Great Walk in ‘embarrassing’ state as iwi and Crown fall out

Lake Waikaremoana is considered the jewel of Te Urewera, the homeland of the Tu¯ hoe people. It’s also home to one of the 10 ‘Great Walks’ and has been enjoyed by generations of non-Tu¯ hoe. But the lake – and the whole of Te Urewera – has been closed for

Waikaremoana means ‘‘sea of rippling waters’’ and on this November day it’s living up to its name. Strong winds have whipped up the lake’s surface – whitecaps stretch as far as the eye can see and ocean-sized waves crash into the shore.

At Onepoto Bay in the lake’s south-east corner, a rusty old tractor with two flat tyres blocks the boat ramp, stopping anyone from launching.

Nearby, a sign at an entrance to the Great Walk advises that the whole of Te Urewera is closed at Covid alert level 2.

At A¯ niwaniwa, also known as Home Bay, the visitor centre is closed and a dilapidated former Department of Conservation (DoC) truck has been used to block the boat ramp.

All around the perimeter of the lake, entrances to tracks and camping areas are barricaded with plastic fencing or traffic cones. The place is very much closed for business. Regular lake users and trampers are confused – after all, most facilities are able to operate at Covid level 2. What’s going on?

A notice on the website of

Nga¯ i Tu¯ hoe, the tribal authority which co-governs Te Urewera, states that ‘‘we are not currently resourced to deliver our ... manuhiri [guest] service’’.

It continues: ‘‘This is an issue that our Te Urewera Board,

Tu¯ hoe and DoC have been attempting to resolve prior to lockdown.’’

The problem comes down to money, according to Tu¯ hoe at least.

Since it took over cogovernance of Te Urewera seven years ago as part of its Treaty settlement – a world-first deal giving the former National Park its own legal personality – Tu¯ hoe has felt that it hasn’t been sufficiently resourced to maintain the place and its infrastructure.

Users say back country huts, bridges and tracks are now in such a bad state it would be embarrassing if tourists saw them.

Under the Te Urewera Act, the area is governed by a board, Te Uru Taumatua (TUT), now made up of six Tu¯ hoe representatives, and three from the Crown.

No-one owns Te Urewera but, as its kaitiaki or guardian, the board has authority over how it’s used.

All assets that were owned by the Crown pre-settlement – huts, campgrounds, bridges, boardwalks, the Lake Waikaremoana Holiday Park – remain in Crown ownership, but TUT has day-to-day operational responsibility.

DoC and TUT are supposed to work together on operational planning and have annual discussions on what work is a priority and how much money needs to be made available, with both parties contributing.

But it’s been an awkward relationship, with differing views on priorities.

There are three purposes of the Act – reconnecting Tu¯ hoe people with Te Urewera, protecting biodiversity and public access.

Tamati Kruger, the TUT chairman, says opening up Te Urewera to the public is ‘‘way down the list of priorities’’ for

Tu¯ hoe, as it brings no benefit to the iwi.

‘‘DoC wants to spend its efforts and a sizeable amount of its resource contribution ... on structures,’’ Kruger says.

‘‘Tu¯ hoe, on the other hand, wants to put its efforts and contribution ... to the first purpose of the legislation, which is the re-connection of Tu¯ hoe with Te Urewera. So you can see our problem.’’

Kruger says there was a decade of under-investment by DoC prior to the settlement in 2014.

‘‘We haven’t really inherited assets, we’ve inherited liabilities,’’ he says.

‘‘Part of the reason for the closure is Tu¯ hoe has the moral obligation to look after all manuhiri ... and to provide a sure standard of safety, care and enjoyment, and we can’t do that with the state of the ... infrastructure.’’

Kruger says that, through DoC, the Crown has been providing around $2m a year to maintain Te Urewera, which he suggests is ‘‘overly miserly’’.

‘‘Tu¯ hoe are embarrassed by the infrastructure ... that visitors have to use,’’ he says.

‘‘The $2m is not giving us the resources to bring up to standard all the facilities and infrastructure that’s required to showcase Te Urewera as the largest indigenous forest left in

the North Island and a place that abounds with history and enjoyment.’’

But it may not be just a money issue. Dig a little deeper, and the situation becomes more complicated.

Sunday Newsunderstands Conservation Minister Kiri Allan told a hui of various stakeholders in Ta¯ neatua in November that money was not an issue, that it was available and DoC wanted the work done.

She would not be interviewed, but her office said in a statement that funding has been available for some time, and TUT has not accessed it.

Mervyn English, DoC’s governance and Treaty chief advisor, says it provides $2.2m a year as a ‘‘base amount’’.

On top of that, DoC makes money available for various projects and activities.

‘‘For example, DoC funded the purchase and the installation of

new stoves in many huts.’’

Sources have told Sunday News that Tu¯ hoe haven’t been letting DoC staff into the area to do maintenance work, preferring to have their young people upskilled to do it.

Kruger confirms this.

‘‘DoC has no authority within Te Urewera, so why would we do that? We want to grow our capacity and our leadership to re-connect ourselves with Te Urewera. If we were to [allow DoC to do maintenance] then we’re carrying on as a National Park, aren’t we?’’

But he admits it’s been difficult to fill roles.

‘‘Finding people who can live in wilderness, isolated areas for long periods of time without wifi, McDonald’s and quick access to their Toyota Hilux is very, very difficult.’’

Meanwhile, there’s a question over what legal rights TUT has to close down Lake

Waikaremoana. Boat owners haven’t been able to get to their vessels permanently moored there.

Kruger insists ‘‘the authority under the act is entirely with Te Urewera board.’’

But Allan’s office said in a statement ‘‘there is no legal mechanism available to the board to restrict or prohibit access to Lake Waikaremoana’’.

The lake is privately owned Ma¯ ori land, the statement said, jointly owned by trusts representing Tu¯ hoe, Nga¯ ti Ruapani and Nga¯ ti Kahungunu iwi, while the Crown leases the lakebed.

‘‘The Department of Conservation has not restricted or prohibited access to Lake Waikaremoana ... the Holiday Park has remained open for visitors,’’ the statement said, adding that there is ongoing discussion around ‘‘coherent management’’ of the lake.

But it’s understood TUT disagree that DoC has any authority as leasee, and is considering taking the issue to court for clarification.

As for the Great Walk and the wider Te Urewera, TUT is allowed to restrict access for a period of time if it’s considered necessary to achieve the purposes of the Act, or for public safety.

The legal channels for doing this are via a bylaws process, according to Allan’s office, but TUT does not have such a bylaw in place.

Her office says there is no legal provision for any closure to be indefinite.

Concerns over access to Lake Waikaremoana have been mounting ever since TUT took over.

In 2019, then Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was forced to cancel an announcement of funding to seal the mostly gravel SH38 to the lake after Tu¯ hoe voiced its opposition.

The iwi was concerned about the environmental impacts of bitumen and that it would bring an increase in tourists. The iwi had been battling with visitors who were leaving vast amounts of rubbish.

Jones launched a broadside, saying: ‘‘Tu¯ hoe must abide by the terms of their settlement. They are not entitled to close off the Waikaremoana lake to fellow New Zealanders or tourists.

‘‘They pride themselves of being the Children of the Mist. These antics will cause them to be the Children of the Missed Opportunities.’’

The board ruffled feathers when it banned freedom camping in certain areas, as generations of families had enjoyed roughing it at the lake.

Regular users say Tu¯ hoe representatives were aggressive in the way they went about removing people, which caused public anger.

Meanwhile, Wayne Beattie, a Detective Sergeant with Gisborne police who took part in a Tu¯ hoe-sanctioned search and rescue operation at Lake Waikaremoana in November, says he was shocked by the state of facilities.

The Whanganui Hut had been vandalised, with condoms and human waste left on the floor, gang slogans drawn on the furniture and slats from the bunks used as firewood.

Other huts were in a poor state, with guttering pulled down or collapsed and empty water tanks, Beattie says, while ‘‘thousands of dollars worth’’ of pest traps were unused and rotting on the ground.

‘‘If this poor maintenance continues, the lake will lose its Great Walk status and all the hard work that has been done in previous years will be wasted,’’ Beattie says.

‘‘This is a beautiful asset for all New Zealanders and visitors alike and it has been allowed to deteriorate to a very poor state.’’

Malcolm O’Neill, of commercial operation Hiking NZ, which runs tours to the lake, says while the state of the tracks and facilities is ‘‘variable’’, he has sympathy for Tu¯ hoe.

‘‘I think it’s really difficult for Tu¯ hoe to step in and manage the recreation in this area – DoC didn’t do that grand a job of it, so you can imagine how difficult it is for a small community.

‘‘A government department struggles with its head being on the block with health and safety these days, can you imagine what [an iwi] feels like?

‘‘Of course they’re going to close the track until ... engineers have given the OK, because WorkSafe will come down on them like a tonne of bricks.’’

David Parker, president of the Waikaremoana Boating and Fishing Association, says the group has been working closely with Tu¯ hoe and the Te Urewera board for the past three years or so to better understand the tikanga (customs) of the lake.

Hopefully that will give people a clearer direction on where they can freedom camp, where they can stop and light a fire and smoke a trout, he says.

‘‘All lake users have got to realise it’s a privilege to go to Lake Waikaremoana, and not a right.’’

He says parties are working towards partially re-opening the lake and tracks from December

1.

English, of DoC, says the agency is concerned about the state of the Great Walk and facilities and has undertaken an inspection.

It’s in talks with TUT about what funding is needed to reopen.

English says it’s an ‘‘unprecedented relationship model that no-one has a blueprint for.

‘‘Our experience to date is that the relationship tends to go in cycles of being positive, some tensions build, there is new understanding, and we go forwards positively again.’’

But Kruger says the relationship with the Crown post-settlement has failed, and Tu¯ hoe and the board want a reset, dealing directly with CrownMa¯ ori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis.

He says TUT wants to redesign the Great Walk, for example.

‘‘It’s a great concept but ... Tuhoe see very little value in the current set-up.

‘‘We will re-design it, the whole thing – where the track goes and the facilities and infrastructure that supports the walk – we will do it in an entirely different way.’’

Kruger says if Te Urewera is reopened in December, it may only be partially reopened, with visitors advised to avoid structures and huts that aren’t up to scratch.

If Covid arrives in the area, the situation could change again, he says.

Kruger says people need to understand that things are different now.

‘‘The enemy for all of us is that sense of individualism and entitlement and rights – people who believe they are due something from Te Urewera without ... contributing anything back.

‘‘We’re taking our time, we know that all waiting is long for everybody, but impatience I think will spoil the great plans.’’

‘Finding people who can live in wilderness, isolated areas for long periods of time without wifi, McDonald’s and quick access to their Toyota Hilux is very, very difficult.’ TAMATI KRUGER