With work completed on signage at Clifton Beach and the track up to the Cape Kidnappers gannet colony, the track is now fully open. Photo / Paul Taylor
With work completed on signage at Clifton Beach and the track up to the Cape Kidnappers gannet colony, the track is now fully open. Photo / Paul Taylor
The full length of the Cape Kidnappers walking track is open, just in time for the long weekend, after new information signs were installed this week.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) walking route became accessible on Friday, meaning people are welcome to walk right along the beach from Clifton andup from Black Reef to the gannet colony on the Cape.
The walking track from the beach to the Cape Kidnappers/Te Kauwae-a-Māui Gannet Reserve had been closed since January 2019 when a huge landslip seriously injured two Korean tourists.
That signage being installed was the final step of key risk management work undertaken by DoC and the Hastings District Council.
DoC Hawke's Bay operations manager Jenny Nelson-Smith said earlier this month that the geology of Cape Kidnappers means landslides cannot be stopped or even precisely predicted, with a safe escape unlikely if a large landslide occurred.
The slip in January 2019 that has seen the Cape Kidnappers walking track remain closed over a year and a half. Photo / File
"The risks from the natural hazards cannot be mitigated, but we can provide people information about those hazards," she said.
"The updated signs will have clear and specific information about this, and how people can reduce their exposure to risk if they do choose to undertake the walk."
Peter McIntyre has lived at the last house on Clifton Rd before the beach for the best part of a decade.
He said Clifton Beach, which has largely stayed open since that major slip nearly two years ago, remains busy.
"Last weekend there were heaps of people going round there; utes, bikes, people walking."
McIntyre said he has seen people get caught out over the years trying to get around the track when the tide is already low, rather then two and a half hours before low tide as recommended.
Hastings District Council and the Department of Conservation will not be actively promoting the walk due to ongoing safety risks. Photo / Paul Taylor
"I've seen guys lose their motorbikes, their utes because they go around there and they go around the wrong time," he said.
"I dunno how many people I've pulled out over the years."
McIntyre said it's safe as long as people get their timing right.
"I just advise people, stick to the water's edge as much as you can. Don't walk under the cliff, or beside the cliff, and you should be fine."
Because of the potential danger, neither DoC nor the Hastings District Council will be actively promoting the walk.
