Dangerous slip closes another walk
A ‘‘highly dangerous slip’’ has partly closed another of the Department of Conservation’s ‘‘best short walks’’, as it reconsiders how risky is too risky for visitors.
A safety audit had deemed the West Coast’s Charming Creek track an ‘‘amber’’ risk, but DOC chose to keep it open.
The department reviewed the safety of its 19 promoted short walks and day hikes, after a scathing investigation into the January 2019 Cape Kidnappers rockfall that injured two tourists found DOC should never have promoted the landslide-prone walk.
The department had ignored multiple warnings from staff and earlier assessments that found the risk was intolerable, the report concluded.
The safety audit found that the Charming Creek walk was an ‘‘amber’’ risk, because it included two rockfall sites ‘‘of concern’’. While a proper risk assessment should have been done before promoting the walk, the risk was being managed ‘‘to an acceptable level’’, the report said. However, the track is now partially closed, ‘‘due to an active and highly dangerous slip’’.
DOC initially refused to disclose the ‘‘amber’’ site, but changed its mind.
The risk report called for DOC to redefine risk tolerance, to ensure national consistency. At present, the department divides visitors into seven risk categories, ranging from short walkers, who expect low-risk experiences, to remoteness seekers, who have a high risk tolerance.
The debate has broader implications, as the inquiry into the Whakaari/White Island tragedy is likely to consider whether visitors should have been allowed on the active volcano.
DOC principal risk adviser Don Bogie said New Zealand’s outdoors were inherently risky and it was not DOC’s job to keep people safe, other than to provide safe structures. However, it did need to manage risks at sites with high numbers of lowskilled, risk-averse visitors.
The department was working with GNS to decide how risky was too risky for the different visitor groups, Bogie said.
However, he did not expect largescale track closures or barriers as a result.
Bogie said that while the Cape Kidnappers walk should never have been promoted, it was reasonable to include Charming Creek because the rockfall risk was being managed.
Belgian tourist Anita Van Gastel nearly died when she and a friend were shunted into the water by a landslide at Cape Kidnappers 32 years ago. She suffered multiple compound leg fractures and has intermittent pain and disability.
She said she supported the closure of the Cape Kidnappers walk, as long as there was an alternative route. However, she would hate to see adventure experiences canned.
‘‘We cannot put regulations on everything, because then we can’t go out of the door any more.’’
The Cape Kidnappers closure has meant tour company Gannet Beach Adventures has been unable to operate for a year. Owner Colin Lindsay said tourists were safer on his tours than walking alone, because his team had years of understanding of the risk.
Closing his operation was ‘‘buttcovering’’ on DOC’s part, rather than being motivated by public safety, he said. As long as the landslide risk was explained, it should be up to visitors to decide whether to take the tour.
Lincoln University associate professor of tourism Stephen Espiner called for a standardised ‘‘language of risk’’ comparing tourism activities with commonly-encountered threats, such as the risk of a car crash.