Conservation Comment: Alpine crossing at crossroads?

POPULAR: Trampers on the Tongariro Crossing take a break.PHOTO/FILE

AS WE enter the peak of the tourist season, it's timely to reflect on whether we are "over-loving" some of our pristine outdoors attractions. A case in point is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Concern about the huge numbers doing the 19km crossing go back at least 26 years.

In 1991 Taupo/Tongariro regional conservator Paul Green walked the crossing and commented that "being in the middle of a human stream felt a little similar to the pictures we have seen recently of the Kurdish refugees traversing the mountains from Iraq. There were no breaks in the stream looking forward to the saddle or back to the Mangatepopo hut.

"Watching the soil pour down to Emerald Lakes from Tongariro was an amazing sight. Everyone descending has a real impact. How many tonnes of soil must get pushed down each year? In the Mangatepopo Valley, extensive signs of erosion are evident. How will the valley be repaired with limited budgets?"

Mr Green worried that while DoC often expressed concern at the impact on tracks, camping areas and huts, "perhaps the social impact is even greater."

In 1993 concern about track wear on the crossing led to DoC testing different surface agents. A year later, a trip report in the Wanganui Tramping Club's magazine noted after a trip on the crossing that "when tracks become too popular environmental problems follow". This statement was underscored in 2011 when it was revealed that trampers' walking poles were damaging the track and causing erosion.

Flash forward to 2017, and at this time of the year it is not unusual to have 1000 people on the crossing in a day, forcing DoC to plan new toilets. Sixteen new pans, each comprising four toilets, will be added over the next two summers.

Outside the problems on the crossing, the scale of tourism growth in New Zealand has clearly taken many people by surprise, not least DoC director general Lou Sanson, who concedes that visitors are putting wild places under increasing pressure.

Writing in Wilderness magazine last year, Mr Sanson said DoC has to find ways to manage popular destinations to ensure experiences meet people's expectations.

"We need to continue to invest in our facilities and help spread the load by attracting people to lesser-known destinations and encouraging them to take greater advantage of quieter visitor seasons," he said. "This needs to be balanced against ensuring New Zealanders can continue to access a quality back-country network offering areas of remote tranquillity."

This leads back to Mr Green's concern about the social impact of masses of people and how, for the first time, he felt the level of use on the crossing had a severe impact on the enjoyment of the day.

"I enjoyed the physical aspects of the walk and meeting up with some old friends, but there was no feeling of remoteness, of being alone in the mountains at all."

As a longtime tramper, I know that an increasing number of Kiwis, fed up with the numbers on the Great Walks and other high-profile tracks, deliberately seek out quieter areas. Fortunately for Whanganui people there are still many huts and tracks nearby, such as in the Tararua and Ruahine forest parks and the Waitotara Conservation Area, where pressure is still minimal.

Meanwhile, the elephant in the room is how to regulate numbers. Mr Green pondered on the need for restrictions on the crossing 26 years ago and this question is much more pertinent in 2017.

DoC is looking at the carrying capacity and possibilities include a booking system like the Great Walks or closing access roads and introducing shuttle buses. Expect action sooner rather than later.

�Dave Scoullar is a tramper, conservationist and member of the Te Araroa Whanganui Trust.