DoC urges walkers to avoid unsafe Mt Manaia track after slip damage

The popular walking track at Mt Manaia is closed until further notice after a large landslide. Photo / Department of Conservation

The Department of Conservation is concerned people are ignoring safety pleas for one of Whangārei’s popular walking tracks.

Mt Manaia, in Whangārei Heads, was severely damaged in severe weather last month.

About 30m of the track was wiped out in a landslide, which also destroyed a timber bridge.

A stream bed and section of the track were covered in landslide debris, which included vegetation.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) this week said it was concerned for the safety of people seen walking up Mt Manaia despite the track being closed.

Whangārei principal ranger for DoC, Sarah Newman Watt, said department staff carrying out assessments on Mt Manaia had found evidence of people using the track despite temporary barriers.

People had reportedly climbed over landslide debris on the mountain’s lower slopes.

A temporary fence that blocked entry to the start of the track had been damaged, and staff had observed people returning down the track as well, she said.

“During these visits, they removed a temporary bridge that had been put across the stream and observed tracks crossing the slip,” Newman Watt said.

A large slip has flattened a bridge and reduced part of the track at Mt Manaia to debris. Photo / Kubi Witten-Hannah

She urged people not to walk across the slip.

“It is unsafe to cross due to the unstable nature of the land.”

DoC asked the public to refrain from walking the track until it was properly assessed and repaired.

There is currently no timeframe for reopening the track.

“A geotechnical engineer has assessed the site, and we are in the initial stages of scoping options.”

Newman Watt said the nearby Te Whara Track running from Ocean Beach up and across the headland to Home Point remained open.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.