Partnership Aimed at Getting Tracks Open

Financial challenges resulting in a need for external funding to enable the reopening of Hahei’s two closed tracks, this according to those behind trying to find a solution.

The Department of Conservation has now clarified its position following a meeting last week which involved Hahei residents, landowners along with Thames Coromandel and Mercury Bay Community Board elected representatives.

The issue is getting both the Hahei Beach Short Walk and the Gemstone Bay Track reinstated.

DOC’s Coromandel Operations Manager, Nick Kelly, said the meeting stemmed from DOC’s recent public engagement on the future of the walk, during which th Hahei Ratepayers and Residents Association made a submission and requested further discussion.

Now they see the opportunity to partner on the reinstatement of the beach short walk and while discussions continue, existing infrastructure on the damaged and closed track will be left in place.

The Hahei Beach Short Walk is part of the popular wider Mautohe Cathedral Cove Reserve, connecting the township with the cove and its rock arch. The walk was damaged by storms in earlier this year.

“The meeting this week was respectful, pragmatic and future-focussed,” Nick says.

“We discussed how the partnership would operate, and administrative aspects of the association’s role in exploring other alignments for the track and maintaining it in the future.”

A large amount of detail and information is still to be shared, discussed and agreed by the department’s team and association representatives.

Chairman, Jon Jonassen, says the organisation’s members believe they can summon the resources and community support for a potential reroute of the track.

“A new alignment has been proposed for the track reroute which avoids landslip-prone areas and will not require critical infrastructure,” Jon says.

Both organisations acknowledge the cultural connection Ngāti Hei has to the area, protected through whakapapa and settlement legislation, saying working with Ngāti Hei will be critical to future success.

The administrative mechanism to enable a shared approach is yet to be determined, but DOC staff and the association representatives are exploring which model will meet all requirements.

Progressing the partnership will take some time and there are no “quick fixes” available for reinstating the track, Nick says.