Date: 10 October 2024
“Visitor safety and risk management is a priority for DOC,” says Southern South Island Director of Operations, Aaron Fleming. “We are currently attending to multiple slips, surface damage and tree falls across a number of tracks, some of which are fully closed while we repair them.
“Tunnel Beach Short Walk in Dunedin is fully closed due to around 10 large slips covering the width of the track.
“Despite the carpark being locked and several barriers and signage saying the track is closed, we are alarmed and disappointed by the number of visitors who are choosing to ignore safety advice and walk the track regardless.
“This is also causing frustration to nearby residents with people choosing to park in the neighbourhood and on private property to walk on the closed track.
“Tracks are closed for visitor safety. We are asking for people to please respect closures; our team is working hard to get tracks repaired and re-opened as soon as it is safe to do so.
“Our advice is for people to check the DOC website for the latest alerts for areas they’re heading to, or contact the local DOC Visitor Centre for information, rather than relying on web/map search engines which may not yet be up to date.”
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