A tree windfall on Waingongoro Track, Taranaki Maunga.
Photo: Tamsen Walker / DOC
The upper Ihaia Track to the Waiaua Gorge Hut is shut due to a large washout and the hut is inaccessible from the western side of the mountain.
Taranaki district ranger supervisor Andy Johnston said that caused the Around the Mountain Circuit to be closed until the Ihaia Track could be re-routed. In this case in particular, it s just cut quite deep down into the stream channel creating steep banks on either side, so where the track line was it s now quite a steep drop down to the bottom of the stream bed.
Date Time
Storm damage on Taranaki Maunga closes tracks
Reports of damage, particularly on the southwest of Taranaki Maunga, have been significant says DOC’s Taranaki District Ranger Supervisor Andy Johnston.
“We had an awful lot of rain and high winds so there are track washouts and tree windfalls which we are clearing and rerouting as fast as we can.”
Tracks on Taranaki Maunga known to be affected include the upper Ihaia Track to Waiaua Gorge Hut, which has been closed due to a large washout, making the hut inaccessible from the western side of the mountain. The Around the Mountain Circuit (AMC) is closed until this track can be rerouted.
Wet weather to continue, while parts of the South Island get snow stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In South Taranaki, the Kaupokonui River was running so high, it lapped the ends of the footbridge near the beach and water covered SH45 at the Glenn Rd bridge. Jason Slade, of Hāwera, went down for a look at Kaupokonui Beach about 2.30pm, just before high tide, after hearing the river was running high. “It was the highest he had ever seen it, and I have lived in Hāwera since 1997,” he said.
Supplied/Stuff
Jason Slade photographed the water reaching the end of the footbridge over the Kaupokonui River near the campground, about 2.30pm on Saturday. Electricity was cut off in various places across the region during the storm.
I used to fancy the idea of skiing Teds Alley. I loved the name, such a yeah-nah Kiwi moniker for the steep and committing gully beside the East Ridge of Mt Taranaki