{"id":639077,"date":"2026-10-23T12:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/639077\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:44:11","slug":"new-cathedral-cove-track-to-open-at-a-third-of-original-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/639077\/","title":{"rendered":"New Cathedral Cove track to open at a third of original cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Coromandel track popular with visitors heading to the world-renowned Cathedral Cove could reopen before Christmas after years of closure, with a new route expected to cost a fraction of the original estimate.<\/p>\n

By Jordan Smith of Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n

The Hahei Beach Short Walk was initially closed in 2023 following Cyclone Gabrielle, before another severe weather event in January 2026 destroyed a reroute planned by the Department of Conservation (DOC).<\/p>\n

The setback prompted DOC to consider permanently closing the track, according to Hahei Ratepayers and Residents Association chair John Jonassen, who met with the department in August to propose an alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put a petition out and I made a call that we can say \u2018you\u2019re not doing that\u2019 but I had to give them a way forward … we looked at it and we said how to bypass the bottom big slip,\u201d Jonassen said.<\/p>\n

A new $121,000 proposal is now on the table to rebuild the reroute, significantly less than the $303,000 option estimated in 2024.<\/p>\n

DOC\u2019s Coromandel operations manager Nick Kelly said the earlier estimate included stabilising land around two bridges on the upper section of the track.<\/p>\n

\"Tourists<\/p>\n

Tourists still use the currently closed track, HRRA chair John Jonassen says (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Under the new arrangement, the ratepayers’ association will take on a greater role in maintaining the track, including routine upkeep and setting and clearing traps.<\/p>\n

Jonassen said the group already had experience working alongside DOC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community we\u2019re happy to do stuff like that on the whole Cathedral Cove track. We did do a lot of work there with DOC over the years and they provide a little bit of equipment but it saves them the labour… that\u2019s money they don\u2019t have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A new $121,000 proposal is now on the table to rebuild the reroute, significantly less than the $303,000 option estimated in 2024.<\/p>\n

DOC\u2019s Coromandel operations manager Nick Kelly said the earlier estimate included stabilising land around two bridges on the upper section of the track.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Hahei Beach Short Walk is in desperate need of an upgrade. Source: DOC (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

Under the new arrangement, the HRRA will take on a greater role in maintaining the track, including routine upkeep and setting and clearing traps.<\/p>\n

Jonassen said the group already had experience working alongside DOC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community we\u2019re happy to do stuff like that on the whole Cathedral Cove track. We did do a lot of work there with DOC over the years and they provide a little bit of equipment but it saves them the labour… that\u2019s money they don\u2019t have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Hahei Beach Short Walk is a popular route for domestic and international tourists visiting Cathedral Cove, which has also been the subject of a proposed international visitor entry fee.<\/p>\n

District councillors have welcomed the user-pays model for the tourist hotspot.<\/p>\n

Jonassen said visitors continued to use the short walk despite its closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cTourists use [the short walk] all the time. I mean you still see them going down here and it\u2019s got a closed sign,\u201d Jonassen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a brilliant way to walk rather than up a bloody road. You don\u2019t want to walk up a road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Construction on the Hahei Beach Short Walk and Gemstone Bay Walk is scheduled to begin on November 14.<\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Coromandel track popular with visitors heading to the world-renowned Cathedral Cove could reopen before Christmas after years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9001,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-639077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-hamilton-waikato","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}