last five years. We’re keen to ensure this continues.’’ Reg Kemper
The popular Manawatu Gorge walking tracks remain open although there is concern the unstable hillside could force a lookout to shut.
Roading officials last week announced the indefinite closure of State Highway 3 through the gorge because of concerns about the risk of further slips.
The road has been closed since a slip in late April.
Straddling the Tararua Range high above the road, the 11-kilometre track is a popular recreational destination for thousands of runners and walkers every year, and it’s remained open despite the road’s closure.
Manawatu Gorge Governance Group chairman Bruce Gordon said the ‘‘sensible thing to do’’ would be to close a lookout that runs off the loop track, at the Ashhurst end, as it sits right on the edge of the rock face.
About 12 people at a time can fit on the lookout siteand if the ground were to give way, it could be tragic, Gordon said.
For now, the lookout remains open, but Gordon said he was going to contact the Department of Conservation to discuss closing the lookout.
‘‘It needs to be addressed immediately.’’
The department’s lower North Island director Reg Kemper said the tracks were considered to be safe, but investigations into the ground underneath them were continuing.
Staff were working to assess the long-term implications of track stability and safety, Kemper said.
The department could not yet provide data on track usage since the the closure of SH3, but Kemper said numbers had increased by 350 per cent since 2012, to about 70,000.
‘‘The recreational values of the gorge have continued to prove popular over the last five years. We’re keen to ensure this continues.’’
NZ Transport Agency highway manager Ross I’anson said roading officials were working closely with the department to monitor conditions and ensure the walking tracks remained safe for use. ‘‘Our geotechnical engineers have inspected the hillside between the tracks and the slip at Kerry’s Wall [4.5km from the Ashhurst turnoff] and no movement has been detected in this area.’’
Several slips have closed parts of the walking tracks in the past 12 months, including a section of the now 11km track, which runs from the Ashhurst end to Ballance Bridge. One slip took out two pedestrian bridges in September 2016.
It has since been re-routed to more stable ground and reopened in May with a 1.2km extension, making it longer than its former 10km.
Frank Goldingham, a member of a walking group, said people had been avoiding the newly transformed track because it took too long to get to each car park, with the gorge closure.
Alternative routes, the Saddle Rd and Pahiatua Track, made for a longer drive for walkers and runners trying to reach the track.
Goldingham said the short loop track on the Ashhurst side was still popular.