Source: NZ Department of Conservation
Date: 23 March 2026
DOC Waikato Operations Manager Niwha Jones says his staff have been working hard to reopen and assess tracks, and the latest to be made available to the public is Mangakara Nature Walk.
The Mangakara Nature Walk is a family friendly short walk and easily accessible from Grey Road. It has a range of educational information signs about the various specimen trees and plants found there.
Niwha says the storm destroyed two footbridges on the track – meaning the loop of the walk cannot be completed.
“It’s going to take us several months to arrange replacement of those bridges, so until that work is done the Mangakara Nature Walk is a ‘there and back’ experience to two end points,” he says.
Niwha discourages inexperienced visitors from crossing streams on the track while bridges remain unavailable, and to comply with all DOC signage and website alerts for all tracks.
“We want people to have a safe and enjoyable experience, so please enjoy the walk in its current configuration.”
Meanwhile, DOC staff have used a drone to capture footage of some of the landslips further up Pirongia maunga. The footage shows two large landslips near the Mahaukura Track, which includes a helicopter pad used by DOC for various operations.
“The drone footage the team has captured reinforces our view this track is not safe for naturing and we do not want people using it. The slip hazards are considered significant and further assessment is needed.”
Niwha says his team still has a lot of work to do in the wake of the February storm and urged the public to respect closures and ensure they make sensible decisions to have safe experiences on the maunga.
“If it’s closed, there’s a very good reason it’s off-limits to the public – and we ask people to respect those closures.”
People can visit the DOC website pages for individual tracks for the latest updates. Website pages carry alerts on closures, detours or other information people need to be aware of.
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