Pitch to open deadly, beautiful Omanawa Falls after $4.5 million upgrade

Monday, 15 March 2021

Tauranga City Council team leader parks and environment Warren Aitken talks about the dangers of Omanawa Falls.

Tauranga City Council is proposing to spend $4.5 million dollars on safe access to scenic Omanawa Falls after a man died there this year.

The contribution is being considered as part of the Council’s Long Term Plan.

A spokesperson for Tourism Bay of Plenty says they’re supporting Ngāti Hangarau, Tauranga City Council and the Omanawa residents to develop a plan for safe and culturally appropriate access to the falls.

Omanawa Falls, south of Tauranga, is currently closed to visitors.

“Omanawa Falls is a beautiful taonga that is sacred to Ngāti Hangarau. The falls present a significant opportunity for the tourism development of the region, but it must be done in the right way.”

**READ MORE:

Signs leave visitors in no doubt that access is closed.

* Plea for Red Bull cliff diver to remove footage of jump at closed Omanawa Falls, Tauranga

* Rāhui on dangerous Bay of Plenty waterfall to be lifted

One social media user captioned her photo: “Gotta risk it for the inst pic.”

* Rāhui to be placed on Omanawa Falls after man dies

Thousands of videos and photos have been posted online of people accessing the falls.

A man died at the falls in January, despite signage aimed to deter visitors from attempting to approach the falls.

The spokesperson for Tourism Bay of Plenty says the clear message from Ngāti Hangarau, Tauranga City Council and Tourism Bay of Plenty is for people not to visit the falls because of significant and well-known safety issues.

Omanawa Falls Kaitiaki are on-site to support this message, yet some people are ignoring this advice.

“My sincere hope is that through appropriately planned and safe access, locals and manuhiri can visit the falls to appreciate its cultural significance and beauty, and learn more about the sacred stories of Te Moananui ā Toi and the Coastal Bay of Plenty.”

According to the city council agenda, the project is being delivered in two stages to achieve safe access by summer 2021/22.

All components except the lookout location in the Ngahere walk are scheduled to be complete by mid-November 2021.

The lookout will be completed by October 2022.

Council says in 2019 the project was budgeted at costing $3.857 million, however, there is a significant degree of uncertainty regarding this total until contractors are engaged.

“In the meantime, it is recognised that construction cost inflation needs to be applied to this original budget. As such, it is recommended that the project budget be updated to a total of $4.5 million to better reflect 2021 likelihood.”

Staff are currently working to provide cost certainty for the project.

The draft Long Term Plan will be open for public consultation before it is finalised in July.

- SunLive