DoC says sorry after bridges removed from Ōpua bush track

Ōpua resident Tony Kiff considers how he's going to cross a creek where the Department of Conservation removed a bridge earlier this week. Photo / Nina Kiff

The Department of Conservation has apologised for failing to notify Ōpua residents before removing a series of bridges from a popular bush track.

The track, which links Broadview Rd and the Paihia to Ōpua Coastal Walkway, has been officially closed since a storm in 2007.

Since then, however, local residents have continued to use and maintain the walkway, as well as carrying out pest trapping in the area.

Ōpua resident Nina Kiff was walking the track, which passes through Harrison's Bush Scenic Reserve, on Tuesday when she was shocked to find DoC staff removing the bridges.

The roughly 40-minute track has three bridges, two about 2.5m long and one of 4m.

While the track had been officially closed for several years it was still well used and loved by the community, she said.

"Ōpua is upset and angry we weren't told about it. DoC could have at least told us, 'This is what's going to happen, these are the reasons, and we're sorry we have to do it'."

Locals were particularly aggrieved because it was the third track they'd lost recently.

A section of the Paihia to Ōpua Coastal Walkway was closed last year by the Far North District Council due to the poor condition of a mangrove boardwalk; and last month the council removed bridges from the popular Ōpua section of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail, though they have since been reinstated.

"People are just fed up with all these things being closed," she said.

Kiff said a local resident maintained the track, even carrying in shell surfacing by bucket, and had built a seat where walkers could rest and listen to birdsong returning to what she described as some of the best bush in the Bay.

Other locals carried out trapping for rats and possums.

She had contacted DoC to express her dismay and hoped to work with the department to find a way the track could be reopened and the bridges replaced.

An Ōpua resident has been maintaining the track - even building a bench where walkers can sit and listen to returning birdsong - since its official closure in 2007. Photo / Supplied

DoC Bay of Islands area manager Bronwyn Bauer-Hunt said the removed structures were not up to safety standards.

"Although the track is closed, we're aware of local use and should have made the local community aware of our intended work. I apologise for this oversight," she said.

"I've become aware of the significance of the track to the local community and some people wanting to help to keep the structures in place and the track open.

"I'm keen to meet the community and see if there is some way we can work together, noting the risks around geology, weather events, kauri dieback and future maintenance."

Anyone interested in attending the meeting should email bayofislandsbooking@doc.govt.nz or call (09) 407 0277. A date would be set in the next week.

Meeting the requirements to keep track users safe was DoC's top priority and had to be assessed against the cost of meeting the standards, use of the track and future weather impacts, she said.

A weather bomb in 2007 triggered multiple slips across Harrison's Track as well as damage to the bridges. DoC decided to close it due to the area's geology and the high cost of repairs.

Locals continued to use the track, cutting their own route across the slips and removing DoC's 'track closed' signs.

Bauer-Hunt said the department was approached some years ago by community groups Love Opua and Focus Paihia about formally reopening the track, and explained what would be required.

DoC had also engaged with the council but those conversations didn't lead to action, she said.

The council's focus was on establishing the coastal walkway between Paihia and Russell, which had more potential for use.

"We're aware the closure of the track impacts local users. Decisions to close tracks, and keep them closed, are not made lightly."

The Advocate has asked the council for an update on the Paihia to Ōpua Coastal Walkway.

That was closed in December 2021, near Paihia Top 10 Holiday Park, after an engineer's report found the boardwalk piles had been "seriously weakened" by rot and marine worms.

The council had hoped to reopen the track by the end of July but warned that could be pushed out to September because of problems sourcing building materials and a lack of contractors.

The walkway forms part of the Te Araroa trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

Harrison's Bush was donated to the public in 1973 by Bruce Harrison.