Soon after the report yesterday which complained about the neglected condition of the walking/biking trail at the northern end of the Tongariro River Trail above the SH1 road bridge, other fishy readers reminded us we should be focusing more on those trails that have been lost entirely down the lower river – below the bridge.
These were last mentioned in a 2021 report claiming Tongariro River vandals! This was referring to the Waikato Regional Council which employs contractors for their river works. The deterioration of the lower river access tracks following their involvement is still a bitter memory for many anglers – see photos below.
The anglers’ access trail down the TRB adjacent the Log Pool was washed out during the flood last August but a new walking track to Reeds Pool was quickly formed across adjoining private land.
The only recent good news or visible improvements have been the installation of seating at the end of Herekiekie Street above the rock retaining wall. These seats were donated by anon private individuals who care for the comfort of tourists. They have been much appreciated by many…
The loss of the riverbank fishing opportunities in the famous Bridge Pool – previously the most popular river pool for casting to spawning runs of trout in NZ – is quite a shock to many tourist anglers now returning to Turangi after missing their annual Tongariro “fix” for a couple of years during the Covid lockdowns.
Photos show the WRC contractors strengthening the stone wall to redirect the main current away from the end of Herekiekie Street in 2016. The Tongariro River decides for itself where it prefers to flow.
Tourist anglers have asked – would it help if they complained to the local Taupo Council? But this is NZ where the land and water and sky are now owned (as part of the Treaty settlements) by local Iwi, the tracks are managed by DOC (Department of Conservation are also the Taupo Fishery Managers), the river maintenance seen in the photos is directed by the Waikato Regional Council based in Hamilton, so they all quickly pass the buck when any questions or complaints are received.
But as mentioned in the post yesterday the “ownership ” of the river banks (where the tracks have been neglected or lost) appears to be an interesting dilemma as the last official legal determination on land settlement as part of the Treaty Settlement mentioned in the Waitangi Tribunal report in 1995 for the old “Queens Chain” above the road bridge: “Excluded from the sale was a strip of land along the east bank of the Tongariro River, reserved for conservation purposes.” In many locations the land alongside the river is subject to structural problems from flooding or unstable erosion so it may be understandable that nobody wants to claim ownership. So anglers interpret that as though the land belongs to the ratepayers – aka them!
Meanwhile the old trails further down the TLB have disappeared – either slumped into the river following erosion or impassable and overgrown.
Following blog was previously posted on 20 September 2021.
Tongariro River vandals!
This post continues previous tourist anglers’ complaints about the derelict state of the lower Tongariro River. TRM has been trying to expose this “eco-vandalism” for over ten years. TRM represent fishing guests who still remember the “glory days” of the Braids, before the WRC (Waikato Regional Council) sent in their diggers to excavate gravel under the guise of “flood protection works”. Anglers call it “gravel extraction works”! They destroyed the most important brown trout nursery and spawning area serving Lake Taupo and left the river as illustrated in the photos. (Quite unbelievable – imagine them doing that on the Waikato in Hamilton! But down in Turangi they must imagine it is out of sight of tourists?) These photos were taken Sunday 19 September 2021, ten years after their vandalism. This river is promoted as a “world-famous” trout fishing river… The WRC obviously has no idea of how important this river is to Turangi’s economy and tourist reputation. They failed Turangi.
