Date:  11 September 2018

DOC is upgrading the tracks from September 2018 to January 2019. The work includes installing new gravelled tracks, boardwalks, stairways and handrails.

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

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 Pewhairangi / Bay of Islands Office.

DOC will be working with contractors on the following tracks:

• Kerikeri River Track
• Lower Waipapa River Track
• Oromahoe Traverse
• Pukatea Track
• Te Araroa Trail
• Wairakau Stream Track
• Whangamumu/Te Toroa Track

“Kauri dieback spores can live in the wet and muddy sections of tracks, so by taking away their home we reduce the chance of their spread,” says DOC Bay of Islands Operations Manager Rolien Elliot.

“These new measures help keep the risk of the disease low, as long as people do the right thing. Staying on the track and cleaning footwear and gear is still the best way to prevent the spread of kauri dieback.”

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.

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