Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Tracy Neal
The track to the country’s deepest natural sinkhole at the top of the South Island has been permanently closed because of safety concerns.
Harwoods Hole, which is a nearly 180-metre deep vertical shaft, is part of a cave system in the Abel Tasman National Park.
Department of Conservation (DOC) Golden Bay operations manager Ross Trotter said the track from Canaan Downs car park to the hole was closed last month.
“There isn’t a viewing platform there, you can’t actually see down the hole so it’s not really an attraction that we want to lead people to because we can’t guarantee their safety,” he said.
Trotter said the risks in the area had not changed but DOC had reassessed the safety of the track and found the level of risk was unacceptable.
While there were no recorded fatalities involving walker, there were reports of people slipping on the rocks and a fall into the hole could be fatal, he said.
“Being such a deep vertical shaft, that’s the concern, if someone does slip, it would be a fatality,” he said.
Trotter said DOC remained open to reassessing safer access in the future but a viewing platform in was not a viable option.
The decision to permanently close the track was made on 20 February. It would no longer be maintained, with vegetation cleared, as it had been in the past.
Harwoods Hole and Starlight Cave that lies beneath it are popular with experienced cavers.
In 2017, a 25-year-old Canadian woman fell while abseiling near the bottom of the hole. She was rescued by a specialist caving team.
Trotter said people were still able to access the track, at their own risk, and there remained public access to the nearby Canaan Downs Scenic Reserve and campsite and the Canaan Big Loop, Gold Creek Loop and Rameka tracks.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
