Residents in favour of charging for Cathedral Cove access, survey reveals

A local poll suggests residents of a Coromandel town are in favour of charging overseas visitors to Cathedral Cove.

The Department of Conservation is consulting on plans to charge international visitors to 10 popular spots around New Zealand, starting with Milford Sound, Aoraki Mount Cook, Cathedral Cove and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Hahei Residents and Ratepayers Association chair John Jonasson told Checkpoint the organisation surveyed households in the town about the issue over summer.

He said around 30 percent of Hahei households responded, and of those, 72 percent wanted international visitors to pay to visit Cathedral Cove.

Jonasson said the big issue for him was how the money would be charged, applied and spent.

“It’s got to go back into maintaining the track, and enhancing the experience.”

He said there was talk about building a visitor centre near the start of the track where a carpark would be removed due to land instability.

That could provide information about the local area, including its human history, and flora and fauna, he said.

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