The campground at Twilight Beach, near Cape Reinga, is usually idyllic but right now it's closed due to packs of roaming dogs. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The campground at Twilight Beach, near Cape Reinga, is usually idyllic but right now it's closed due to packs of roaming dogs. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Four walking tracks and a campsite have been closed in the Far North amid fears that packs of feral dogs could attack visitors.
The tracks, along with Twilight Beach campground, are in Te Paki Recreation Reserve near Cape Reinga.
Up to four packs of feral dogs have been reported betweenHukatere, on Ninety Mile Beach, and Te Werahi Beach, immediately west of Cape Reinga.
The Department of Conservation said it believed the dogs posed a risk to walkers, recreational hunters, riders and anyone working in the area, including DoC staff.
The tracks form part of the popular Te Paki Coastal Track and the northernmost section of Te Araroa, the long-distance trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
The map shows track closures in Te Paki Recreation Reserve near Cape Reinga. Image / DoC
Abraham Witana, acting operations manager for DoC's Kaitaia area office, hoped the tracks would reopen within seven days once the situation was under control.
The dogs had been reported by various eyewitnesses and adjoining landowners.
''No one has been attacked, but we are very concerned by the risk this poses to members of the public who use the tracks and micro-campground at Twilight Beach,'' Witana said.
