Access not likely to be affected by Act

The issue of public access to the country's beaches is again in the spotlight as the Government revisits the controversial Foreshore and Seabed legislation. Balclutha reporter Rachel Taylor looks at how access to one of the Catlins' most popular tourist attractions, the Cathedral Caves, has operated in recent years.

The chairman of the Maori trust which administers access to the Cathedral Caves, does not believe the proposed review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act will have any impact on public access to the area.

The Tautuku Block X section 3c Trust has been charging an entry fee of $5 for adults and $1 for children since December 1999 after it dumped large rocks across the access road a couple of months earlier, as a protest against the Crown's "procrastination of negotiations" over historical grievances.

Trust chairman Ted Palmer said recently, when approached for comment, the entry fees were used for maintenance of the road, a car parking area and toilets the trust provided for visitors to the caves and to pay the wages of the Cathedral Caves administrator.

Other tourist attractions where access is through Maori land can charge as much as $15 for admittance, he said.

"The $5 charge we make, I believe is minuscule. All we are doing with our trust is trying to maintain a road that was originally a logging road."

Admission to the Cathedral Caves, 38km south of Owaka, is limited to two hours each side of low tide, with visitors reaching the Waipati Beach Scenic Reserve via an old logging road which runs thorough the middle of Tautuku block X section 3c, which is Maori freehold land.

While Mr Palmer does not anticipate the new legislation will have any impact on the way the trust administers access to the Cathedral Caves, neither will it guarantee access to beaches over private property, he said.

In cases where access to the beach is over farmers' paddocks, for example, that access has to be negotiated with the landowner, he said.

"I don't know what the future of the access [to the caves] will be, but if it gets too difficult, it might be easier to stop access."

One of the trust's concerns was the safety and welfare of people while on its land.

Mr Palmer was critical of an incident recently where a man ignored the signs on the gate, entered the block, got lost and sparked a search and rescue callout.

"How does the landowner implement the Health and Safety Act when you've got people ignoring trespass notices?"

Mr Palmer said it was premature for anyone to make sound calls about how the proposed legislation would affect the trust, because the Reviewing the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 document had only been released for consultation - "We as a group of trustees have to talk about it."

Mr Palmer said in the past, the trust had received some negative attention over having a gate at the entrance and restricting access to the caves -"but you probably have a gate over your garage".

"By keeping a locked gate there, we have added to the upkeep, by keeping dogs and motorbikes out of there."

Irish tourist John Smyth (29) missed out on seeing the attraction recently because he arrived at the caves outside of the tide times.

He had read about the caves in a New Zealand guidebook and knew about the $5 entry fee before arriving.

"You don't mind, because it's not much. It's only $5, and it is for upkeep."