Omanawa Falls. Photo / File
A herd mentality being bred by social media could explain why some continue to risk life and limb to visit the beautiful but deadly Omanawa Falls, a behavioural psychologist says.
Searching Omanawa Falls on Instagram brings up hundreds of photos of bikini-clad women and shirtless men standing in the foreground as the majestic falls loom behind them.
The captions wax lyrical about the best spots being found at the end of hard paths and how there are no shortcuts to any places worth visiting.
Others are more straightforward, saying the track was "extremely difficult" or "the sketchiest trek I've ever done".
But all the comments have one thing in common - they all say it's one of the best locations they've ever seen.
The image of Omanawa Falls online is in stark contrast to the battle going on right now to stop visitors endangering their lives by ignoring the safety warnings about the area.
The falls have never been open to the public but, despite frequent warnings to stay out, people continue to visit - with deadly consequences.
In 2018, 27-year-old student Kishore Kumar Arvindan drowned in the pool at the base of the falls. On Sunday, another man lost his life in the area, though the circumstances of his death are not known.
Several other people have been injured in the park in recent years, some seriously.
And yet, people keep coming.
Kaitiaki from local hapū, Ngāti Hangarau, have been at the site this summer to warn visitors of the dangers and provide information on its cultural significance.
However, spokesman Koro Nicholas said they were combating a strong social media influence pushing people to head to the falls - including providing information on how to access the spot.
Nicholas said most were tourists who were wanting to "tick off" visiting the falls.
"The social media pull has become stronger but it's become more than just the 'Gram'."
The Bay of Plenty Times asked questions of Tauranga City Council, Tourism Bay of Plenty and the Omanawa Falls Conservation Group, which gave a combined response.
Tauranga City Council community services general manager Gareth Wallis said Omanawa Falls had never been open to the public, principally for safety reasons.
"Omanawa Falls has not been promoted by the council or Tourism BOP as a visitor destination."
In 2015, the council was criticised for sending mixed messages by allowing the falls to be featured on the reality television show The Bachelor NZ, while it discouraged public access.
Bachelor Art Green and his bachelorette Kristie Leonard used the tunnel to the underground powerhouse to access the falls.
Wallis said, on behalf of Tourism BOP, the filming of The Bachelor NZ happened six years ago and Omanawa Falls was not identified or promoted on the TV show, nor in any of the supporting promotional material.
"It was a filming location for a television show and access was only granted to the production company with a comprehensive health and safety plan, a professional health and safety officer on-site, and access to the tunnel was under very specific health and safety protocols."
The Health and Safety at Work Act was updated in September 2015 and so were the health and safety policies and controls for the council and Tourism BOP.
"Because of that, numerous filming requests for the use of the falls have since been declined."
Wallis said kaitiaki would continue to be at the falls throughout summer to help care for the area and educate visitors about the cultural significance of the site and the dangers that exist.
"To ensure people are aware of the dangers, the track closure is clearly signposted to deter visitors from the area while the site is closed."
Tourism Bay of Plenty has also been working with the travel sector to update, remove or edit online listings about the falls.
That included TripAdvisor, travel sites and bloggers, to ensure the safety message was clear and to actively discourage visitors, Wallis said.
Behavioural psychologist Dr Sarah Cowie, from the University of Auckland, said images posted to social media created a "social norm".
"We've seen others that have gone down there [to Omanawa Falls] and we want the gratification of the photo too.
"The fact we've got to take a risk of getting may add to the attraction."
Cowie said the attraction was based on a person's experience in a certain situation and the photos on social media feed into one's prediction of how risky the situation might be.
"If we don't have our own personal experience we look to what others are doing. Social media is very influential."
From the images, Cowie said people were perhaps thinking there may not be much risk in going down to the falls and that is little reason to heed the warning signs.
"Given somebody else is doing it, I can do the same. We don't have that experience of something bad happening.
"We're just being driven by our own goals. We want to be part of that group of people who have seen it in person."
Cowie said posting photos of the falls to social media was enhancing the desire to visit them and it's more likely someone will go down there if they've seen what's at the bottom.
"But it would be unfair to blame it entirely on social media," she said. "It's always a choice to see this scenery or to go and see other things that are perfectly safe."
A spokeswoman for TripAdvisor said the Omanawa Falls listing on its website showed the track was closed.
"We have put up a description on the listing that highlights the risks and previous deaths, provided by the Tourism Bay of Plenty."
The spokeswoman said travellers had also left helpful reviews on the listing letting others know the track was closed to the public.
• 2019: Tauranga City Council created a project group including Ngāti Hangarau and Tourism Bay of Plenty
• Increasing community understanding of the cultural significance of the area
• Features of the design will likely include a viewing platform and upgraded track, as well as supporting infrastructure including car parking and public toilets
• 2021: Council hopes to agree and share the designs, seek necessary consents for site development and begin construction
• Council will be considering using security as the project progresses to construction
• Council has discussed options with NZ Police about controlling public trespassing at the falls
• Police will be informed of vehicle registrations of people who have proceeded to go down to the falls, despite visual and verbal warnings
Source: Tauranga City Council, Tourism BOP, Omanawa Falls Conservation Group
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