The Department of Conservation has proposed a number of options to reinstate walking access to Coromandel’s Cathedral Cove.
Extreme weather events in 2023 forced the popular Coromandel track — severely damaged by slips — to remain closed throughout summer this year.
Department of Conservation (DOC) Hauraki Waikato Taranaki regional director Tinaka Mearns said it had been challenging to identify solutions as the land had continued to move since the initial storms.
“The continued land movement has made it challenging to identify a simple walking solution at a level of risk acceptable for the type of casual visitor who generally goes there,” Mearns said.
“What we’ve worked to produce is a suite of possible options which cover reinstatement of walking access to the beach and also entrance to the recreation reserve.”
Mearns said the options being considered need to balance costs, investment risk, resilience against future weather events while reducing the environmental and social impacts at the heavily visited site.
Cathedral Cove Beach has just been named on the list of World’s 50 Best Beaches for 2024, cementing itself as a must-see New Zealand destination.
The only Kiwi beach to make the cut, authors placed Cathedral Cove at number 46 and called it a “remarkable natural environment”.
Mearns said three options were being considered for walking access to the beach.
“One is a short-term fix which would see construction of new steps and a boardwalk to reinstate a section of the existing track, while the two others would be long-term repairs involving installation of new infrastructure.”
Mearns said the two long-term options would require “significant investment” and also the installation of a new potentially cantilevered staircase and steps to the beach — and therefore take longer to design, procure and complete.
“Upholding the values of Ngāti Hei has been a key factor as we work through the options. Alignment with several pieces of conservation legislation, and community perspectives provides both great opportunity and creates a shared awareness for compromise.
“As an example, we’ve had to examine pros and cons for each of these options and also factor in an historic pā site which is significant to Ngāti Hei,” Mearns said.
Other options explored as part of the development work included visitor entry points from the Hahei Short Walk, making best use of an existing entrance at Grange Rd, and whether access over adjacent farmland was feasible.
Another option put forward in the proposal was to keep the marine-only access, which was touted as the most resilient option for mitigating future damage to infrastructure at a lower cost.