Tauranga track upgrades to prevent spread of kauri dieback

Date:  21 November 2018

DOC is upgrading the tracks between November 2018 and March 2019. The work includes installing new gravelled tracks, fencing, boardwalks, stairways and a viewing platform.

Tracks will be temporarily closed while they’re being upgraded to ensure the safety of the public and the contractors.

Jeff Milham, Operations Manager for Tauranga, says that the upgrades will protect the forest’s most susceptible kauri from the spread of the disease. 

“The Kaimai kauri are part of our local identity and culture. Reducing the risk of this incurable disease spreading through soil movement, is a priority for our District,” says Jeff Milham.

“We are confident these measures will help protect at-risk kauri in the area as long as people do the right thing when the tracks reopen; which is to clean their footwear when visiting and to stay on the track”.

As part of the District’s protection protocol, the contractors and DOC’s Kauri Ranger team have participated in a cultural health and safety induction with the people of Ngāti Te Wai.

DOC will be working with contractors on the following tracks:

Tauranga

• Dickey Flat – Daly Clearing Track
• Lindemann to Cashmore Clearing
• Lindemann Loop Track
• Mangakino Pack Track
• Upper Waitawheta Track
• Waipapa Track
• Waiorongomai – Low Level Track
• Wharawhara Tramway Track
• Waitengaue Stream Track
• Waitengaue to Upper Waitawheta Track

Waikato

• Hakarimata Summit Track

The track closure and opening dates for each track will be posted on the DOC website as each track is upgraded. For more information, please contact DOC at the Tauranga District Office and Waikato District Office.

Background information

About kauri dieback

Kauri dieback can kill kauri of all ages. It’s a disease caused by a microscopic fungus-like organism, called phytophthora agathidicida (PA). It lives in the soil and infects kauri roots, damaging the tissues that carry nutrients and water within the tree, effectively starving it to death.

There is no cure for kauri dieback, and the disease kills most if not all the kauri it infects. It can be spread by just a pinhead of soil.

About the Kauri Dieback Recreation Project

In 2014, the Government provided DOC with funding to manage the human spread of kauri dieback on tracks on public conservation land. This resulted in the Kauri Dieback Recreation Project.

As there is currently no proven cure or treatment for kauri dieback, we can only save kauri by stopping the disease from spreading. To achieve this, the project has taken the following approach:

• Upgrading tracks to protect kauri roots and eliminate wet and muddy sections
• Developing and installing footwear cleaning stations
• Introducing initiatives to change people’s behaviour, as the evidence shows that people are the main vector for the disease
• Closing tracks.