Department of Conservation finds 'significant failures' in lead-up to Cape Kidnappers landslide

Friday, 28 June 2019

The walk to Cape Kidnappers should have never been promoted as a tourist attraction, the Department of Conservation (DOC) has admitted.

A DOC investigation, released this week, found 'significant failures' at 'multiple levels' when implementing the department's organisational risk and visitor risk management policies.

DOC commissioned the report after a landslide in January seriously injured a pair of tourists.

The walk was first promoted as one of DOC's Day Hikes in June 2017.

The landslide at Cape Kidnappers occurred on January 23.

* Cape Kidnappers to remain open while assessment takes place

A popular Hawke's Bay beach walk has reopened despite warnings of death or injury for those who use it. Susie Ferguson asks Hastings District Council chief executive Nigel Bickle if it was clear why the advice was rejected.

* 'Multiple fatalities' could occur in second landslide**

Thursday's report found as DOC promoted the walk, it needed to appropriately manage risks. 'For the most part this did not occur,' it said.

For the 1.1 kilometres of walk DOC managed, there were sound management practices in place, however, the same practices weren't reflected in the remainder of the track which it was promoting.

Promoting the hike increased risk exposure, including tide and rockfall risk, 'simply due to increased visitor numbers and increased exposure time to rockfall'.

In the year leading up to the January event, there were 'a number' of times rockfall risk was raised by different staffers, 'but these were not followed up' - particularly by DOC's recreation, tourism and heritage team.

Jungho Son, 29, thought he was going to die when the torrent of rocks collapsed on him.

There was only one risk assessment of the full walk prior to January's landslide, which recommended a geo-tech assessment be undertaken due to an 'unacceptable' risk level.

However after another risk assessment carried out 12 months later, which only focused on the DOC-managed section of track, the risk level was then changed to 'tolerable', and the geo-tech assessment was cancelled.

The investigation also found 'no evidence' of meaningful consultation on DOC's behalf with key stakeholders.

Warnings in place were 'inadequate' and mostly relating to the tide. Rockfall warnings were limited to 'small print' in both DOC signage, on its website and in brochures.

While natural events were mostly not preventable, and visitors need to accept some responsibility for risk when it comes to the natural environment, the January landslide highlighted 'significant failures' at both human and system levels.

'Any of which, if recognised at the time, could have prevented visitors being exposed to what is [a] significant risk of rockfall.'

It recommended a raft of changes, including reviewing the department's internal systems and processes, and developing processes to ensure consistency between signage/brochures.

DOC's director of heritage and visitors Steve Taylor said the report was clear that DOC systems need to be improved.

'We should not have promoted it as a day hike as this may have led people to believe it was without risk,' Taylor said.

'We accept we did not act on this assessment in the way we should have … DOC needed to have a better overview of all the different pieces before pushing ahead with promoting the walk.'

A comprehensive quantitative risk analysis for the full walk is currently underway. Those results will be released in September.

Until then, DOC will keep its section - further towards the cape - closed and will not promote it. Hastings District Council has left its section open, but with increased warnings that visitors risk possible death.