Heaphy Track reopening welcomed after tourism lull

Saturday, 14 October 2023

The new Heaphy River Bridge replaces the previous one which was destroyed during Cyclone Dovi in February 2022.

Businesses in the small West Coast township of Karamea are looking forward to a busy summer after the Heaphy Track reopens.

The track has been partly closed since a storm destroyed the Heaphy River suspension bridge in February last year.

Cafe owner Vinnie Dunford said the community was very relieved the track is finally reopening in full on Thursday.

Development West Coast asks locals what there is to do in Karamea.

“Bring it on. We’re hoping for a good summer. We have had a downturn effect [from the closure]. We haven’t had the cyclists coming through winter normally,” he said.

Dunford said international visitors were returning “slowly but surely” and locals had kept the cafe ticking over through winter.

Department of Conservation figures show visitor numbers on the track, one of the Great Walks, dropped to 560 last summer, compared with 2320 the summer before.

Karamea’s GDP dropped from $34.5 million in 2021 to $28m in 2022, according to economic consultancy Infometrics.

Vanessa Kingan, of Helicopter Charter Karamea, said the company had been flying people over the closed section.

Construction workers installing cables on the new Heaphy River Bridge.

“It was a concept we put together to help encourage people to come to Karamea and enable them to do a through trip. Not everyone took us up on it but some did.”

The business has also helped with the track’s repair, which she was delighted was finally finished.

“It was definitely a blow for the Karamea community, and the Golden Bay side was also impacted. Everyone is very excited to have the track back open again and looking forward to a busy summer,” she said.

According to figures released to RNZ, DOC earmarked an extra $5m to cover damage caused by Cyclone Dovi, and the Heaphy Track accounted for more than $1.8m of that.

Two huts and two other bridges were damaged as well as the Heaphy River bridge.

Everything had to be helicoptered in to the Heaphy Track for construction.

DOC Kawatiri Westport operations manager Suvi Van Smit said the new Heaphy River bridge was “looking pretty spectacular”.

“After a long journey, it's incredible to see the Heaphy Bridge being brought to life. Building a bridge as big as this, especially in the back country, is a huge undertaking,” she said.

The area’s loose, sandy soil meant 17 tons of concrete had to be driven over the Karamea Bluff from Westport then flown in - one hopper at a time - by helicopter.

The bridge’s cable was imported from Switzerland.

Its location was moved downstream after a hydrology report found issues with the existing site which meant a second river crossing across the Lewis River was needed to meet track standards.

Karamea on the West Coast is a “hidden gem”, according to Development West Coast boss Heath Milne.

The new Lewis Bridge was not expected to be completed in time for the track opening next Thursday, she said.

“The team has been prioritising work on the Heaphy Bridge as this is by far the larger of the two watercourses … the Lewis Bridge is expected to be completed by mid-December,” she said.

Until it is completed, a river crossing will be required and DOC staff will be at the site to assess river conditions and provide guidance to track users.

DOC is holding a reopening celebration in Karamea next Thursday at the Kohaihai Campground from 10am.

Development West Coast chief executive Heath Milne said the closure was a massive blow to the local economy, with visitors dropping from the thousands to the hundreds.

“Karamea is definitely eager to welcome visitors back, and the Heaphy Track is really just the beginning. There is so much to see and do in and around Karamea – it is one of New Zealand’s hidden gems.”