The 32km Rakiura National Park loop track was one of the shortest of the 500km of premier Great Walks tracks managed by the Department of Conservation (Doc).
The island’s community board chairman Aaron Connor said the track condition was a common complaint from annual Rakiura Challenge competitors.
"But that’s Doc’s problem, they don’t seem to be spending much money on it at all."
Mr Connor said with more than 4000 people using the track annually, he would like to see the money paid to Doc for hut fees returned back to the region as well as additional funds allocated from the international visitor levy.
"That’s where it should go.
"It’s user-pays. It should be going back to the place it likes."
Doc charged seasonal rates between $31 and $66 a night on the track but the income was collected by the national department.
He believed the poor track condition was not helping the track’s reputation or brand.
"It [the condition] has declined.
"When it was designated [a Great Walk] it was a good track and has had very little maintenance ever since.
"I would like to see it brought back to the standard it was when it was first opened (32 years ago).
"We had been told on several occasions there has been money allocated for it and as far as I know, very little of it has been spent."
In 2022 the community board declined a novel-length application lodged by Doc senior ranger Dale Chittenden to the Island’s visitor levy fund which was intended for infrastructure projects to support the island’s residents.
He requested an annual $30,000 for 10 years to be used for track maintenance and a further $125,000 to replace the Chocolate Swamp boardwalk, while a successful 2017-18 $70,000 grant was sitting unused.
Southland District councillor Jon Spraggon, who represents Stewart Island, said the track does suffer from a lack of maintenance.
The island did have a wet winter and spring and the track was boggy and muddy during this period. He said Doc should carry out more maintenance.
The track was very wet and muddy when the Rakiura Challenge was raced.
But the weather had been better in the past couple of months which had led to the track drying out, he said.
The three-day walk was popular with people from all areas of life and different countries.
Doc statutory manager Donna Shepard said more than 4400 people used the track during the last season.
"Our website prepares trampers for the deep muddy sections and changeable weather, which makes this track different from the other Great Walk experiences we offer.
In the past two years Doc had hardened some of the track’s middle section and completed some general maintenance.
"We resurfaced a small section of track using gravel last season and this season, have hut rangers on site clearing drains, trimming vegetation and ‘corduroying’ wet sections."
Doc’s strategic Great Walk plan included essential longer-term improvements on the track over the next five years, including more surface-hardening through the middle section.
The plan was still unconfirmed and unbudgeted.
"We’ve got to focus our investment and effort where it can make the biggest difference across New Zealand," she said. — additional reporting Steve Hepburn
